Suggestions for improving this property.

[ravot22]

This is a small 40 acre parcel that was thinned of pine about three years ago. I was wondering if you had any suggestions on improving this piece. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Would it be possible to create a buck bedding area? I know 40 acres isn't much.

The red square is a small apple / pear orchard. The trees are not producing yet.
The brown areas are doe bedding locations.
The green areas are food kill plots. The food plot on the bottom right of the picture has been the top producer of deer.
The purple area is a swamp area that will hold ducks occasionally.
The blue line is a creek area boarding the property. When I bump or shoot deer they typically run for the creek area

The predominant wind is from the south during November / December.
During October for our bow season it's typically at North wind.

It's a gently sloping piece of land sloping north to south.

 

[Bill]

Don't know where your located but it looks to me like that is turning into overgrown pasture.
If that's the case I wouldn't do anything except watch it grow.

Maybe put in some mast producing trees if their not coming in naturally.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

A buck bedding area may be a stretch, for now anyways. I bet they are bedding somewhere to the south away from all the homes to the north. Behind any doe bedding. If it were mine, as thin as the north is and without standing there looking at the landscape. I would try and do something like what I have added in the picture below for your south winds in oct and nov. Can this be done, forget the north food plot, Black outlines to the south, new and expanded food plots, Aqua blue dots, possible stand sites?

 

[yoderjac]

When you say "thinned of pines"...was it a commercial thinning? What was the actual TPA after the thinning? What is the diameter of the remaining trees? Is wildlife your only objective or you plan to sell the remaining pines when they are ready?

The area almost look savannah like which when combined with other habitat can be very productive for wildlife. The first thing that comes to mind is a controlled burn. After 3 years, the fuel load is probably low enough. This will remove the pine needles that have built up over the years and kill many young hardwoods. You will then get a lot of herbaceous growth that is great for deer. It will produce more quality native foods than you will ever do with food plots at a much lower cost.

I ask those questions above because they may affect your choices. Some buyers won't buy timber that has been burned other will. If the pines are not of sufficient diameter, you may loose them to wind and ice depending on you location which you don't mention.

Best of luck,

Jack

 

[Satchmo]

I would add to Mo' suggestions, that you do some heavy hinging between the creek and those plots to try and get deer bedding closer to them on your property. The north end looks tough. Unless you can get that thickened up, it looks like you would just be hunting your neighbors deer for a while. Plots placed along the east and west sides may pull deer in, but the neighbors might not appreciate it. If your not planning on logging those sparce trees, I would start plant trees, shrubs, switch, and such now somyou have more options in the future.

 

[j-bird]

The biggest thing I can tell you is #1 focus on low impact stand locations and access to those stands (look at terrain features and keep those winds in mind). #2 make a perimeter access trail. This clearly marks the property lines and allows you to keep a close eye on things.

After these are complete let the hunting locations drive where you put your plots. I am not a big fan of perimeter food plots. I think this encourages fence hunters and as such neighbors then drive up pressure on your plots and then reduce daylight activity on your plots. It also helps neighbors kill deer you are feeding and maybe even wanting to protect. The more cover you have with a secure food source the better your hunting will be - especially as hunting pressure mounts. Doing too much is something to watch out for here. The food may bring the deer and you are going to be tempted to plant more and more, but that will detract from the cover you can provide and in turn have a negative impact on your daylight usage of your plots....feeding tons of deer in the dark isn't really what we are after.

The other comments above are all valid points as well. Thinning the south woods may be a good thing and a burn may be needed in the pine thinning, but if your getting decent regen as it is, just let mother nature do her thing and it will improve more and more every year. As mentioned planting shrubs and mast trees can always be added as well.

You have the chance of having a real gem by promoting a 40 acres bedding thicket with just enough food to hold the deer during hunting season and manage the hunting pressure.

All obviously just my opinion.

 

[bwoods11]

The state you are located in, determines so much. Plans would vary if property is in say Kentucky compared to Iowa.

