What did this to my tree?

[rangerfredbob]

The water level has been up to the base of the bark since about March, I mowed around this tree in February but the water level stayed up high for WAY longer than normal this year... the soil is way too soft for anything shy of a 4 wheeler to drive in (when wet like it is now anyway) so it is not mechanical, believe me, I've got my tractor stuck near there many times . This area is basically wetland, I planted weeping willows to out compete the reed canary grass which I despise... I checked across the road in the pond/swamp over there and I didn't "see" a beaver dam holding the water level high, but it's pretty flat and dense with reed canary grass so it's hard to traverse...

So, from what I've seen on the side of the road or in person that leaves me with Nutria, beaver or porcupine... the porcupine aren't common around here but they're out there...

 

[Jstpssng]

At this point the damage has hardened up enough so that treating it probably won't do any good. Yet it won't do any harm, either.
Willows are tough trees, I believe that it will survive.

 

[Thomas]

Put up game cam...maybe muskrat.

 

[PILOON]

I know beaver just love willows, so that's my guess.

 

[rangerfredbob]

Ok, here's some more pictures. The first one is of what I'm pretty sure is deer markings from a few years ago on the other tree (planted at the same time, the other is obviously way happier about it's home) that's healed over, shotgun for scale.

Second is the damaged tree as seen standing next to the fence 10' from the road, you can kinda see a second tree I planted at the same time in the background to the right.

Third is a patch of mud about 5' from the damaged tree, I'm pretty sure it's racoon tracks, but could be wrong, doesn't mean that's what was there when the damage happened...

Fourth is my back to the damaged tree facing the creek showing the trail from whatever jerk is involved...

Fifth is the damage with shotgun for scale... it's a Armscore 20ga

Last is the only piece of bark I could see next to the tree right at the butt of the shotgun:

Today I mowed around the tree, two passes with the riding mower until I got to mud, then wrapped some 1/2" mesh screen I had around the trunk, hopefully that'll keep the tree safer...

 

[oosik]

Your "track in the mud" looks to definitely be raccoon. I had them around here a lot in the past. Then I quit burning my garbage. They moved to greener pastures.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Never heard of 'em. Somewhere between a beaver, groundhog, rat and oppossum .....

South American invasive water rat, imported for pelts and turned loose when the fur market crashed. They den in burrows and do a lot of damage to levees and earth fill dams. Known as coypu in South America.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

The water level has been up to the base of the bark since about March, I mowed around this tree in February but the water level stayed up high for WAY longer than normal this year... the soil is way too soft for anything shy of a 4 wheeler to drive in (when wet like it is now anyway) so it is not mechanical, believe me, I've got my tractor stuck near there many times . This area is basically wetland, I planted weeping willows to out compete the reed canary grass which I despise... I checked across the road in the pond/swamp over there and I didn't "see" a beaver dam holding the water level high, but it's pretty flat and dense with reed canary grass so it's hard to traverse...

So, from what I've seen on the side of the road or in person that leaves me with Nutria, beaver or porcupine... the porcupine aren't common around here but they're out there...

Are you along Palmer Creek? Reed Canary grass took over when they turned it into an irrigation district. My dad was one of the first members. He hauled me along to the first organizational meeting, and he wasted no time signing up.

 

[the old grind]

Trail cam perpendicular to path. Or use a driveway monitor and skulk out there with the 20Ga when it sounds off.

btw, what works with phragmites may work with phalaris. 'Wipe' glypho on rhizome grasses/reeds at the first sign of the leaves browning. (wick-type applicator, I use hand-held, will this week already)

 

[rangerfredbob]

Larry, VERY close, it's what's across the road, I'm on a smaller creek running down from the hills... yeah, I wish they never introduced reed canary grass, it's a jerk and I can't do a whole lot about it...

You're funny... with the high water level I can't walk in the area with the stupid reed canary grass let alone drag some type of applicator. Up until a couple weeks ago most of it has been under 8" or more water and by what reed canary grass does it leaves a mesh along the top of the soil so the only structure is it's woven stems or ryzomes or whatever the junk uses to spread (I'm pretty sure all of the above). On a good year I can get to about 75% of the area I have that's infected with the stuff by now with a tractor, this year is about 25%. But since I can't get to mow it before it goes to seed it isn't very effective... I'd need some waterway safe version of whatever chemical I'd use, then I'd likely need a special permit to use it...

Apparently one of the best ways to deal with reed canary is to cover it with plastic for 4 years to give all the seeds a chance to germinate and the underlying roots to decompose and die. It's on the list but the summer breeze from the Eola hills can get ridiculous...

On the tree front, I'll likely grab a new driveway alarm but for now the wire mesh around the trunk is either working or whatever did it has moved on...