For decades, consultants and extension agents have advised landowners to build brushpiles on their property in order to enhance wildlife habitat. However, beyond the anecdotal, little data exist to characterize how this common land-use practice might affect the demographics of local wildlife populations. The few studies that have been published focused primarily on cottontail rabbits, snowshoe hares, and quails in open habitats in western and midwestern states. This study will evaluate the effects of brushpiles on small mammal communities and salamander populations in wooded areas, where many landowners in this region are likely to build them.

Small mammals and salamanders will be trapped, marked and recaptured to determine species composition, relative diversity and abundance on 12-16 wooded study plots in Penn State's Stone Valley Forest. Half of these plots will contain a treatment of 3 brushpiles, and half will be untreated controls. Half of the plots will be situated in the forest interior, and half near the forest edge, adjoining agricultural land.