Habitat out loud

[SD51555]

Just a question SD - why are you burying the brush? Brush piles make great habitat for birds to poop out seeds & start new stuff growing, plus brush can make FREE protection for any seedlings that may sprout on their own. We used brush piles to great effect here after several logging projects. Deer feasted on the limbs & twigs, and even used the brush for bedding backdrops. If I could flip a switch and move your brush piles to our place - - - I'd flip that switch!!!

Great question. The biggest reason is I need about 12" of lift on that soil. It's in a depression that used to hold water when it rained in the previous decade. If that ever happens again, I want to make sure I can keep my stuff above water.

It's also a good way to turn 4" of topsoil into 20" of topsoil over time.

It's a drought proofing tactic to have all that wood down there.

It's a compaction preventer.

It's a great host for mycorhizal fungi, the backbone of my fertility system.

And the biggest thing is, it's gonna be a fun project and fun video to make.

 

[Foggy47]

I can tell it's winter already. I'm starting to slowly lose my grip on reality thinking about all the stuff I want to do after winter is over.

Spent the last couple of weeks at our place down here in OZ (AZ)....where we now spend each winter. Play allot of golf.....but don't get any better at it......sigh. Monumental decision time: Trying to decide if it's time to put the enclosure on my golf cart for the Winter.....or wait a few more days...Roughing it. lol. Weather here has been pretty nice....the sun always shines here. Hi temps about 80 each day now.

Going back to MN for a week at Christmas with family....then back to OZ - ASAP. Guys my age start to worry about a slip on the ice.....which could put you in "the home". Careful out there boys....the weather sounds pretty ugly on the Tundra right now. FORE!

 

[SD51555]

I’m very pro-brushpile. I grabbed a pic of my project area from last year. The most important change so far is the grass crop out there. That grass was almost dead because of canopy. It’s rebounded nicely and should fully swallow those brush piles next year.

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[Howboutthemdawgs]

That’s interesting about brush pile love. Around here, I hate them. Predator hideouts. I’d rather burn all brush piles

 

[SD51555]

That’s interesting about brush pile love. Around here, I hate them. Predator hideouts. I’d rather burn all brush piles

It's definitely not a perfect improvement. In that photo above, just to the right out of the frame was the section in did in 2021, and it's the same type of habitat, just 3 years ahead of what you see. That's where I stepped on a live bear a week ago. It took up winter residence in a forwarder rut under one of my brush piles.

Now, that being said, I've also seen my grouse numbers increase significantly in these areas. I have seen snowshoe hares appear in these areas when I normally go years without ever seeing one. ROD is coming back in a big way in these areas, and deer are using the trails I've made through these areas.

 

[Daydreamer]

It's definitely not a perfect improvement. In that photo above, just to the right out of the frame was the section in did in 2021, and it's the same type of habitat, just 3 years ahead of what you see. That's where I stepped on a live bear a week ago. It took up winter residence in a forwarder rut under one of my brush piles.

Now, that being said, I've also seen my grouse numbers increase significantly in these areas. I have seen snowshoe hares appear in these areas when I normally go years without ever seeing one. ROD is coming back in a big way in these areas, and deer are using the trails I've made through these areas.

Guessing you just put that bear in a choke hold and put him back to sleep?

 

[Brian662]

Guessing you just put that bear in a choke hold and put him back to sleep?

 

[SD51555]

Guessing you just put that bear in a choke hold and put him back to sleep?

We squared up at one another and decided it wasn’t gonna benefit either of us to set to killing each other.


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[Foggy47]

It's definitely not a perfect improvement. In that photo above, just to the right out of the frame was the section in did in 2021, and it's the same type of habitat, just 3 years ahead of what you see. That's where I stepped on a live bear a week ago. It took up winter residence in a forwarder rut under one of my brush piles.

Now, that being said, I've also seen my grouse numbers increase significantly in these areas. I have seen snowshoe hares appear in these areas when I normally go years without ever seeing one. ROD is coming back in a big way in these areas, and deer are using the trails I've made through these areas.

