Creating a sanctuary/ thick forest opening in a creek bottom

[DRG3]

What are the pro's/cons of opening up the canopy in a creek bottom with hills on both sides in order to create a sanctuary/bedding cover? I have always avoided any working or hunting in creek bottoms, just of a mind that deer don't use them except to pass through on occasion. I am now wondering if that's accurate. I've got a creek bottom running through the middle of my ground and it's not big enough to waste lot of space (40 acres) wondering if I could create a mid property bedding/cover area by chainsaw and H&S, so as to make the most out my available space?

The picture below is what it looks like. I could get around an acre of cover roughly 80 yds. wide. North is up.

 

[SD51555]

What is growing there now? Any idea what the risk is to opening up the sky? Would you fill in with an invasive that'll be hard to manage?

If there's not risk of losing it to invasives, or big erosion concerns, I'd go for it. I'm not a big fan of leaving dead standing trees for safety and fire reasons. If you had a nice thick pocket of cover down there, it could be a movement changer for traveling deer.

 

[Telemark]

Do they bed there? I've never seen deer bed that low. Might be worth it on the adjacent slopes.

 

[sandbur]

Would an open pocket become a feeding area? Where do they currently bed(I am looking at some minor points on the hills)?

 

[DRG3]

What is growing there now? Any idea what the risk is to opening up the sky? Would you fill in with an invasive that'll be hard to manage?

If there's not risk of losing it to invasives, or big erosion concerns, I'd go for it. I'm not a big fan of leaving dead standing trees for safety and fire reasons. If you had a nice thick pocket of cover down there, it could be a movement changer for traveling deer.

It’s closed canopy midstory without much undergrowth. No good value hardwoods that low the upper sides do have good hardwood. There are trails through it but I don’t think this is current bedding although I’m still trying to learn the place, only had it about a month.
I’d say some erosion concerns. I’m not sure about invasives. I have seen quite a few sweet gums on edges up higher.

 

[fishin coyote]

Only having it a month I’d wait for at least another year before making any major changes. You’re liable to do more harm than good.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

We have several areas like that, ravines that feed one or more creeks. I think they are used in the summer and winter for bedding and cover. Summer months can be cooler because of the shade and moisture. Winter months the area is protected and they can browse on woody species. If you were to do TSI, I wouldn't expect them to just start bedding there, but that doesn't mean they won't get more use out of it.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Don't know what forest trees you have where you are, but here in Pa., deer don't bed in creek bottoms. They bed typically on south-facing slopes in colder weather, and north-facing slopes in hotter weather for the shade. Personally, I've never seen a deer bed down low in a creek bottom. But they sure will use creek bottoms for travel corridors. The best honey-hole for buck travel I know of is in a thick, hemlock-infested creek bottom that's loaded with scrapes & rubs every year. But the deer that travel in that thick mess don't bed in there. They head for high ground up-slope from that bottom, to lay in the sun - in extremely thick mountain laurel and scrub oak.

Looking at your topo map, I'd try to create bedding cover up on one of those slopes. We did some hinge cutting and tree felling on our camp property, then caged the stumps of hardwood trees we cut down to create quick, young growth from the stump sprouts. The cutting was done on a south-facing slope. That created cover and browse at deer level in one year, due to the stored energy in the root systems of the felled trees. Cutting trees down along a creek / stream usually creates erosion problems, too. I've seen such disasters here from stream-bank cutting. If you cut along a creek, plan to plant something right away to stabilize the banks. Some types of trees or shrubs that like a riparian environment. Something to consider.

 

[bwoods11]

In Minnesota deer bed in creek and river bottoms all the time. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve bumped bucks out of creek bottoms while pheasant hunting.

Now this is mixed agriculture, so not a forested area… mix of farm land, CRP, sensors, sloughs, creeks, rivers, & some decent wooded areas.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I like what Bowsnbucks has to say about it

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

A few thick pockets in a wooded valley like that could be a magnet for deer to bed in during the rut when bucks are chasing does. Thick, nasty pockets will hold more deer than wide open closed canopy areas. I had my woods logged 4 years ago and one creek bottom section is exceptionally thick now and filled with beds.

On a different property I have a seasonal creek bed in a wooded valley that also has a closed canopy. The swirling valley winds make it nearly impossible to hunt, so I'm giving up on hunting that area and now I'm trying to make it a thick sanctuary that holds more deer than it previously did. I'm slowly cutting down junk trees near the few oaks and walnuts in that area and it starting to get thick. The deer generally prefer to bed on the wooded ridges, but a thick, logged out or TSI wooded valley will still hold a bunch of deer.

Take lots of before and after pictures as it is pretty cool to see how things change over time.

 

[BenA]

They'll bed in those draws like that. Here was a bed in November in the very bottom. There were several rubs around it. They can smell everything coming from the tops and can see what's coming from up at the edges. I think they'll bed where they feel safe, and away from danger. At this area, the bottoms are away from the humans who are at the tops. I have them bedding up at the top of the draws too where they can see the bottoms or out to the fields around the draws. I don't think I'd make it a complete mess, but more pocketed clumps of thick.

 

[DRG3]

They'll bed in those draws like that. Here was a bed in November in the very bottom. There were several rubs around it. They can smell everything coming from the tops and can see what's coming from up at the edges. I think they'll bed where they feel safe, and away from danger. At this area, the bottoms are away from the humans who are at the tops. I have them bedding up at the top of the draws too where they can see the bottoms or out to the fields around the draws. I don't think I'd make it a complete mess, but more pocketed clumps of thick.

This picture is very similar to what mine looks like on the ground. Looks like maybe the same width as well. I feel like I could keep all human pressure away from this spot.

 

[BenA]

This picture is very similar to what mine looks like on the ground. Looks like maybe the same width as well. I feel like I could keep all human pressure away from this spot.

That's what I do. Those draws are my sanctuary. I can't hunt inside them without busting deer out. So, I draw them up out of there with food and hunt the corridors.