![]() And parks having mature oaks tend to favorable habitat (trees with nesting cavities).” Todd believes that Eau Clairian squirrels do play a role in our urban forest’s ecosystem, especially in our parks, explaining that, “with the oak tree represented well throughout the city’s forest, one can expect a robust squirrel population. He says, “Seriously though, they cause few problems. In addition, Todd continues, “ no incidents or injuries reported in 2014 (to either squirrel or park patron due to squirrel).” I didn’t actually check on that, but I’d absolutely bet on it. ![]() In fact, Todd tells us, “You might say we look at them as part of the park amenities (kinda like buying a house with furniture included).”Īt this time, the city has no plans for any kind of plywood protection program such as guards armed with squirrel TASERs or elaborate catapult-based booby traps. Besides seriously pissing off bird watchers by bogarting their feeders, and the occasional home invasion, squirrels just don’t cause a lot of trouble, certainly not in public areas. We don’t have a monitoring program at this time.”Īnd it’s doubtful we ever will, as squirrels really aren’t a problem for the city. He says, “I would be lying if I told you we had a handle on the squirrel census. We’ve sure got a lot of squirrels in town.”īut how many? Well, according to Todd Chwala – superintendent of Parks, Forestry and Cemeteries for the city of Eau Claire, and a guy who knows about these things – we have no idea. Why the tree rodent population of a mid-sized Midwestern city is a matter of worldwide discussion is beyond me, but the general consensus is basically, “Dang. ![]() They are rodents after all.Ĭontroversial debates of cuteness aside, one thing the entire world can agree upon is that there are a lot of squirrels within the city limits of Eau Claire, Wis. Some think they’re cute while others see only big, fat rats with enormous, hairy tails puffed up with enough germs and bacteria to kill a Triceratops. The last we checked, there were still a lot of squirrels in Eau Claire, but Todd Chwala has since retired as superintendent of Parks, Forestry and Cemeteries. Editor’s note: This column was originally published in Volume One in 2014.
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