Ferg
01-19-2006, 04:33 PM
This post is from NJeff and was posted in the wildlife habitat forum - I thought I'd move it over here so the deer guys could see/comment on it as well - as it's not just whitetail issues, but addresses a larger issue of overall habitat management -
NJeff posted:
Might as well give my .02+ on the subject
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sorry this is so long..but whitetail habitat improvement IS wildlife improvement....the two are innerchangable. I have to fully agree with what Brad is saying....
What you'll find is that managing habitat for deer will benefit and provide cover for many, many, small game species.
What ends up happening in habitat management is that if you manage for a specific small game species, you get just that...habitat for JUST that small game species. But, on the other hand, if you manage your property for deer, you will benefit most ALL your small game species, and you can then do a few minor things to meet the needs of targeted small game species. Basically, managing habitat for deer may actually give you more of a "Big Picture", than some may think.
For example, the openings I make in my tag alders provide awesome nesting habitat for woodcock and I have an abundant supply. The hinge-cutting and clear cutting practices I carry out provide great cover for my local snowshoe population as well as grouse. The food plots I create and maintained provide very high nutrition for my snowshoe population, and the brush from the food plot creations is piled and provides nesting and security cover for the snowshoes as well. The wildlife openings create natural dusting areas for the local grouse. Also, with the abundant small game on the property, I have a good bobcat population, as well as coyote, and the beauty is there is so much small game I don't experience very high predation rates on the fawn crop. Not to mention the various birds that I couldn't even pretend to identify that benefit from the various aged stand of timber and edge habitat on the property that is a result of sound deer habitat management practices.
Unfortunately many think that managing for whitetails ONLY means whitetails will benefit. They are dead wrong and many of the ways to manage your native vegetation will greatly benefit small game, especially grouse and rabbits. Again, if you manage for the big picture you will benefit MANY game species, certainly not just whitetails. You will find it extremely hard to complete cutting activities, enhance native vegetation, and manage for varied age stands of timber and not benefit whitetail, whether you think you are doing it for deer or not.
One thing for rabbit is to pile 5-6 pallets, and then place your brush over the pallets. This allows for multiple levels of escape for young and old. Grouse need varying age of staggered aspen growth as well as dusting areas. But again, you will have brush to pile if you have created openings for whitetail, or made cuttings for whitetail, not to mention the young thick and tangled growth of hinge-cutting or clear cutting activities that will really help your bunnies. If you are managing your entire property for whitetail, you will only have to do some minor things to target specific small game species.
For woodcock you can cut/clear perpendicular strips alternated every 5 years adjacent to a creek or river (especially through tag-alder). But be cautious! Those new opening may actually benefit doe/fawn family groups and provide additional herbaceous plant growth that whitetails really love! Also, you can cut aspen stands on a rotational basis and provide young wood browse for bunnies, as well as cover for bunnies and grouse but again beware....your whitetails will love it.
A local forester for our "conservation" district picked out an area on the property for a pond. As it turned out, it would have been the worst area on the property for a pond as it was by far the best area for quality and variety of native vegetation. It took a whitetail habitat consultant to point that out to me and save me from a major mistake. His advice? Fertilize, lime, and enhance, don't destroy.
Also, on one of my best food plots I was told by my local forester to plant a red-pine plantation on and that a food plot would never grow...she was grossly mistaken! Also, my property is already filled with conifer, including red pine...so much for "conservation" from the local conservation forester.
It was found in MN grouse studies that staggered and uneven plantings of pines, mixed with other species raised grouse levels by 10X over even spaced rows of 7x7, 8x8 plantings of straight pines due to increased predation, disease, and warfare, but again, beware, that's the way you need to do it for deer too!
Sound habitat management activities can be your base, and you can make some very minor alterations to target specific small game species, but an extremely large number of game animals and birds will benefit in the end.
I run snowshoes on the property for the better part of 4 months, usually 60-80 outings, so although I complete many projects for deer, every project is completed with snowshoes in mind and I most likely have the best snowshoe, as well as grouse populations, around. Another little tip is to establish a canopy over your access trails to decrease predation from above for your rabbits and grouse. A summer planting on your trails of buckwheat provides additional cover as well as a summer food source for both rabbits and deer.
Also, unless you are in a deer yard, or have several acres of snow-hindering and thermal cover provided by cedars, cedars are not necessarily a very good species for your property…..Actually probably one of the worst to plant if they are not already there. Most of the areas I’ve turned into food plots were mostly spruce stands, mixed with varying types and ages of conifer. Basically, they were some of my worst rabbit areas due to the age of timber, and openness. There is certainly something for everything on the property and you’d be hard pressed to find better populations of grouse, snowshoes, bobcats, sand hill cranes, and yes, DEER, anywhere within 10-20 miles of the property. There are many other bird species as well, including the palliated (sp?) wood pecker, yellow and rose-breasted grosbeaks, and many others I won’t or can’t even pretend to identify.
Bottom line, managing for whitetails is probably about as close to the big picture of land management as you can get….whether you admit it, know it, or want it…..just the way it is and you’ll find it very enjoyable for both you and your local wildlife-I know I have.
