Habitat Improvement

[Forestryguy]

Just cause it is the off season.

Anyone doing habitat projects on property they own/lease/permission or for work on public/private ground. I use to work for a state DNR doing a lot of timber management and habitat work. Missing the projects and just been listening/watching about project and different techniques and trends.

Could be for any type of wildlife.

 

[wildwilderness]

Just cause it is the off season.

Anyone doing habitat projects on property they own/lease/permission or for work on public/private ground. I use to work for a state DNR doing a lot of timber management and habitat work. Missing the projects and just been listening/watching about project and different techniques and trends.

Could be for any type of wildlife.

Yes, I’m working on 180 acres in Kansas. Trying to get some funding to do some TSI for oaks, and clearing some red cedar, lots of locust encroaching on food plots.

Will also need some prescribed burn, and maybe some fencing and water improvements for a minimal grazing program.

I have wondered about planting some oaks and other soft mast trees, but have been discouraged by most who I talk to. Any thoughts on what is the best bang for the buck?

 

[dtrkyman]

I was a property manager and guide for years, miss the habitat work not so much the guiding!

I like fire, and yes I may be a pyro! I rotated fire around the properties so there was varying ages of regrowth.

The last couple years I did it I was at wat with bush honeysuckle, shit is a problem! Cut down and sprayed, then followed up for the next couple springs with fire!


To simplify matters give them whatever they are lacking in the area! In my experience is was generally bedding habitat and native browse!

Everyone is so focused on food plots that giving them quality bedding is a real game changer in my experience.

Warm season grasses planted in a minimum of 10 acres works really well!

Grant Woods is a great resource on youtube, Growing Deer.

 

[Forestryguy]

Yes, I’m working on 180 acres in Kansas. Trying to get some funding to do some TSI for oaks, and clearing some red cedar, lots of locust encroaching on food plots.

Will also need some prescribed burn, and maybe some fencing and water improvements for a minimal grazing program.

I have wondered about planting some oaks and other soft mast trees, but have been discouraged by most who I talk to. Any thoughts on what is the best bang for the buck?

I think the best bang for your buck is what is really needed, that neighbors don't offer.

My personal thoughts are that areas that have cool season grasses should be converted for pollinators and ground bird nesting/brooding. Pure warm season grasses are really not that great of habitat for a lot of animals.

I also really liked to use fire, as long as it was used right. Depending on what the property is like it can take a good bit to get the sites ready for fire. I like to get more light to the ground before bringing is started. So killing back undesirable species or controlling invasive.

 

[Julius K]

Yes, working on converting old hay fields to cover/ food/habitat.

 

[Billy Goat]

Been doing it since 2008. Mostly planting NWSG and wildflower meadows, but do invasive control and some timber management as well.

 

[9.1]

I have family with a small farm. They turned one ag strip across the top of our hill over to switch grass 4 or 5 years ago. It connects some small wood patches with the anti-hunting neighbor's preserve. It's getting pretty thick with brush and some small saplings now. I shot a doe for the first time on that property last rifle season. I'd love to try to do more habitat improvement, but in a few years the whole area will be too built up with houses and safety zones to do any firearms hunting.

 

[WI Shedhead]

This year planting 6 more fruit trees, 300 white spruce seedlings, 100 tamaracks, and a screening of 300 miscanthis rizomes for some screening. Next year I’ll do 500 white spruce, 10 more fruit trees and 300 more mishcanthis rhizomes. That will complete my property plantings with roughly 10,000 trees planted in 10 years all by hand. It’s a wildlife paradise

 

[Lvthntitall]

The plan for this year is to do some hinge cutting to thicken up some bedding area‘s Also have a ton of invasive species control to do as well.

 

[wind gypsy]

Planting more spruce trees for screening from roads, hybrid oaks, and apple trees. Of course food plots as well.

Killing buckthorn and doing TSA is where I should be spending more time but once the trees and plot seed is bought i end up burning too much time getting it planted!

 

[Billy Goat]

Early in the year for here, constraints on this one is putting seed in the ground today. So I guess my planting season has started.

