Selective killing for native species

Macon county Alabama.

May be making a mountain out of a mole hill, but.. Are any species good to kill off on a property to benefit deer/turkey habitat?

Right off i'm thinking privet and sweetgum, I hate privet, but I sure do see a lot of the tender sprouts eaten off by deer.

Privet isn't native. it would depend on what is on your property, how big it is, and how old the existing trees are. If you have tons of sweetgum and decent acreage, you could get some money with a hardwood thin.

It's about 40 acres and timbered about 10 years ago. The pines are finally starting to take over but there are a ton of sweetgum and privet. The only oak species there are sandy soil species like bluejack, couple live oaks, some red oak.

Kill the gum out if you can. And keep the privet manageable or it will take over.

You are on right species. Kill gums & privet. One good option is spray with Arsenal and burn every couple years. Keep Arsenal away from any oaks you want to preserve

Was it replanted with pines when clear cut ten years ago? If so I would burn it and manually kill the privet with herbicide by hack and squirt. On a small area like forty acres you rake the areas around the oaks u want and save them. That or do a cool season burn.

It was not replanted, I wish it was. Good ideas - I wouldn't know how to get started with a burn. It's been 8 years since the timber so it's getting pretty thick. I've done some hack and squirt on the privet and may consider more next year during fall.

Burn it.

Check with the Alabama Forestry Commission. They are trying to burn for the public more this year. Their rates are about $25-$30/ac plus cost to plow fire lanes. It a good way to get started

Does burning kill off anything that has been maturing for 8 years?

With burning you have to consider the fuels on the ground and the pine straw, etc, that is hanging on lower limbs. Humidity, wind, temperature, terrain all make a difference. I don't know what you are trying to save, but oaks are thin skinned and very susceptible to heat.
On privet you have to remember that they produce tons of seeds that will come up the next year. You don't have a good situation. Be very careful with chemicals.