Pretty sure the overall answer would be pockets of nesting and brooding cover spread throughout the landscape vs being all concentrated along edges like it is on most properties. Much easier said than done for most people, like me, who are weekend warriors.

Take my place for instance, my only early successional habitat is a 40-acre block of old field sandwiched between fairly open timber. The field is great nesting and brooding cover, but turkeys aren't really using the interior. I do disk some strips in the winter to give turkey and qual some diversity and travel corridors, but I also want to manage for deer, so I need some thick, woody components as well. It's hard to make it ideal for all critters and I do believe I have heard Craig Harper say something along the lines of you have to decide what species you are managing for. That would be deer for the majority of landowners.

To me, the ideal property would be more of a checkerboard of timber and old field. I'm trying to set mine up that way, but I doubt it will get there in my lifetime.

Last edited by Double Creek2; 08/10/26 08:25 PM.
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