Neighboring clearcut...what happened on your property?

[Boll Weevil]

Several years ago one of my neighbors clearcut about 45 acres of hardwoods immediately adjacent to my farm. Almost overnight, I was the beneficiary of "new" turkeys and that general area of my property saw a noticeable uptick in deer activity.

Well, another neighbor has decided to clearcut some hardwoods but this time it's on a much larger scale...several hundred acres. We share over a mile of property boundary and I'm wondering what the effects will be with a localized habitat change of that size. We're 5 years into a wildlife and habitat management plan (the outcomes have been fantastic!) but this isn't something I could anticipate and just not real sure what the impact might be.

Anyone have a neighbor dramatically change the adjacent landscape? What effect did it have on your property?

 

[BradB]

Well for a few years all the deer ought to be on your place until the c cut grows up some. Once the c cut gets up about 3-4 feet high they will all be living in there. Your just gonna have to convince them to walk to your side. If you have good hardwoods you will now have the only turkeys in your area and in a few years the deer ought to be pouring out of the c cuts on good mast years.

 

[Big Snow Man]

Brad is spot on. We had a neighbor clear cut almost his entire woods in 08 and now I have a hard time getting the deer up and moving around before dark. I clear cut a few area last year in hopes of getting them back with plots, cover and water.

 

[WTNUT]

We have not had clear cuts around us, BUT (big BUT) every neighbor around me just timbered this summer. They were all very very mature hard woods. My place has not been timbered for about 20 years and I can hear the deer sucking their way. Mature deer love cover.


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[Merle Hawggard]

I'm interested in the answers here too. My neighbor to the north of me clear cut his 20 acre pine grove this summer.
Alot of the turkey on my place would roost there and I've watched hens walk their poults from there over to my place to forage for grasshoppers and such.
It looks like a war zone right now.

 

[Boll Weevil]

My concerns are mostly related to food, deer density, and social stress. We've worked hard to bring the number of mouths in line with available food but this is the equivalent of 300 acres of failed acorn crop...at least for the rest of my time on the planet. Sure, within a few years browse will provide food in the cut during spring and summer but I'm thinking that removing so many oaks/acorns will be significant.

 

[Eggman]

The acorns will be a loss but the deer will go find them we hen they fall. The other 9 months of the year this clear cut will provide all the food a cover they need. Honey suckle, blackberries, etc.

 

[yoderjac]

Several years ago one of my neighbors clearcut about 45 acres of hardwoods immediately adjacent to my farm. Almost overnight, I was the beneficiary of "new" turkeys and that general area of my property saw a noticeable uptick in deer activity.

Well, another neighbor has decided to clearcut some hardwoods but this time it's on a much larger scale...several hundred acres. We share over a mile of property boundary and I'm wondering what the effects will be with a localized habitat change of that size. We're 5 years into a wildlife and habitat management plan (the outcomes have been fantastic!) but this isn't something I could anticipate and just not real sure what the impact might be.

Anyone have a neighbor dramatically change the adjacent landscape? What effect did it have on your property?

Your description makes sense. While I haven't had neighbors make major habitat changes but we did. With the thinning, clear-cuts, and controlled burns, there was a lot of human activity and disruption. It takes clear-cuts several years to become productive for deer and even more when herbicides and fire are used to manage them. The disruption cause changes in how deer relate to our land. I'm sure the surge of activity dispersed them temporarily. I'm sure our neighbors were the short-term beneficiaries of our management. In the long run, we will have created bedding, sanctuary, and food on our land that will harbor more deer with no need to leave. In the long term, we will pull deer from their lands if they don't improve their habitat.

Thanks,

Jack