Is Your Timber Blocking Your View of the Big Picture?

Dense Stand of Trees

Coming from a prairie state where trees are not really common, outside of the few that grow along creeks and rivers; I fell into the mindset that trees were sacred and how great it was to have trees growing in lots of places. When we bought the Maple Hill Farm the last thought I had on my mind was how to get rid of trees! I was thrilled to have almost half of the property covered in trees. I thought how great this was going to be from a wildlife perspective. Eventually though you realize that trees in themselves aren't really the holy grail of habitat. Just their mere existence doesn't mean that they accomplish anything spectacular for your wildlife habitat goals. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that trees should be haphazardly removed from the environment. They provide homes to some tree dwelling species of birds and mammals, they provide wood for us to build homes, they are pleasing on the eye, they provide us oxygen (who doesn't like a good dose of oxygen!), firewood for heating a home or burning in a campfire, etcc. However, if we are talking about habitat for a couple of species I focus on for hunting (deer and turkey) how does a large block of trees, in this case anything more than a couple of acres, help us obtain our habitat goals? Poorly managed blocks of trees in most cases provide less habitat than if there were no trees at all in that location.

Let's look at it from a species perspective. White-tailed deer utilize trees for primarily two things, a food source and escape cover. Are the areas on your farm that are covered in trees accomplishing either of those things? Can you see for more than 30 yards at waist level within your areas that are covered by trees? If so, then there is probably very little escape cover or browse (food) available to your deer, outside of any mature trees that produce acorns. That could be from an overpopulation of deer consuming any new plant growth near ground level, or a closed tree canopy overhead that is preventing sunlight from reaching the ground and stimulating new tree/plant growth. More than likely you have too many trees! Thinning out your tree density allows new growth of all types that provide both food and cover for your deer.

Turkeys utilize trees primarily for roosting and some food (acorns). How many roost trees does one area need? High density stands of trees promote tree growth that is almost totally vertical, without many branches to even be utilized for roosting. Crowded trees produce smaller acorn crops. Without good healthy levels of vegetative growth such as shrubs at the ground level where do your turkeys nest? Once again thinning your stands of trees is going to promote better roosting trees, more mast production and better nesting locations.

Mid to late Winter is a great time to be doing that forest stand improvement work. Cool temperatures, no ticks, no mosquitos and a better visual of how individual trees fill a spot on your landscape. Take the time now to evaluate the areas of your property covered by trees and make the changes necessary to benefit your long-term wildlife goals.

Need some assistance in developing the big picture for your land covered by trees? Click the link below.

Develop a Plan for Your Trees