Discussion: What have been some habitat projects that you believe have had the greatest impact on herd quality and quantity?

[greekfreak]

I have done tons and tons of work to most of our farms. I am anxiously awaiting to see which projects take the best and provide the most impact. While i am waiting for the results i would like to hear some of the other members of this forums opinions of what work they have done; and what they believe their herd has benefitted the most from.

 

[WeedyJ]

Maintaining early succession and food plots from July to April. Also, thinning the pines and burning to get good understory in the pines. And most of all, knowing what to leave alone!

 

[MRBB]

from my experience, adding food plots to a property, greatly increase its ability to draw and hold deer and other wildlife that eats what you plant
from there, doing selective timbering, and restoration to the forested area's you have
one of the maybe least talked about things to do, is start a good relationship with surrounding land owners, if possible

as if you don't start to get neighbors doing the same QDM< and you DON"T own huge amounts of land
all your efforts can be very frustrating, when deer just don't STAY on your land and one's your passing on trying to get a age structure with, get killed off your land

SO< having good neighbors that want like things, and are willing to work together is a HUGE part of having a great property or NOT!

NEXT is keeping out trespasser's

still have NOT found a great way to handle this if you DON"T live on the property, seems generation deep ways , some folks refuse to stop doing!
which then means you really need to have good relationships with local law enforcement to help, and even that isn't a huge help from my experience!
I've had to move off properties, due to excessive trespassing and no help from law enforcement, they tend to view trespassing as a SMALL crime too small to deal with with effort!

so< NOT maybe the above are not, " a habitat project"
per say!
, but unless you have these things,
building the habitat can possible be just wasted money and effort!

 

[Bassattackr]

Screening plots from the road. Allows them to use more than just at night!

 

[SwampCat]

I believe food plots are the single most important thing I do on my property. I believe the fall/winter plots are not only for hunting - but they are important for concentrating does and thus, attracting more bucks. The abundance of food provided by food plots also attracts bucks. Aside from helping your hunting - the more time you can convince bucks to spend time on your place, the less likely they will be killed by your neighbor.

Secondly, and more important, summer high protein plots utilizing clover and or beans. These plots attract does during and after fawning. A high protein food source during this time of the year helps the does and the fawns - especially during our primary stress period in the south. In addition, a percentage of doe fawns will stay with their mother, allowing for the gradual increase of your doe herd. The summer high protein food plots will also help to attract and keep those summer bachelor herds. In addition, the high protein food source will help the bucks out during our southern stress period - for both antler development and general health - and keeping the bucks on your land.


My opinion, fall and winter plots are for the hunter and spring and summer plots are for the deer.

 

[Bill]

No longer letting friends/family without the ability to follow harvest rules hunt has had the single greatest impact on increasing the buck age structure for me.

Not habitat work. But that’s had the most impact.

 

[Bill]

After that food. Was the big game changer. Then came more cover

 

[b116757]

Well on my home 35 acres I would say food plots when I do them draw in animals. But I do not always fool with them lot of work and money to fool with so I’m getting more away from them as a rule. On this property I cleared about 6 or so acres about a dozen or so years ago and have gotten some oak regeneration I’m very happy about but these are in a wild setting with a good amount of competition until I release them killing competition but will take many years to start acorn production most likely. In the heavy timber I have released the canopy of my annual heaviest producing oaks and this has had a tremendous impact on their acorn production but taken a couple years to see after release. I would suggest this is one of the easiest things you can do cheaply with many years of returns for the deer herd if you have oaks to work with. On another property releasing all the wild apple trees to maximize their apple production was the best thing after food plots. Are you starting to see a pattern here.
If I just acquired a new property I’d release mast producing trees that already exist on the property my first priority. Second I’d do food plots but only if there aren’t row crops on or bordering my property and equipment ect.. is available. Plantings of most other types fall into the “long game”of management.

Screening grasses 1-3 years
Small fruits 1-3 years
Hazelnuts 1-3 years

Chestnuts, apple, pears persimmons 8-12 years
Oaks 10-25 years

I’m doing plantings now on properties I may see but my children and their children will most certainly enjoy the fruits of my labor. Even if a property is sold one that has a long term game management plan implemented would most certainly bring a bit more $$$ in price to cover the outlay in expenses for most projects, really think of them like home improvements.

 

[greekfreak]

Absolutely phenomenal responses!!! Thank you guys all for taking part.

 

[greekfreak]

Maintaining early succession and food plots from July to April. Also, thinning the pines and burning to get good understory in the pines. And most of all, knowing what to leave alone!

Absolutely agree with learning what to leave alone! Study up and leave the good stuff.

 

[greekfreak]

Screening plots from the road. Allows them to use more than just at night!