These are the same results I have gotten from logging. Grouse population has now exploded.....also rabbits....woodcock, squirrels, woodchucks, many song birds and more. I never had a hunt-able population of some of these in the past.....very much so now. Gotta give you credit tho....you put in a lot more physical work than I can/will do.

 

[SD51555]

These are the same results I have gotten from logging. Grouse population has now exploded.....also rabbits....woodcock, squirrels, woodchucks, many song birds and more. I never had a hunt-able population of some of these in the past.....very much so now. Gotta give you credit tho....you put in a lot more physical work than I can/will do.

I enjoy the work. I don't exercise, so I have to find work that requires calories to burn. I enjoy seeing things change, seeing the improvement, seeing the critters use the improvements, and being involved.

It's looking good I'll get 2 more weekends to keep working on stuff before winter can slam the habitat season closed. I need about 1-2 days to finish chainsaw work, and then I should spend 1-2 days doing silky work to open up deer trails and trim out first wave shit from past years' cuts. Lots of balsam poplar that needs to get whacked back.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I enjoy seeing things change, seeing the improvement, seeing the critters use the improvements, and being involved.

Same here. Hunting seasons go too quick, but habitat work / play can be almost year-round. Our deer, turkey, & grouse numbers are much better since we got into habitat improvements.

I love the look of your land in those pics. Reminds me of my days of hunting in Maine.

 

[SD51555]

Well, prep work is done on my new plot. Now it waits until summer, and I’ll come out with the Bobcat E50 and push the topsoil aside, peel the ground open, bury all this debris just below the surface, put the topsoil back and be off and running with a big carbon bank just below the surface.

That should make it drought and compaction proof, and shoot fertility sky high after a couple years.

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[Brian662]

How big is it? Looks like about a 1/2 acre?

 

[SD51555]

It's much more organized than it looks. I took all the big trees/logs down last. Some of those trunks crushed the brush piles, and that's ok. They fell where they wanted to fall. I'd rather them be pre-pressed so they bury better. Once I pull the logs off the pile and set them aside, I'll be able to go in and extract the stumps and pile them up, and then just move from south to north peeling it open, make the carbon lasagna, and put it back. My neighbor has a land plane, and I'll finish grade with that when it's all done.

There's gonna be a small pond/water hole dug on the south end where it's gonna be shade all day anyway. That dirt is gonna get used to fix all the trail in that area. Ruts need to be filled and old holes need to be filled as well. I had dug borrow pits along the trail in previous years to fix the worst spots. Now that I'll have a digger, I'm gonna make a big ole pile and just move dirt until it's all fixed. I've got a couple of those borrow pits in my new plot area. I'm gonna go out this weekend and cut up some poplar logs and fill those holes. Should make for some nice hot spots where the topsoil will go down 3-4' after a few years.

 

[SD51555]

How big is it? Looks like about a 1/2 acre?

It'll be somewhere between 1/3 and a 1/2 acre. I shot it with my range finder, but I don't remember the dimensions. It was something like 90' by 200'.

 

[Telemark]

So you're basically making a giant forest hoog? Are you going to plant anything specific on it?

You should burn some of the smaller stuff to get ash and charcoal into your topsoil.

 

[SD51555]

yes

So you're basically making a giant forest hoog? Are you going to plant anything specific on it?

You should burn some of the smaller stuff to get ash and charcoal into your topsoil.

Yes.

I'm gonna try getting 100-200 pumpkins and squash going in trays 2-3 weeks before I do the dirt work. Then after that, it'll end up in my core blend:

Winter trit
Alfalfa
Balansa
Yellow sweet clover
Red clover
Chicory

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

It looks like you should take the shotgun out there and bag the rabbits that left all those tracks in the snow. Rabbit stew is excellent and you might find a bonus grouse or two to turn into grouse nuggets.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Brush piles = bunny traffic. Gonna leave any stumps at all for sprouts? Great looking woods work, SD.

Do you have previous experience with Balansa? I've wondered about it for a test plot at our place.

 

[SD51555]

I'm seeing more snowshoes every year. Almost on the weekly now.