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Cutting Back

Cutting Back

By David Hart

Hunters put a lot of money into food plots. According to a 2011 report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we spent an estimated $702 million on food plot seed and other expenses that fell under the Plantings category. No one knows for sure how many acres hunters put into food plots each year, but it’s likely well into the hundreds of thousands. That’s a lot of deer food.

Food plots have their place, but there’s more to sound land management than planting a few patches of clover. You need to consider the rest of your property, particularly forested land.

“Most hunters in the East and Southeast likely have more forest on the land they hunt than open ground,” says Quality Deer Management Association certification programs manager Matt Ross. “A food plot is certainly easier to plant and provides a fast return, but we shouldn’t overlook the rest of the property.”

In fact, the forest on your land is arguably more important than even the most well-maintained food plot. Clover goes dormant during the hottest and coldest months. Summer nutrition plots? They provide ample forage June through September, but once they get hit with frost, they offer nothing for deer. No food plot provides the cover whitetails need to feel secure.

“A well-managed forest can provide food and cover 12 months a year,” says Ross, a certified wildlife biologist and forester.

“Well-Managed” Defined

Aside from pine plantations, much of the forested land throughout whitetail country consists of a mix of mature tree species. Oaks, pines, poplars, sweetgums, hickories and a host of other species are an integral part of the landscape, but too much of a single species or a single age can actually be detrimental to the health of your deer herd.

In most cases, the older the forest, the less benefit it provides for deer and other wildlife species.

That’s because big trees shade out little ones. A heavy canopy of leaves 100 feet above the ground prevents many species of young trees from growing, as well as a variety of sun-dependent shrubs, vines and grasses. Often, a forest filled with mature timber has little food at ground level and even less suitable cover.

That’s true even if the forest is predominantly oaks. Oak trees have their place in a healthy forest. They produce acorns, a preferred food source when they are available. The problem is the nuts don’t fall every year, and when they do, they don’t last more than a few months. Large stands of mature oaks can be food deserts the rest of the year.

A well-managed, healthy forest includes a variety of age classes, including mature trees and early successional habitat, which is created by cutting big trees. Ross says taking out some of the larger trees opens the canopy to allow sunlight to reach the forest floor. That results in an explosion of young trees, shrubs and other plants.

Not all new growth is a source of food, but much is. Everything from blackberries and pokeweed to greenbrier and a mix of wildflowers are waiting to grow. Even the sprouts that rise from many species of tree stumps are high quality deer food.

A study conducted by the U.S. Forest Service found managed forests have up to 28 times more soft mast than a mature, unmanaged, even-aged forest. All that new undergrowth also serves as fawning and bedding cover, which means you’ll have more deer spending more time on your property.

“You rarely need to plant anything,” Ross said. “You already have a seedbank in your soil just waiting for the right conditions to grow. Native plants are adapted to the soil and the climate, so they are often the best choice.”

Know Your Trees

You can’t make informed decisions about managing your forest without knowing what grows there. That’s why every landowner needs to have some ability to identify tree species.
Thankfully, a number of field guides are available, and there are phone apps that do the job.

Spend some time in the woods with a guide book or phone in your hands to learn what’s growing. Make a point to learn three or five new trees every time you walk your land.

How To Cut

There’s more to forest management than cutting random trees. What method you use depends largely on your goal. However, anything that allows more sunlight to reach the forest floor will benefit deer and other wildlife.

“An even-age cut, or what is also known as a clear-cut, can provide a huge amount of food for the first two to 10 years,” Ross said. “You’ll have an entirely new plant community that is within reach of whitetails, but it will eventually grow too tall. The taller trees will ultimately shade out the grasses, shrubs and other shorter plants, so I often don’t recommend large areas of even-age management unless you continue to keep the plant community in the early stages of growth.”

A better option is known as a select cut, which involves marking specific trees and felling them.

In most instances, a select cut takes out the undesirable trees that provide little benefit to wildlife while leaving those species that are good for deer, turkeys and other game. For instance, mature poplars, maples, pines and a host of other species provide little or no food for deer, turkeys or other species. The one caveat is evergreens are an important part of winter habitat in the North.

Removing less beneficial species not only opens up the ground to sunlight, it gives remaining trees more space, more nutrients and more sunlight. They’ll grow stronger and, in the case of oaks, produce a heavier crop of acorns.

A third practice involves cutting nearly all the trees, but leaving a handful of the most beneficial. Known as a shelterwood cut, it provides the best of both worlds.

“You get the benefit of a clear-cut and all the early successional growth that comes with it, but you also still have some of the best trees, like oaks,” Ross said. “A typical shelterwood cut removes almost all the trees. The ones that remain are spaced far enough apart that they aren’t competing for sunlight or nutrients. In many situations, I recommend leaving oaks, but you want to leave different species of oaks because one might produce acorns one year while another won’t.”

If you have enough acreage, you can incorporate a variety of management options. A few small clear-cuts, some select cutting and an area of shelterwood management together can create an incredible array of habitat diversity.

“Ideally, you want to rotate your forest management practices so you have different age classes,” Ross said.

Edge Matters

Timber management doesn’t begin and end with the trees deep within your forest. Deer and a variety of wildlife species, are creatures of edges. That’s why every forest management plan should include edge management. Many practices good for the interior of your forest are also good for where forest meets field.

The key is to create soft edges. They are nothing more than a graduated transition from thick areas to thin. In many instances, fields end abruptly at mature trees, creating what are known as hard edges.

“Soft edges are not only loaded with food, they are great staging areas for deer,” Ross said.

One effective way to soften the edge between your forest and field is to hinge-cut trees. Instead of cutting through a trunk, only cut enough so the tree falls over. The section of the trunk that remains attached carries nutrients and water to the crown, which allows the tree to continue living. The leaves serve as a food source, while the fallen part of the tree provides great cover for a variety of wildlife.

Follow-Through

Implementing a large-scale timber management plan can be a monumental job if you do it yourself. Not only will you have to know which trees to cut, you’ll also have to cut the trees and then do something with them. There’s nothing wrong with leaving them. The tops provide fantastic cover for nesting turkeys, bedding for deer and a variety of other wildlife, and the trunks will eventually deteriorate. You can also cut the trunks into firewood or lumber.

Or you could hire a logger. Depending on the number and size of the trees you want to cut, a logger might pay you for the timber.

All of which leads to the question, “Where do I begin?”

“If you aren’t comfortable doing everything yourself, it’s a good idea to use the services of a certified consulting forester,” Ross said. “If you mess up a food plot, it’s no big deal. You can start over or wait until next year. If you do a forest management practice wrong, you have to wait a long time to get another chance. A professional forester who has experience managing for wildlife will help guide you through the entire process.”

A certified forester will take an inventory of your land and offer guidelines to meet your goals. He’ll also help you find a qualified logger if you have enough acreage. Some will oversee the entire project, acting as a watchdog of sorts, to make sure the logging company adheres to the contract.

Don’t hire just any forester, though. Ross first says look for a member of either the American Society of Foresters or the Association of Consulting Foresters. He also suggests finding one who has understands the relationship between a forest and the wildlife that lives there. Some are more focused on dollar values and not wildlife benefits.

“Ask him if he is a deer hunter,” Ross said. “A forester who hunts is more likely to understand the relationship between deer, the trees and hunters.”

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