 

[ravot22]

A buck bedding area may be a stretch, for now anyways. I bet they are bedding somewhere to the south away from all the homes to the north. Behind any doe bedding. If it were mine, as thin as the north is and without standing there looking at the landscape. I would try and do something like what I have added in the picture below for your south winds in oct and nov. Can this be done, forget the north food plot, Black outlines to the south, new and expanded food plots, Aqua blue dots, possible stand sites?

View attachment 11829

Thanks for your input.

When you say "thinned of pines"...was it a commercial thinning? What was the actual TPA after the thinning? What is the diameter of the remaining trees? Is wildlife your only objective or you plan to sell the remaining pines when they are ready?

The area almost look savannah like which when combined with other habitat can be very productive for wildlife. The first thing that comes to mind is a controlled burn. After 3 years, the fuel load is probably low enough. This will remove the pine needles that have built up over the years and kill many young hardwoods. You will then get a lot of herbaceous growth that is great for deer. It will produce more quality native foods than you will ever do with food plots at a much lower cost.

I ask those questions above because they may affect your choices. Some buyers won't buy timber that has been burned other will. If the pines are not of sufficient diameter, you may loose them to wind and ice depending on you location which you don't mention.

Best of luck,

Jack

It was commercial thinning by the previous owner. The diamter of trees average 10" that's my best guess. I wasn't planning on selling trees. It's managed only for wildlife.

I love the idea of a controlled burn. I've contacted my local extension office and there are cost sharing programs for burns and fire break creation.

I know the north plot doesn't look good on a map, but during archery season, I all but guarantee a shot on a doe within two sits. Does love that plot for some reason. I keep it in clover.

 

[ravot22]

The state you are located in, determines so much. Plans would vary if property is in say Kentucky compared to Iowa.

I'm in central Virginia.

 

[ravot22]

I would add to Mo' suggestions, that you do some heavy hinging between the creek and those plots to try and get deer bedding closer to them on your property. The north end looks tough. Unless you can get that thickened up, it looks like you would just be hunting your neighbors deer for a while. Plots placed along the east and west sides may pull deer in, but the neighbors might not appreciate it. If your not planning on logging those sparce trees, I would start plant trees, shrubs, switch, and such now somyou have more options in the future.

Great idea to hinge cut the area around the creek. I've called the local extension office and they have cost sharing programs for burns and creating fire breaks.

 

[bwoods11]

I'm in central Virginia.

If you can grow something that is attractive...plots/crop, with all the timber and heavy cover around you, I would guess you could draw bucks in. As far as bedding, that might take awhile.

 

[yoderjac]

I'm in central Virginia.

Ravot,

The first thing I would do is apply for the DMAP program. Even though your property isn't large enough for a QDM for herd impact, it has some real advantages. First, you will get doe tags that will allow you to more easily control populations when necessary. These tags eliminate the "doe day" concept and are good all season. They are a great way to introduce kids and new folks since they don't have to wait for a special day to shoot a doe. The data you will collect from your harvests for VDGIF will also help you learn about your local herd.

Most importantly, your DMAP will be managed by a VDGIF biologist. The one who manages ours has been a great free resource. You get a professional that will come out, walk your property, and give you great advice. I hope to take the prescribed burner class but I didn't have time this year. We hired out our burn with a local burn guy in central VA. I learned a lot about fire adding my free manpower to his crew.

You did not mention the TPA that was left after the thinning. Looks very thin from the map but that can be deceiving.

Another resource we used was USDA NRCS EQIP program. It covered the cost of our firebreaks and part of the cost for the controlled burn. The guy that covers central VA for them is Dana Bayless.

I'd also recommend talking to a forester if your place was larger and you planned on managing for timber.

If you drop me a PM, I'll give you my email address and can provide you contact information if you are interested.

Thanks,

jack

 

[shawnv]

If would suggest something similar to Mo but would try to tie in the orchard which will be a future draw. I don't think your access is not fool proof (purple lines) with the bedding to the North and if you are set on having a food plot that ties into it I would have it string into ones on the south. I think this all would give you more stand options (red dots). You key with what appears to be your current access is going to be a lot of screening. Bucks love to run along creeks so I think if you make a deer highway on the south side (white lines) you will amplify it and can utilize that and even more so if you create more bedding hinge cuts that the bucks can scent check.