It's all related!
__________________
Unquote:
ferg....
NJeff posted:
Might as well give my .02+ on the subject
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
sorry this is so long..but whitetail habitat improvement IS wildlife improvement....the two are innerchangable. I have to fully agree with what Brad is saying....
What you'll find is that managing habitat for deer will benefit and provide cover for many, many, small game species.
What ends up happening in habitat management is that if you manage for a specific small game species, you get just that...habitat for JUST that small game species. But, on the other hand, if you manage your property for deer, you will benefit most ALL your small game species, and you can then do a few minor things to meet the needs of targeted small game species. Basically, managing habitat for deer may actually give you more of a "Big Picture", than some may think.
For example, the openings I make in my tag alders provide awesome nesting habitat for woodcock and I have an abundant supply. The hinge-cutting and clear cutting practices I carry out provide great cover for my local snowshoe population as well as grouse. The food plots I create and maintained provide very high nutrition for my snowshoe population, and the brush from the food plot creations is piled and provides nesting and security cover for the snowshoes as well. The wildlife openings create natural dusting areas for the local grouse. Also, with the abundant small game on the property, I have a good bobcat population, as well as coyote, and the beauty is there is so much small game I don't experience very high predation rates on the fawn crop. Not to mention the various birds that I couldn't even pretend to identify that benefit from the various aged stand of timber and edge habitat on the property that is a result of sound deer habitat management practices.
Unfortunately many think that managing for whitetails ONLY means whitetails will benefit. They are dead wrong and many of the ways to manage your native vegetation will greatly benefit small game, especially grouse and rabbits. Again, if you manage for the big picture you will benefit MANY game species, certainly not just whitetails. You will find it extremely hard to complete cutting activities, enhance native vegetation, and manage for varied age stands of timber and not benefit whitetail, whether you think you are doing it for deer or not.
One thing for rabbit is to pile 5-6 pallets, and then place your brush over the pallets. This allows for multiple levels of escape for young and old. Grouse need varying age of staggered aspen growth as well as dusting areas. But again, you will have brush to pile if you have created openings for whitetail, or made cuttings for whitetail, not to mention the young thick and tangled growth of hinge-cutting or clear cutting activities that will really help your bunnies. If you are managing your entire property for whitetail, you will only have to do some minor things to target specific small game species.
For woodcock you can cut/clear perpendicular strips alternated every 5 years adjacent to a creek or river (especially through tag-alder). But be cautious! Those new opening may actually benefit doe/fawn family groups and provide additional herbaceous plant growth that whitetails really love! Also, you can cut aspen stands on a rotational basis and provide young wood browse for bunnies, as well as cover for bunnies and grouse but again beware....your whitetails will love it.
A local forester for our "conservation" district picked out an area on the property for a pond. As it turned out, it would have been the worst area on the property for a pond as it was by far the best area for quality and variety of native vegetation. It took a whitetail habitat consultant to point that out to me and save me from a major mistake. His advice? Fertilize, lime, and enhance, don't destroy.
Also, on one of my best food plots I was told by my local forester to plant a red-pine plantation on and that a food plot would never grow...she was grossly mistaken! Also, my property is already filled with conifer, including red pine...so much for "conservation" from the local conservation forester.
It was found in MN grouse studies that staggered and uneven plantings of pines, mixed with other species raised grouse levels by 10X over even spaced rows of 7x7, 8x8 plantings of straight pines due to increased predation, disease, and warfare, but again, beware, that's the way you need to do it for deer too!
Sound habitat management activities can be your base, and you can make some very minor alterations to target specific small game species, but an extremely large number of game animals and birds will benefit in the end.
I run snowshoes on the property for the better part of 4 months, usually 60-80 outings, so although I complete many projects for deer, every project is completed with snowshoes in mind and I most likely have the best snowshoe, as well as grouse populations, around. Another little tip is to establish a canopy over your access trails to decrease predation from above for your rabbits and grouse. A summer planting on your trails of buckwheat provides additional cover as well as a summer food source for both rabbits and deer.
Also, unless you are in a deer yard, or have several acres of snow-hindering and thermal cover provided by cedars, cedars are not necessarily a very good species for your property…..Actually probably one of the worst to plant if they are not already there. Most of the areas I’ve turned into food plots were mostly spruce stands, mixed with varying types and ages of conifer. Basically, they were some of my worst rabbit areas due to the age of timber, and openness. There is certainly something for everything on the property and you’d be hard pressed to find better populations of grouse, snowshoes, bobcats, sand hill cranes, and yes, DEER, anywhere within 10-20 miles of the property. There are many other bird species as well, including the palliated (sp?) wood pecker, yellow and rose-breasted grosbeaks, and many others I won’t or can’t even pretend to identify.
Bottom line, managing for whitetails is probably about as close to the big picture of land management as you can get….whether you admit it, know it, or want it…..just the way it is and you’ll find it very enjoyable for both you and your local wildlife-I know I have.
It's all related!
__________________
Unquote:
ferg....