Deer and rabbits are so frustrating, thanks for the comments. I have seen some hawks in the area....and an owl once! Venison sounds delicious too! torreya, Don't the rabbits chew through plastic mesh? I thought it would be pretty easy to breach. Maybe they just need a physical deterrent and move on to greener (unprotected) pastures.... So here's what I've been brainstorming... I was thinking of making some protectors out of wire and plywood, that would do double duty of protecting from animals and elements (drying northwest winds, create a snow trap around the seedling in winter). My plan was to cut a piece of plywood (say 1 by 2 feet tall), attach to a stake and hammer into the ground on the northwest side of the seedling....then wrap the whole works (about 2 feet in diameter) with 3 foot tall wire, stapling the wire to the back of the plywood for support. I know it would be alot of work (not to mention look awful), but they would be reusable, do a heck of a job to protect the tree, and would be in place for at least 3 or 4 years at a time. Does this sound like an alright plan? Any modifications/unforseen problems? Thanks for the input! Koren in Saskatoon

Deer have proliferated in this state such that, for all intents and purposes, hemlock and white cedar are no longer regenerating across broad swaths of the forest. Far from being a "new thing", this has been understood for decades now. Politically though, attempts to mitigate the damage are up against a wall of a million or so rednecks, and the corrupt politicians that use these folks' attitudes to suit their own purposes, such as unscientific timber harvesting levels, etc. A very sad situation, and one which is being utterly neglected here under the current political reality. +oM Ps........although, for reasons I have not yet entirely understood, in certain areas, like right where my land is for example, white cedar is both regenerating and doing so in abundance. As I've mentioned here before, some have offered the explanation that the deer on my land are dumb! And hemlock too is coming up all over that area. This is what's called here in Wisconsin "the near-north". In the "real" north woods, lol, the situation truly is grim. And with the fools we have currently running this state, all logging levels have been upped simply to try to bump up an economic indicator a bit, with zero concern for the future. More logging = more new growth = more deer food. So we're now actively perpetuating the problem. BTW, on opening day of gun season last year, we counted 38 deer in our field. All those crybabies, constantly complaining that "there are no deer" or that "the wolves are killing all the deer" should come look at my place sometime. Bunch of idiots. +oM

My symapthies - very frustrating! I'd be inclined to think it's woodchucks since both rabbits and deer typically are relatively neat. IME woodchucks leave pieces around and don't make really clean cuts. However, don't assume that deer would be deterred by this being a public park surrounded by roads and houses. They would come to feed probably around dawn (they feel fairly safe at 3:45 am) or dusk, and usually are fairly savvy about what people are threats IME. Any repellents will need to be replaced after rain, and I don't know if they will work on woodchucks - we use a more permanent solution. Milorganite (which will fertilze as well), or any of the deer or rabbit repellents are worth trying such as Bobbex, Deer Away, etc., or there are lots of homemade repellent recipes that usually include some combination of garlic, hot pepper, old eggs, blood meal, etc. mixed well with a small amount of soap or some milk powder. Let the mix sit for several hours in a warm spot, strain through cheesecloth, and then spray. Regardless of what you use, commercial or homemade, spray from upwind and wear old clothes with good coverage since often they are something you don't want to be perfumed with. The scent dissipates in the garden after a relatively short time, but can cling to clothes and skin.

ALERT: THE SCENT OF ALFALFA ATTRACT ALL ANIMALS, including squirrels, dogs, rabbits and deer. From the web: "Deer love to eat alfalfa hay and will flock to established alfalfa plots. Animals like rats, dogs, bears, and bloodhounds have some of the most incredible noses ... These animals can detect a scent from a considerable distance and have a good sense of taste as well." I saw how squirrels ate my rootings in June, so I chopped up strong scent Italian Basil and put in my air-pots. The scent of Basil stopped the squirrels from eating roses in air-pots. I used invasive mint before to repel deer from my roses in the front. My TALL air-pots never have squirrels jumping in it, until I fertilized them with a STRONGER DOSE of alfalfa, since I'm out of ORGANIC Nature's Care soluble fertilizer. Thank God that the squirrels didn't eat the 10 buds of 4-months old Augusta Luis (bought as band-size from LongAgoRoses), see below: Early June a rooting did great, until I fertilized with alfalfa tea, squirrels are attracted to the scent of alfalfa and ate that rooting 1/2 off. Same with another 2 rose rootings: squirrels jumped into the pot and dug up both, after being fertilized with alfalfa tea. Besides squirrels, ALL ANIMALS are attracted to the smell of alfalfa, including rabbits, deer, and dogs. My 19-year-old daughter wants a pet bunny, and she asked me to get alfalfa to feed her future bunny. One time I poured a bag of alfalfa meal into the planting hole, and a dog broke away from its owner to rush to me. That dog was FAR AWAY (at least 1/4 acre away). I'm amazed that animals can sniff that far. That same evening, that dog which lived 3 houses away, broke loose from its home to my backyard in search of alfalfa. The dog was so attracted to the alfalfa smell that it came back the 2nd time. The owner came to my backyard looking for her dog. Years ago, when Ingrid had a problem with rabbits eating her roses in CA, she mentioned that she fertilized her roses ONLY with alfalfa meal. I wish I had known this earlier to inform Ingrid so she would not have quit roses altogether thanks to rabbits and drought. These pests have sensitive nose, farmers used to dunk corn-cobs in vinegar to repel rabbits. Another suggestion is to soak stinky ammonia in paper towel and put that in pots to repel squirrels and chipmunks.