suckers which can draw on the large root system of the adult tree to throw very fast growing clumps of suckers. This enables the tree to retain its competitive edge established when the tree formed part of the tree canopy.

The brilliant reds of maple clad hills usually stem from this tree. In the spring, its flowers spread a delicate shimmer of red across both wet woodlands and our wooded hills. This species is one of the earliest flowering trees and is an important source of early pollen and nectar for bumblebees, honey bees and other overwintering insects. The early flowers also give rise to the production of one of the first new seeds in woodlands in spring. In a good year, a single red maple tree with a stem diameter of 13 cm (5 inches) can produce in excess of 100,000 seeds in mid-May to early June. This influx of new, high energy food comes at a time when there is little new seed being produced. The long seed stalks supporting the winged fruits (keys) fall in clusters from the trees after the seed collapses off and many of them become part of the framework of birds nests such as Red-eyed Vireo, Hermit and Swainson’s Thrushes, and Ovenbirds.

Red maple can be distinguished from the sugar maple and Norway maple by its saw toothed leaf edge. It can be distinguished from the shrub mountain maple by the lack of strong vein indentation and from the striped maple by the presence of more than three points on its leaves. In winter, its round, clustered, bright red leaf buds can be seen from the ground with binoculars whereas the sugar maples buds are closely pressed against the

Red Maple Sugar Maple Stem NEWS FROM ABOUT: Compiled by J. Dan McAskill In November, 1992 New Brunswick '0' Department of Natural Resources and .. ' Energy staff followed a set of large ' cougar-like tracks and found a scat 0 associated with the tracks. The

Canadian Museum of Nature identified cougar forepaw hairs in the scat

thus providing the first concrete 0. evidence of the cougar's presence '0 after years of visual reports. '0 " 6.:- (adapted from an article by Rudy \°*~"' Stocek in N.B. Naturalist Vol 20

Dec. 1993)

Wildlife Habitat Canada's 10th Anniversary Report (1994) showed that they have invested $ 1,480,328 in projects in Prince

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