Hard maple was kept for future timber value, more valuable than oak here. Also, this timber company was very thorough and for the entire 40 acres there are only about 15 hard maple trees. Prior to harvest, the forest was probably 40% soft maple, all removed, and that is what I expect will be primary regeneration tree species. As a result of the harvest, there will be plenty of sun light reaching the forest floor.
Your most impactful habitat improvement
- Thread starter Chipdasqrrl
- Start date
Paradise725
Well-Known Member
Putting in a 4.5 acre soybean field as a destination food plot. We’ve harvested a number of good bucks and turkeys and found lots of sheds.
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meyerske
Member
Best things:
Having several foresters walk my property with me.
EQIP program work for control of woody invasives.
Recognizing that I needed to control invasives before opening the forest canopy.
Some of my mistakes:
Using high tree tubes on my planted mast trees. This made them grow with very narrow branch crotches.
Using unflexible stakes on my planted trees. This, plus the use of high tubes, caused the trees to grow upward very fast but not develop strength in their trunks. I had to work very hard to to correct this problem.
I should have planted apple trees with stronger desease resistance. Specifically, resistance to CAR.
Having several foresters walk my property with me.
EQIP program work for control of woody invasives.
Recognizing that I needed to control invasives before opening the forest canopy.
Some of my mistakes:
Using high tree tubes on my planted mast trees. This made them grow with very narrow branch crotches.
Using unflexible stakes on my planted trees. This, plus the use of high tubes, caused the trees to grow upward very fast but not develop strength in their trunks. I had to work very hard to to correct this problem.
I should have planted apple trees with stronger desease resistance. Specifically, resistance to CAR.
farmhunter
Well-Known Member
oh boy.
Best - realizing that we didn't have the time or money 20 years ago to maintain the 15 acre field in the center of the property. Spent weeks thinking about how to break it up. And years implementing it. Planted blocks of pine, larch and northern spruce - and strips of larch and red pine, white spruce where it was wet. The barren 15 acre goldenrod field now has diverse habitat and travel corridors to get across the field. Now its probably 8 acres total in food plots, but irregular and from no where in the field can a deer see all the open areas. Even added a pond this year. The field went from basically unused to a bedding/feeding/searching focal point of the property.
Worst - not logging. The 180 property is split by my cousin and I, we are like brothers. He and his dad logged finally 2 years ago - but my dad likes the open mature woods (about 1/3 of out 90 acres). And as long as he's around we'll keep it that way. The two main woods are beautiful - and some day will be a great logging project - but for now, the deer basically pass through them, and use the hemlocks for thermal cover. The ash dying in there will open it up some. Luckily - we have enough young growth that we still keep plenty of deer.
Best - realizing that we didn't have the time or money 20 years ago to maintain the 15 acre field in the center of the property. Spent weeks thinking about how to break it up. And years implementing it. Planted blocks of pine, larch and northern spruce - and strips of larch and red pine, white spruce where it was wet. The barren 15 acre goldenrod field now has diverse habitat and travel corridors to get across the field. Now its probably 8 acres total in food plots, but irregular and from no where in the field can a deer see all the open areas. Even added a pond this year. The field went from basically unused to a bedding/feeding/searching focal point of the property.
Worst - not logging. The 180 property is split by my cousin and I, we are like brothers. He and his dad logged finally 2 years ago - but my dad likes the open mature woods (about 1/3 of out 90 acres). And as long as he's around we'll keep it that way. The two main woods are beautiful - and some day will be a great logging project - but for now, the deer basically pass through them, and use the hemlocks for thermal cover. The ash dying in there will open it up some. Luckily - we have enough young growth that we still keep plenty of deer.
snowracerh
Active Member
Did the same this year and think it will look cool this summer with a few tall perfect trees and a huge mat of thick green under growth!
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Chainsaw
Well-Known Member
This is a great thread Chipdasqrrl with lots of experiences being shared. For us here there simply was not one best thing we ever did to improve habitat. Rather it is kinda like what J-bird said about patching the lowest hole in the bucket. For example, releasing 2,000 apple trees drew a ton of deer but not until we caused the arrest of a couple of local trespassing, poaching hoodlums did we realize the fruit of our labors. And then in a year or so there were too many deer for the browse being produced and then logging took care of that problem. Again though if there were loose dogs running the deer which we have had or neighbors trespassing which we have also had the habitat improvement would not have realized results. Thus the point of all this is there is not one improvement that makes a deer property great but rather a myriad of complimentary improvements when put together add up to many times the sum of it's parts.
