Every day, more and more wildlife habitat is lost to the spread of development. Give a little back by creating a humane backyard! It doesn't matter whether you have a small apartment balcony, a townhouse with a sliver of ground, a suburban yard, a sprawling corporate property or a community park...

The woodchuck (a.k.a. groundhog) is often caught between being a celebrity and a villain—one day we rely on his shadow to forecast the seasons; the next day we grumble as he makes a meal of our carefully planted garden or digs up the yard.

Decaying logs and miniature bogs, hollowed stalks and piled rocks, nutritious pollen and leaves fallen: They’re not the stuff of traditional nursery rhymes and baby showers. But if wild mothers-to-be had gift registries, these natural supplies would top the list. Though the basic elements for...