Hinge cutting Cedars?
- Thread starter EarthySpirit
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Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Was out goofing today and snapped a pic of what I would call bedding with thermal cover. Cedar, elm, and waist high grass. No reason for me to hing these but I might clear some once they get big enough to shade out the grass. (A little off the original topic but maybe relevant to someone watching the thread).
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rlb165
Yearling... With promise
Was out goofing today and snapped a pic of what I would call bedding with thermal cover. Cedar, elm, and waist high grass. No reason for me to hing these but I might clear some once they get big enough to shade out the grass. (A little off the original topic but maybe relevant to someone watching the thread).
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Catscratch, at first I thought you had posted a pic of a section of our land.
This is the only time I've ever seen a deer bed in this area. I sometimes see pictures of conifers and tall grasses described as great bedding. We have a few acres of that type of habitat, but deer rarely use it. Instead of cedars and grasses, our deer seem to prefer cedars and more cedars.
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EarthySpirit
5 year old buck +
Thanks for the tips Tree Spud. As you can see below, the cedars are pretty open, and I see no sign of bedding in these. Its just open and bare. This is why I think deer are not really using them, and why I think I need to utilize this space better.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Pretty much the same type of cover!Catscratch, at first I thought you had posted a pic of a section of our land.
This is the only time I've ever seen a deer bed in this area. I sometimes see pictures of conifers and tall grasses described as great bedding. We have a few acres of that type of habitat, but deer rarely use it. Instead of cedars and grasses, our deer seem to prefer cedars and more cedars.
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I don't know that the deer bed in there a lot, but they sure use it a lot. That particular area is only a couple of acres. We only step foot in it once a yr so it's a sanctuary. I don't find many beds in it but lots of trails and the majority of big buck sightings on that place are related to it.
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Chainsaw
5 year old buck +
Sections of my property that look like your first two pictures in the above post are sacred. It is the type of cover that can be seen in the background of most of the good bucks taken on this property. Of course even great cover like that doesn't work as an island. If that's the case then considering hooking it up with other terrain features thru planting, building, or screening may be worth a try.
EarthySpirit
5 year old buck +
I met with the Wildlife biologist for my part of the state and took a tour with me. He recommended leaving young cedar groups which are still thick, but either thinning or hinging cedar areas which are open and are too open for deer to bed in. This last part characterizes most of my cedar ridges. I think I'll hinge some for bedding and thin or even clear out spots here and there in order to create more cover, browse and bedding for the deer. And implaces where there are oaks around, I will cut the cedars around them to open up the oak crowns and let them grow. Sound good?
swat1018
5 year old buck +
Once they get so thick, like yours, they start self-pruning, they lose value. There is no reason to "hinge" a cedar in your instance. They will probably die, and the skeletons will be there forever. I would just cut big areas of them and let forbs, sapplings, etc regenerate. I might even consider hauling them off or pushing them in piles. I have a farm with similar cedars that some amish came in and cut lots for cedar post. If they are cut and limbed, they break down much faster. I'm afraid if you just hinged it would become a "tornado zone" that nothing would be able to move through.