DRandall90
Active Member
+1 on TSI.
Another thing I think has made a huge difference (for us) is avoiding the trap of using mixes of too many things in our food plots. I find that switching to strips of different mono cultures has allowed our plot varieties to flourish and provide a much better forage. Nothing worse than clover being stunted as you watch brassicas shade them out.
Another thing I think has made a huge difference (for us) is avoiding the trap of using mixes of too many things in our food plots. I find that switching to strips of different mono cultures has allowed our plot varieties to flourish and provide a much better forage. Nothing worse than clover being stunted as you watch brassicas shade them out.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Planted fields
Chainsaw
Well-Known Member
Sounds like a perfect deer garden in the making.
Triple C
Well-Known Member
This has been an interesting thread to follow. Habitat, geographic region and topography of land prolly dictate one's efforts to improve property for deer. We've been at it since 2011. I had an interesting thought occur to me while reading some of the posts regarding TSI. Back when I started one of the 1st invites I gave was to the local head of forestry for the Georgia Forestry Commission. He was an older gentleman and has since retired and gone in to private practice as a consulting forester. At the time, our planted pines were 12 years old and pretty much completely canopied over. Very little sunlight hitting the forest floor but it sure was pretty to look at with all of the pine straw underneath. First thing I remember him telling me was my pine stand was a desert for wildlife, particularly deer as there was pretty much nothing to eat. Thus the reason we focused on other areas we could impact such as increasing size of food plots and doing light TSI in hardwoods.
What I remember most about his visit was this comment, "When you start seeing lots of rabbits you'll know you have good deer habitat". He said down south, rabbits are the canary in the coal mine in measuring quality deer habitat. A healthy rabbit population means plenty of browse and cover for deer...plus rabbits, quail and other critters. When we did a 5th row thinning of our pines in 2015 and 2016, we had an unbelievable explosion of flora growth... dog fennel, honeysuckle, beauty berry, blackberry, etc. Today we have rabbits everywhere and during mating season, you can't go on the property without hearing quail. And, we have more deer than we've ever had. So for all out there, regardless of location, that mention TSI as the big ticket item I think your spot on. In our neck of the woods it's mostly pine plantation management and fire that produces the needed cover and native browse. Following along Geo's future plans on Stone Branch, it looks like TSI will be his big ticket item as well.
What I remember most about his visit was this comment, "When you start seeing lots of rabbits you'll know you have good deer habitat". He said down south, rabbits are the canary in the coal mine in measuring quality deer habitat. A healthy rabbit population means plenty of browse and cover for deer...plus rabbits, quail and other critters. When we did a 5th row thinning of our pines in 2015 and 2016, we had an unbelievable explosion of flora growth... dog fennel, honeysuckle, beauty berry, blackberry, etc. Today we have rabbits everywhere and during mating season, you can't go on the property without hearing quail. And, we have more deer than we've ever had. So for all out there, regardless of location, that mention TSI as the big ticket item I think your spot on. In our neck of the woods it's mostly pine plantation management and fire that produces the needed cover and native browse. Following along Geo's future plans on Stone Branch, it looks like TSI will be his big ticket item as well.
pinetag
Well-Known Member
I hope he's right about the rabbits! I hadn't gotten a single rabbit pic through the summer last year but then in Sep/Oct they started showing up. I have gotten a few pics since then and I even kicked up a couple during hunting season. I will remember to monitor this as I try to improve the cover on my place this year. Thanks TC!
j-bird
Well-Known Member
I was told the same thing 3C...critters like rabbits and quail are called "indicator species" and their numbers indicate a healthy habitat condition or not. If you have a lot of them that means the food and cover are present and they predators are being held in check (naturally or otherwise) and thus becomes visual to us as healthy numbers of these types of critters.
jsasker007
Active Member
I thought there are a few different critters that go through cycles? Rabbits being one of them and go in 7 year cycles. Population explosion by rabbits every 7 years. I don't know if there is any truth to that or not---anyone?
Chipdasqrrl
Active Member
I see this for sure... and predators follow the explosion of rabbits