This is one of the projects I did this year. Screened off about 3/4 of a field from a major road. The field already saw an immense amount of deer activity but towards the later end of the evening. Really excited to see how well it will work in a year or two.

 

[MRBB]

I would also say that when you first get land, best advice is do NOTHING the first yr or two and just see how things play out with what is there and how neighbors hunt, and what they grow and don't
then after that, you can formulate a plan to have more desirable things on your place over others, its also a great idea to get your local forester involved, be surprised what info hey can tell you
them or a good property manager that develop land for wildlife, local game wardens can many time lead to to good help here!, plus in my experience, its a BIG plus, to get to know your wardens and find out what there like, many GREAT one's out there that can be priceless , and well, some are not so great LOL, but good to know that as well,!

 

[buckdeer1]

cover,cover,cover

 

[yoderjac]

I have done tons and tons of work to most of our farms. I am anxiously awaiting to see which projects take the best and provide the most impact. While i am waiting for the results i would like to hear some of the other members of this forums opinions of what work they have done; and what they believe their herd has benefitted the most from.

For us, by a very wide gap, it has been timber management. Food plots were an emergency room visit with the high deer density and pine desert when we first purchased the property. Deer were in such need of quality food that they would be feeding in a clover plot as I was mowing it. They would move into the pines and I got close to them and then come back out as I made the loop back to the other end of the plot. Even with heavy doe harvest in the early years, we could not keep up with the deer herd. The high amount of food plots was expensive in both time and money.

Our first pine thinning and clear-cutting sections of low quality hardwoods for bedding did wonders. We sprayed herbicide on the clear-cuts and executed controlled burns on both. It did wonders for the herd, but it made deer much harder to hunt. With USDA programs contributing, we improved the habitat with a net positive cashflow. We pretty much broke even between the USDA payments and the cost of putting in firebreaks, conducting controlled burns, and spraying the herbicide on the clear-cuts, and we made a significant profit on the sale of the pines supplemented by the hardwoods.

Now, deer react to hunting pressure much more quickly. While they still use the food plots, once pressured, it is almost exclusively at night. They now have plenty of quality native foods in cover.

Of course, nature is not static, and we will soon be executing a contract for a second thinning of those pines to almost savannah like rates along with a first thinning of our younger pines. We will be creating more small clear-cuts, putting in firebreaks, and burning again...

Thanks,

Jack

 

[greekfreak]

No longer letting friends/family without the ability to follow harvest rules hunt has had the single greatest impact on increasing the buck age structure for me.

Not habitat work. But that’s had the most impact.

This is a huge one. Controlling hunters on your own property is a must. Luckily most of our hunters understand and know that they will not be invited back if they don’t at least make a conscious effort to follow the plan

 

[Bill]

I actually forgot screening as mentioned above. I screened to keep prying eyes and rifles out. The plus side is when cars drive by the deer that used to evacuate the fields no longer leave. Screens work both ways.

 

[SD51555]

I can't put my finger on any single improvement. I've been working on adding more perennial plots, improving hunter access paths, adding water holes, aggressively cutting my sanctuary to kickstart regen of browse, cover, and release desirable species. I will say I've only ever had one doe group before this year. This fall however, I've seen 3 unique groups come through, and I wonder if I don't have a fourth, because I haven't laid eyes on my group of 5.

I whacked a fresh cut in my sanctuary last winter, probably cut 97% of what was standing. It was bone dry this summer, and this stuff came roaring back, and the deer have been in it hammering the regen all summer. It's also very tall now, and deer could disappear in it. It's also filled up with grouse. I have to carry toilet paper when I walk through there.

 

[Native Hunter]

I started with a cattle farm. I turned all my fescue fields into tall NWSGs and forbs and thickened up my woods by hinge cutting. Both of those actions provided the wild foods and cover that whitetails thrive in. As a bonus I also created a large tree planting that provides tons of nuts and fruits. And of course do food plots too.

 

[Teeder]

Releasing existing mast trees.
Creating cover / browse, and providing sanctuary.
All fairly easy to do.

 

[greekfreak]

I actually forgot screening as mentioned above. I screened to keep prying eyes and rifles out. The plus side is when cars drive by the deer that used to evacuate the fields no longer leave. Screens work both ways.

I did a project to screen off a field in the spring of this year. There is a pond in front of the field that stretches about 3/4 the width of the field. On the back dam of the pond i planted miscanthus. On the other side of the pond is a big interstate. Known for straying eyes and even worse.... known for straying rifles. 175" buck with two broken points was killed a couple of years ago with two holes (1 antler and 1 side of face) that were deemed 22 caliber. This was youth season in Ohio. Smallest caliber allowed is far from 22. caliber.