 

[Forestryguy]

This year planting 6 more fruit trees, 300 white spruce seedlings, 100 tamaracks, and a screening of 300 miscanthis rizomes for some screening. Next year I’ll do 500 white spruce, 10 more fruit trees and 300 more mishcanthis rhizomes. That will complete my property plantings with roughly 10,000 trees planted in 10 years all by hand. It’s a wildlife paradise

Why are you using miscanthis? Is there a native that you could use instead for screening?

 

[WI Shedhead]

Because it works so much better than other grasses. It does not hurt anything. If our countrysides we’re all native plants it would be barren and no flourishing

 

[WI Shedhead]

Check out the misthcanthis product offered by real world seed company. This is superior to natives and does nothing detrimental to the landscape accept funnel deer into my stand sights

 

[Forestryguy]

Because it works so much better than other grasses. It does not hurt anything. If our countrysides we’re all native plants it would be barren and no flourishing

What makes you say that native plants would not be flourishing? Most of them are not flourishing because of manipulations that we have made to the landscape (removal of fire, management solely for timber production and monolithic row crops). Put the right management back in place and they will come back. Native bushes or taller grasses could also be used to funnel deer.

Miscanthis is detrimental in that it takes space away from species that native wildlife would use for nesting, raising young and feeding. It does not offer anything that is consumed by native species or use for nesting. It also spreads through rhizomes, very slowly, and alters the soil.

 

[WI Shedhead]

If my 3’ by 175’ row of misthcanthis is going to detrimentally alter my property landscape I’m in a lot worse trouble than you say. I had 15 acres of native grasses on my place that from July til November provided “good” cover and when the first heavy snow came to my Wisconsin home it knocked over, flattened out and never stood back up. It looked like I put the deck mower too it. When the parcel was eligible to be pulled out of that program, I burnt it, sprayed it and planted pure switch grass in it with mithcansus buffrers in places.
In two years time that piece went from 1-2 pheasants to 30. No turkeys nesting to multiple broods. And my mature deer sightings on the property tripled with multiple bucks using things regularly.
I get it that some natives provide the best options, for some situations, but I had much better luck doing it this way, and lots faster.
Since I’ve purchased my place 10 years ago I’ve planted-
7k white spruce
75 apple and pear trees
5 paw paw
30 chestnut trees
400 tamarak
300 dogwood
300 elderberry
300 ninebark
500 red and white pines
5 peach trees
5 acres of foodplots(clover, turnips etc)
I’ve made it where the deer don’t leave my place until dark because they don’t need too- and my neighbors hate me

 

[Honyock]

IMHO controlled burns are one of the best tools that is overlooked. We have 240 acres that is managed solely for wildlife and use controlled burns annually for new growth. We do the normal food plots (clover, cow peas, milo, etc) for the deer and turkeys. Also have had very good results with mineral stations. For whatever reason, the deer like the Deer Cane at our place.

 

[wind gypsy]

Picking up Black hills spruce, norway spruce, and red osier dogwood from the SWCD this weekend to plant at my place in Central MN. I lack good thermal cover and need screening from the road with the spruce trees. I would absolutely love it if miscanthus would grow reliably where I need it but the ground there is pretty poorly drained and being on the border of hardiness zones 3 and 4, its likely to be winter killed.

The following week i expect a bunch of Swamp white / bur hybrid oak seedings and some grafted crabapple trees (Kerr and big dog) to be delivered.

Will be planting diverse seed blends in plots.

Lots of time spent killing buckthorn over the past couple years and a lot more planned this spring.

 

[wind gypsy]

RE Miscanthus discussion - I've got an 8 acre field in one corner of my property that is entirely exposed to roads on 2 sides. Most of the rest of the property is timbered. If I could have 5' wide wall of miscanthus on the 2 exposed sides of that field it would be much more useful for deer and other critters because they would actually feel secure using it and not have constant gawkers in vehicles like happens now. If I ever wanted to kill the miscanthus, it's not exactly hard.

 

[Reddish]

Usually doing something on the family farm. Burning, hack and squirt all the areas that are too think. That's been easier than the chainsaw and pretty effective so far. Always more stuff to do than time allows.