New Home with 10 Acres - Seeking Habitat advice/opinions

[csamps10]

New to the forum but see the value in the experience with many of the posts I've read and searched thus far. We are new to our ten acre property and looking to improve upon the existing landscape. Mainly an upland/waterfall hunter with bird dogs but also try to take my deer each year to fill the freezer. Location is southern MN/Northern Iowa.

The property is sandwiched between two other 10 acre plots on either side. and longer than it is wide. A creek bed runs through the back with a low wetland area for 1/3 of the west side. It remains dry 80-90% of the year. We have seen the property through summer/fall and now winter and have been told about spring time from the neighbors (wetland can flood with the runoff depending on spring rains and snowfall we have).

I'd like to get somethings planned for spring when the ground thaws but am having trouble where to start and yet not bite off more than I can chew.
What advice would you give for starting out... what kinds of structure to put in place for the deer/phesants/ maybe ducks as well. Leaning towards a mix of pines some hardwood. Some fruit trees and maybe some native taller grasses from our county tree program, am l too ambitious? Will anything survive in the wetland to give it more structure and cover? Dig out the pond to clean it up a bit, plant some taller switch grass vs the blown over existing grassland.

I think I was given a great slate but also understand how long it can take things to develop. Here are a few snips of the existing landscape. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

[Brian662]

Expand the ROD to the west and introduce bebbs willow for an alternative woody stem. Establish conifers in areas that are likely to never seen standing water. Protect your plantings if you even have a moderate deer density or you're just wasting your time.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I'd put a camera on the deer trail that goes through the NW corner of your land near the bend in the creek. That makes me believe they are bedding in the thicker brush to your north and walking through your land on the way to the fields to the west. If that's the case, you might have pretty good hunting right now.

I would hunt it first to see how the deer are using your place before making major changes. Black spruce, tamarack, ROD, shrub willow and alder would all be plants that could grow in some wetland areas. You just have to be careful where you plant those future thickets since the deer will be hard to kill if they bed on the back side of your land and only have to walk a short distance to get to the western fields. It will be hard to sneak back there to get between their bedding and feeding areas without spooking them.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I should have started out with congrats on the property and you should have a lot of fun improving it over the years.

 

[bwoods11]

Seems like conifers, Spruce, Pine will improve just about any property !

Good luck & congrats!

 

[csamps10]

Thanks for the feedback. Shot a 4 point buck this year, they travel along the east side of the pond right now to the north and south across the property and then from up through the hay field to the east straight down the woodland creek and out the SW side. Basically what field to hay field. I was concerned with pushing them too far west to your point above about the. Just being bounced out to the age crop field to the West! Thanks for the input!

Thoughts on patterns or strips in the wetland with the willow or Rod? North south or maybe at a 45. Hard to funnel I think with such small distance north to South.

How about the pond any sense in digging it out or trying to clean it up, mostly a drainage pond from the run off so it's never really holding the same water.

Thanks again for the feedback!

 

[Brian662]

Thanks for the feedback. Shot a 4 point buck this year, they travel along the east side of the pond right now to the north and south across the property and then from up through the hay field to the east straight down the woodland creek and out the SW side. Basically what field to hay field. I was concerned with pushing them too far west to your point above about the. Just being bounced out to the age crop field to the West! Thanks for the input!

Thoughts on patterns or strips in the wetland with the willow or Rod? North south or maybe at a 45. Hard to funnel I think with such small distance north to South.

How about the pond any sense in digging it out or trying to clean it up, mostly a drainage pond from the run off so it's never really holding the same water.

Thanks again for the feedback!

You may consider leaving open areas for access around your north and south lines to get back to the property corners for potential blind locations.

As far as how to plant them I would do some variation of conifers and ROD/willow that would allow for bedding pockets and edge. The pockets would be 1/4 to 1/2 acre in size with travel corridors in between and downwind along stand locations.

You're limited because of the parcel size and lack of cover around but if your goal is to fill a buck tag or fill the freezer, i don't see any problems.
All of the above will benefit pheasants as well as deer.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Definitely a plus that you can see where the deer already like to travel. With so few acres I would definitely focus on making sure that any changes you make do not make it harder to get into good stand spots. If you improve it too much you might have deer using your property in less defined ways and make it tougher to hunt them.