For deer managers, taking care of and improving our properties is a labor of love — an all-consuming hobby and a passion that runs deep. You’ll probably identify so many projects to enhance deer habitat that time is the only constraint.
Between family, work and social obligations, it’s sometimes difficult to carve out hours to devote to deer properties. But we must squeeze out that time — for the deer, the land and the sense of fulfillment that comes from each improvement to the woods and fields. Most food plotters are happiest when doing something to enhance the land, whether it’s removing noxious weeds, creating a water source or planting a food plot. We’re never really caught up. It’s a continuous process. When you have a few hours or a spare day off, here are 12 projects you can undertake to improve the land, the deer and your hunting success. Although some of these and similar projects might seem small and somewhat insignificant, improving a property for deer and other wildlife occurs one step at a time, one goal at a time. Some might take an hour, others a few days. Some might be continuing and never conclude. But a wildlife manager should never lack for something productive to tackle, whether you own the land or lease it. Here’s another reward I’ve experienced by tackling these tasks: The more you undertake and complete, the more mature bucks will want to call your property their year-round home.Replenish or Create New Mineral Licks
Deer
cannot obtain the quantity or variety of minerals and vitamins they need from a
regular diet of natural browse, food plots and agricultural fields. Fix that by
creating mineral licks or reactivating ones you already have. (Always check
state regulations to make sure putting out minerals is legal.) If you don’t offer
deer vitamins and minerals, chances are they will head to a neighboring property
that has them. Bucks can store phosphorous and calcium they obtain from
Imperial Whitetail 30-06 in their skeletal system and then use it for antler
growth during summer. The Whitetail Institute’s mineral vitamin mixtures were
developed for the needs of deer, not cattle, sheep or hogs. I like to create
one lick for every 40 to 50 acres, placing them near heavy cover to encourage
mature buck use. Make sure you locate them in well-drained areas that won’t get
saturated and hold water after a rain, letting minerals leach out. Break up the
ground with a shovel, and mix in 20 to 40 pounds. Work the minerals
approximately 6 inches deep into the soil. If you already have licks, pour on
about half that amount, and mix it into the dirt with a shovel or hoe. If a
lick has been hit hard and is severely depleted, add the full 20 to 40 pounds
to rejuvenate it.
Build a Water Source Bucks
might love your food plots, but if you don’t have a water source, they’ll likely
travel to your neighbor’s land to find one. Water sources can mean anything from
a $5,000 pond built by a contractor to a dam on a small creek you made with a
few hours of hand labor. I’ve built several small water sources from livestock
feeding bins and children’s pools by digging the ground out and back-filling
around the edges. You can also dig down until you hit clay and let rain fill
the hole, or place pond liner material in it. An even simpler way to provide
water year-round is to use rocks and logs to create a dam on a wet-weather stream
that would otherwise run dry in summer. Cost: a bit of elbow grease.
Plant a Vegetation Barrier to Block the
View of Your Plots A barrier can hide your plots from roads
and neighbors. You can use white pines, native warm-season grasses or a faster-growing
product such as Conceal to create a shield that blocks the view of your plots.
These screens also serve double duty by making deer using the plot feel more
secure and encouraging them to enter it earlier in daylight.
Set Aside a Sanctuary An
area where no hunting or human activities are allowed will go a long way toward
making mature bucks use your land all year. The more thick, rough, swampy,
briar-infested or steep it is, the better. The only time you should enter it is
to retrieve a wounded deer. Map out the best sanctuary by using a topo map with
satellite photo study, along with your knowledge of where the thickest, most
rugged areas are. If other hunters use the property, place paint marks or
ribbons to delineate its borders. Sanctuaries are only as good as the lack of
pressure they receive. Make sure everyone using the property respects them.
Daylight Woods Plots When
you plant small kill plots in forested habitat, you probably cut back tree branches
surrounding them and even fell a few trees to open the area to sunlight. But
through time, those will grow back and shade the plot, reducing forage
production. Cut back overhanging branches to allow at least four hours of
sunlight to reach the plot each day.
