A word on rock piles

http://dnr.wi.gov/files/PDF/pubs/wm/WM0221.pdf



Rock piles and walls provide special habitats
for wildlife. Chipmunks, skunks and other
small rodents and snakes are partial to these
hard, sun-warmed quarters. A wide variety of
ants and other invertebrates live beneath
rocks which are in direct contact with the
earth. Ant colonies can also thrive in them
and provide food for a host of birds,
mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
If you are interested in providing habitat for
this kind of wildlife, then you may want to
place PVC pipes or drain tiles within the
rocks. Pipes and tiles create very effective
escape tunnels and den sites for rock pileloving
wildlife. Or, just leave them alone. But
if grassland birds and prairie restoration is
your goal, bury them. That’s because some
rock-pile-loving wildlife, such as skunks and
raccoons, prey on grassland bird eggs and
will defeat your efforts.