Question for the habitat improvement gurus. I'd like to create some bedding & browse habitat on my property in wilcox county after hunting season.. the place has roughly 80 acres of mature hardwood & smz , 15 acres of 11 yr old loblolly pine & 80 acres of 20yr old Loblolly pine that was 5th row thinned 3 yrs ago. Due to the amount of hardwoods & pine that has already been thinned recently ,the place is still fairly open in most areas which is good for turkey hunting but it doesnt seem to hold the deer due to the lack of bedding. Thinking of clear cutting a 12 acre section of the 20yr old pine near the middle of the property & possibly thinning the 11yr old pine every 3rd row to open the canopy for more browse.. Im strictly interested in deer/turkey habitat not the timber so what do you guys recommend to make sure the 12 acre section stays thick for as long as possible if i clear cut ? Will thinning the 11yr old pines every 3rd row create more browse? I think I've located someone willing to do the timber work. Thanks for all the info / help

If you have mature hardwood , aka sawlogs , why don't you cut the hardwoods ? You could clear cut some areas, select others , leaving medium to small oaks, and do some burning . If you didn't want to cut any you could do some hinge cutting.

I enjoy turkey hunting & Right now we have a good amount of turkeys on the property year around so im just scared to alter the turkey habitat drastically. In My past experiences when the hardwoods left the turkeys left too . Just trying to add some more bedding / browse if possible.

How many deer do you normally see during a days worth of hunting?

If you’re wanting it for wildlife and not interested in timber then why not just go ahead and thin ALL of the pines down to a quail plantation type basal area and put it on a burn rotation……..We’re talking about like 95 acres of pines total so its not like we’re throwing away millions in lost future revenue by getting out of a normal pine timber rotation…….If the goal is wildlife then go ahead and get it right for wildlife…….Just a thought.

The deer hunting is actually not bad, Its a low pressure property so we normally see a few deer just about every sit but we only shoot mount bucks.. I purchased the property a couple yrs ago from a timber company so there's just not much in place for food & cover right now so im trying to add some of both.. Most of the time the deer are just passing through from the neighbors.. We do have quite a few hogs during the summer so i dont use much corn during deer season..

What about clear cutting and creating a large destination food plot of 5-10 acres in the process???

I have 320 acres and just got finished clear cutting about 50 acres specifically to provide bedding cover and browse. Did not hurt I got one heck of a price for the timber. I cut about 20 acres in a block and then a narrower strip right through the center of my property leaving drains untouched, creating a crazy amount of transition between pine and smz areas. Also took the first tree or two along two roads to increase browse. As soon as this cut ages out, I will do another in 7-8 years if I am still alive and functional. The goal is that always keep some early successional habitat always.

What about clear cutting the 15 ac of young timber and heavily thinning the 20 year old stuff? Put the 20 year old stuff on a burn rotation and just letting the 15 ac stuff grow up

Sounds like hinge cutting a in a couple of areas in the hardwoods, thinning out some of the pines and start burning would accomplish your goals .

Several good suggestions already. In the area you're thinking about clearcutting, look at a soils map and select the best soils. Create a 6 acre destination plot there. Make two more 3 acre clear cuts to achieve your 12 acres of clear cut. As suggested earlier, cut all timber to daylight your roads, make them at least 40-50' wide. This will help keep your roads dry as well. Thin everything else to the 40-60 basal area like CNC suggested. In the hardwoods, do TSI through hack and squirt or cut and drop to remove non-productive trees. Read up on mineral stumps from MSU deer lab to see which species to cut and let sprout. I don't like hinge cutting because it quickly grows back into crap. Start identifying your oaks which are the best producers and do a crop tree release on those.

Make a plan and keep good records so you can track your progress.

thanks for the info guys

Brad, Are you re-planting your small clear cuts?

I will be replanting everything. I did have 8-10 acres next to the 20 acre block I cut about 6 years ago and did not replant. It’s thick as heck and I am leaving it be to provide bedding until the last cut starts growing in. My west neighbors clear cut their entire 220 acres and did not re plant and it was the best thing that could ever happened to me. It’s going to be a deer factory for years. Helps make up for the fact they are some line hunting arseholes. At least they got the message a few years ago and blocked out the window looking down my side of the line on this shoot house.

Thin the 11 y/or pines as you mentioned, clear cut the 12 acres of mature pines and replant in Long Leaf with less dense spacing and maintain all of your pine stands with fire. Once the duff is removed from the forest floor and with additional sunlight reaching the ground you should see a return of grasses that can reach 6+ feet in height which provides great cover. Also, the additional browse created will be a draw as they feed. The long leaf if properly maintained will provide accessible bedding cover for 10+ years. As the years progress you can thin all of your pines to create varying age class, cover and food options. Key is finding a logger willing to commit to a smaller job.

You’ll probably have to find someone cutting an adjacent or fairly close tract. Moving equipment costs $$

Thanks guys . Think ive located someone to do the timber work.

The first thing I would do is take an inventory of what I have as far as trees/ plants so I know what to keep and what I need to get rid of. A thin and burn would be next, you could also do your hinge cutting at this point as well. You don’t have to burn the whole thing at once, you can break it up and do a section or two this year and repeat the following year(s).

I have 105 acres of 17 yo pines I just had thinned for the first time this past summer. I clear cut an area of about 7 acres that I'm just going to let grow up as a bedding area. This place was infested with turkeys, after thinning, I hardly see a turkey anymore. Hopefully they will return this spring. Looking back, I wish I would have clear cut another 5 acres or so on the other side of my property. So really think about how you want it done to have the ideal set up. Good luck

I’d break the thinned portion into 3-4 or more blocks and start a burn rotation. Your turkey will appreciate it. If you can manage multiple burn units you can have dormant and growing season burns to maximize the diversity in your understory.