Overseed Bare Spots in Plots Before
weeds get a chance to fill in bare spots in a freshly planted plot, go back
after the forage emerges and reseed areas your spreader missed. Take this step
as soon as your plots emerge and get a few inches tall. Often, you’ll find the
areas near the edges have some gaps and a light crop, or maybe where the
tractor and spreader made a tight turn. If you don’t re-seed those spots, weeds
will fill them for you. When that happens, the forage will have to compete with
unwanted vegetation for moisture and nutrients in the soil, reducing its
potential to nurture quality deer.
Clear a New Spot for a Food Plot Use
chainsaws, bush hogs, weed eaters, glyphosate, tillers or whatever it takes to
get a raw piece of ground ready for planting. When rocks and branches are
removed and weeds have been eliminated, you’ll have the site ready to create another
food plot. You can take it a step farther by doing a soil test, amending the
dirt with the necessary fertilizers and lime, and then tilling the site several
times to get a smooth firm seedbed.
Improve Native Forage Deer
will never feed exclusively in food plots for all their nutrition needs. That
means you should enhance and protect important natural foods on your property.
Everyone’s land will have different native browse, but some species are common
throughout large parts of the country and beneficial to deer. Protect or
enhance these natural foods, such as greenbrier, blackberry, grape, plum, honeysuckle
and various other edible shrubs. Fertilizing these native plant species will
improve forage quality and produce more foliage.
Clear Out Low-Value Trees Low-value
trees and branches often shade high-quality foods. Clearing them lets more
daylight reach a plot. Fertilizing can help increase their production, doubling
the protein they offer in certain cases. And if some of those vines are 10 feet
high, pull them down lower where deer can reach them. Some trees, such as red
maple, provide little food for whitetails when they’re tall. But if you cut
them down or hinge-cut them, myriad shoots will sprout at the cut, providing
valuable forage. Make sure you cut them about 2 to 4 feet high to make the new
browse accessible to deer.
Feather a Border Between Woods and Fields
Deer
don’t like to step straight out from mature woods into an open field. Give them
a sense of security and extra browse by hinge-cutting some low-value trees
along the border. Also, plant a few shrubs, such as blackberry, chinquapin, Chickasaw
plum or red osier dogwood, which offer food and cover.
Create a Thermal Refuge When
the wind blows hard from the north, and snow and ice pelt open stands of
hardwoods, deer will flock to a thermal refuge. Take time to create one so it’s
ready when they need it during the heart of winter. The size can be one-half to
several acres. Locate it near the center of your land. If you’re lucky, the
property might already have natural stands of young fir, pine, spruce or cedar
that offer deer shelter from the wind and hold air that’s usually several
degrees warmer than in an open hardwood forest. If you don’t have such areas,
it’s time to plant at least a quarter-acre. White pines are my favorite, but
other species also work well. Evergreen trees also offer great escape areas
during gun seasons and a sense of seclusion and security to mature bucks. Besides
planting the conifers, cut down a few deciduous trees or scrub cedars to provide
extra wind-breaks and structure near which deer can bed. A downed tree makes a
perfect spot for a buck to bed next to, especially when surrounded by thick
young evergreen growth.
Spruce Up Small Kill Plots If
leaves fall on your woodland kill plots before the seed germinates or right after
on the seedlings, use a leaf blower to remove them. Or use a quieter rake if
the plot is near buck bedding cover. Fallen leaves can smother seedlings. Also,
pick up rocks and sticks, which can reduce plot output and damage equipment the
next time you work the ground. Bring a bag of seed, and add to any bare spots
you discover after you blow off the leaves.
Release Fruit Trees and Your Best Oaks
from Competing Trees Cut down competing trees inside the
crown line of your best acorn producers, and pear, apple, crabapple and persimmon
trees. Removing competing trees is beneficial, letting remaining trees obtain
more nutrients and moisture from the soil.
Conclusion Those
are just a few of many small projects you can do to improve your deer property.
One thing I know is certain: A deer manager should never have to complain about
too much free time or being bored. Slip on some work boots, grab a pair of
rugged gloves and have at it. After I finish this article, that’s exactly what
I plan to do.
