I'm buying a new house that is on 32 acres of land in Grant County. Currently most of the property is in either pasture or alfalfa fields. It sits between a few large areas of corn/bean fields to the east and west, and borders a real thick, gnarly mess of wooded area to the north. Most of the trees that are on this piece are walnuts, with a smattering of oaks and pines.
I'm looking at trying to maximize the property for deer hunting opportunities in the future, but I'm not sure where to start! Unfortunately the house sits dang near the middle of the property with a driveway that winds down the hill towards the house. This is a property that I've had access to for the past few years and have seen some pretty decent bucks on camera, but it's always as they pass through. I'd like to try and keep some of these deer around more consistently.
I'm looking at planting trees and food plots along with trying to create some bedding areas with either switchgrass or hinge-cutting some of the trees that are already there. Anyone have any ideas on how to pull and hold these deer in both the near future while building towards the long term? I've attached an aerial photo of property as is.
Any thoughts and ideas are welcome! Thanks in advance!
1) Learn to identify invasive species (buckthorn, multiflora rose, autumn olive, garlic mustard, poison hemlock, etc.). If you have any on your property, let us know and we'll give you pointers on eradicating it. Best to start right away!
2) Follow suggestions above about planting trees. (Rules are: Best time to plant a tree? 20 years ago. Next best time? Now. [Well, next spring anyway...]) I suggest white spruce for cover and screening. Grow fast, deer don't eat them, and limbs stay on all the way to the ground when they mature. I have planted about 20,000 in Iowa County next door to you there. Probably 98% are still growing (between 5 and 24 years old now). We've planted about 2000 white and red pine and 98% are dead. Longer term, plant oaks that are best suited to your particular area.
3) Also plant apple trees in groups or two or three. I suggest Freedom or Liberty varieties for their disease resistance. You've hunted it a while so you should be able to identify areas for these.
4) Think about food plots. Same with #3 - you should have an idea where you want them. If you want more details about what, when and how, let us know....
I pass through Grant County a few times a month. If you have any questions (particularly Item #1 above), PM me and I'll try and arrange a time I could stop in and give you my $0.02 worth.
HAVE FUN!! You have now become steward to this property! Enjoy!
If I may I would like to suggest you take advantage of the DNR DMAP (Deer Management Assistance Program) opportunity. This is a relatively new program (3-4 years now) which is geared towards assisting landowners in managing their land for whitetail habitat. At present over 600 individual WI landowners representing over 220,000 thousand acres are enrolled in the voluntary program. The cost for the landowner is minimal and the benefits are tremendous! Enrolling your property in the program can yield results almost immediately (no. 1 might be to prevent you from making a costly mistake with another effort). Depending on which level you enroll at, they may actually come out, tour your property with you and make suggestions as to flora species to plant, promote, or eliminate. They may also offer advice with regard to food plot placement, management, etc., etc. The benefits of the program for the individual landowner range well beyond the scope of this brief post. If you would like more information on this program I urge you to go online to www.dnr.wi.gov, key word DMAP.
Congratulations and good luck with your new property. I am sure we all wish you well in the development of your land for game management purposes. You are starting a new and fun undertaking which has the potential for satisfying rewards! Enjoy!
(A disclaimer - I do not work for the DNR, never have, never will. I am retired. It is just that I have had some experience with this program and recommend it highly.)
My first and most important suggestion is to ignore everything that Neverbait has or ever will say. He is a bitter, bitter man that is fixated on believing that he is the only person on the planet that hunts ethically and with skill. Every time he posts, it is solely to rant.
Next, find someone who specializes in habitat management that can come look at your property and discuss your goals and budget and then give you some recommendations. It's worth talking to your local wildlife biologist and forester to get some ideas from them as well as suggestions on quality land management professionals. Realize that not everyone who starts a business is necessarily good at what they do and interview them and get references.
The "Nutritionist" that was referenced is a bowsite sponsor. John O'brien with Grandpa Ray Outdoors (GRO). He is a genius when it comes to deer nutrition and wildlife plots. He is from Madison and is a great source of information and contacts.
Great advice P-P work with your neighbors that are willing.
rershooters idea of grass and pine clumps in the northwest quadrant sounds pretty good to me. I would go with an apple/pear orchard of maybe 7 Apple 5 pear trees planted in three rows of four trees in the southeast quadrant. With a permanent ground blind set up on the south end of the orchard facing north. My reason for suggesting the mixture of pear/Apple is because I've read that if given the choice most deer will choose pear over apples and we all know variety is the spice of life!
I'm not an expert btw, just adding my opinion. This is an interesting topic and I'm looking forward to reading more responses.
Bow Crazy's Link
1) Join QDMA, it's only $35 a year. Between the website and Quality Whitetails magazine you can't lose, both provide the best information about deer, deer hunting and deer/wildlife habitat. Join the Southwestern Wisconsin QDMA Branch and become an active member. They are having their annual Food Plot Seed and Habitat day at end of Feb., 2017. An awesome educational event with great prices on food plot seed.
2) As stated above, join DMAP. Go to the WI DNR website and search for DMAP. You can join as a single member or get your neighbors to join as a cooperative. Through the summer they offer workshops, attend them if possible. Great resource.
3) Speaking of cooperatives, start a QDM Cooperative with area landowners. If you need more information start looking at the QDMA website - www.qdma.com. I can help as well. At the least, introduce yourself to all the neighbors and give them a card, or slip of paper with your contact information on it. Sound like a neighbor is already posting here, that's a great start!
4) Educate yourself as much as you can before you do anything. Excellent resources above, check out the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association - WWOA. Great group, workshops throughout the state. Check out their website.
5) You want to "maximize the property for deer hunting opportunities"? Then, the first thing you need to do is design your hunting access trails. I think having your house in the middle is a great advantage for you. You can divide your property into four quarters: NW, NE, SW and SE quarters. This is what I would think about, two access trails one running due west from your house to the property edge, the other due east to the property edge. Then consider running a trail around the entire inside edge of the property. Access these four quarters only when the wind is right, so the wind will dictate where you hunt. You don't want the wind blowing into the area you are hunting both as you hunt it and as you access it. Some properties that is very difficult to do, yours looks pretty easy.
6) Create food plots and any habitat improvements with these access trails in mind and also with how you will hunt and access these improved areas based on the direction of the winds. Again, your property is set up perfectly for this.
I have more to say but have to get back to work. Great topic, let's keep this discussion going. BC
I would concentrate on making it very thick throughout, and add a small water hole. Then you will get does that have fawns in this acreage. They will bed there, water there and eat on your neighbors property.
Your big mature bucks will come lookin in November. I have 40 acres in Illinois. Congrats on the farm.
From my experiences food plot still work awesome if there is ag in the area. Our land is located in the Central Farm Land Zone with ag on it as well as ag surrounding it. The ag in our area is alfalfa, corn and soybeans for the most part. Our food plots include corn, soybeans, clovers, brassicas, grains and more. Really a great addition to any property, but it's only piece of the puzzle.
I like to think that the more diversity you provide on our property, the more security you provide, the longer deer will want to spend on your property. You are not going to keep the deer on your property, but you can create an environment that will make the deer at least stop by for a visit. Hopefully, a long visit. BC
