Habitat conditions throughout most of Texas this year were in excellent condition thanks to the abundant rainfall we received throughout spring and summer. The plentiful rain translated into great warm-season forbs and browse production, which in turn put Texas’ white-tailed deer herd in outstanding condition. Bell county was no exception. Although conditions were not ideal for hunters heading to the field for the General Season opener (due to mild temperatures), that didn’t deter one Bell County hunter.

Opening morning didn’t bring the big boy out, but Sunday, just after 9:00 am, he saw this main-frame 8 point buck with split G2s step out that gross scored 130 2/8 Boone a Crockett inches, and that was enough reward for enduring the near 90 degree weather on Saturday. The buck’s main-frame 8 point rack grossed 119 2/8 inches and the buck had 11 inches of non-typical antler due to the split G2s.

Good habitat conditions, good body conditions… make for a nice 10 point buck!

The mangement of white-tailed deer and their habitat has become of increasing concern in recent years. Hunters and landowners realize that it takes more than luck to produce outstanding deer on their land, and improved habitat conditions are a major factor in regards to deer development.

Fundamental requirements that must be considered when managing for white-tailed deer habitat include food, cover, water, and the proper distribution of these elements. Habitat management must be directed at maintaining a productive and healthy ecosystem. The ecosystem consists of the plant and animal communities found in an area along with soil, air, water and sunlight. All management activities should be aimed at conserving and improving the quantity and quality of soils, water and vegetation. There is no substitute for good habitat. Good deer habitat makes good wildlife habitat, and it keeps your ranch looking great. First and foremost, managing for plant diversity is essential. A diverse habitat site will have a good mixture of various species of grasses, forbs and browse plants. Many of these plants will be at various stages of growth, which adds another element of diversity.

The diversity of vegetation increases the availability of food and cover for wildlife species. A greater diversity of range plants results in more food being made available during different periods of the year. The volume and diversity of plants protects the soil from erosion. Also, the decomposition of vegetation helps restore needed minerals to the soil to sustain plant life. An abundance of vegetation improves the water cycle by trapping water from rains, thereby preventing excessive runoff which leads to the erosion of soils and flooding of streams.

An ecologically-based habitat management program will serve to improve the plant community of your rangeland by increasing vegetation quantity, quality and diversity. This improvement in the plant community will not only conserve and enhance the soil, but improve the water cycle as well. A greater diversity of all forms of life, including microorganisms, insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals is achieved under a sound management scheme. The long term health of the land is improved and conserved for future generations to utilize as a source of income, recreation and for aesthetic enjoyment.

In Texas, the climax herbaceous vegetation community of most rangelands is dominated by grasses with a low percentage of forbs. While this may be suitable for livestock and for a few species of “grassland” wildlife, many wildlife species are more dependent on the seeds and foliage of forbs (commonly called “weeds”) than on grasses.

Keep this in mind: plant communities with a diverse array of “weedy” plant species are more productive than a community dominated by perennial grasses. Periodic disturbances such as fire, soil disturbance, livestock grazing, and mowing can set back plant succession and maintain a diverse plant community. Remember, it’s important to mix it up to keep deer habitat healthy and productive.

A ranch must be divided into at least two pastures before even the least complex two pasture/one herd deferred-rotation grazing system can be implemented. If not cross-fenced, the land manager would need to have access to other areas where livestock could be moved to during the prescribed rest periods. Electric fencing is a lower cost and less labor-intensive alternative to barbed wire for dividing a ranch into multiple pastures.

For a deferred-rotation grazing system to be most effective, all the pastures in the system should be more or less equal in size and/or have similar grazing capacities (e.g., pastures on the most productive, deep soils of a ranch would have higher livestock grazing capacities and should therefore be smaller than pastures on shallower, less productive soils). (more…)

The white-tailed deer has a certain requirement for cover. Cover provides a sense of security from disturbance and protection from inclement weather and predators. The amount and kind of cover vary somewhat throughout the country.

A stand of herbaceous plants may provide adequate cover for deer in open, grassland country, even though deer prefer woody cover (trees and shrubs). The best cover for a large species such as white-tailed deer is a pattern or mosaic of woody brush and trees interspersed within open areas at an approximate 2/1 ratio of open area to woody cover. Clumps or strips of brush should be wide enough so that a person cannot see through them from one side to the other during the winter months when deciduous species are bare of leaves. Cover strips should be as continuous as possible to provide travel lanes. A habitat that provides several different types and arrays of cover benefits more species of wildlife than a habitat that has limited types, amounts, and distribution of cover.

Management of vegetation, whether it be deciduous woodlands, coniferous woodlands, mesquite woods, or open grasslands, requires long-term planning. Any vegetation manipulation practice will have an impact on resident wildlife species, either good or bad, depending on the type of treatment used, the degree of use, and location. Before implementing vegetation control techniques, determine what the long-term effects will be for deer and other wildlife species that occur in the area and minimize the negative impacts. Consider the location and size of sensitive wildlife habitats that provide important nesting or roosting sites, feeding areas, desirable wildlife food producing plants, cover, water, and space needs.

Wildlife can be displaced by disturbance from an area without adequate escape or security cover. The amount and distribution of cover on adjacent lands need to be taken into consideration when assessing the cover needs of wide-ranging wildlife species such as deer and turkey. A small ranch would need a larger amount of security cover on a percentage basis than would a larger ranch where the vastness of the area provides security. The need for security cover is not as great for a deer herd that is enclosed by a high fence since the fence prevents deer from moving to areas with denser cover to avoid disturbances.

Typically, increased predator control is allowed on high-fenced properties as well. However, having suitable cover available for an enclosed deer herd to retreat into when disturbed is highly recommended, and may keep the animals calmer and less stressed, and ultimately more productive.

Brush management is the selective removal or suppression of target woody species, including exotic species, to allow the increased production of desirable trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs for forage and cover. This practice includes retaining the proper kind, amount, and distribution of woody cover for selected wildlife species.

Brush management planning must consider deer and other wildlife cover requirements, soil types, slope angle and direction, soil loss and erosion factors, and subsequent planning to control reinvasion. This practice also includes the retention of snags to provide cover and nesting sites for cavity nesting animals. It can also include the planting of native tree and shrub species to provide food, corridors and/or shelter where these habitat components are limited.

First and foremost, the emphasis of brush management should be in areas with the best soils?it is here you will find the greatest potential for increased production of preferred species of herbaceous and woody plants. Woody cover should be retained in areas of shallow soils and/or steep and rocky terrain where vegetation removal and soil disturbance would enhance soil erosion and where the response of preferred plants would be minimal.

Denser cover should also be retained along drainages and other natural breaks in the terrain. These blocks of cover can serve as travelways and as “refuges” that wildlife can retreat into for security when disturbed and for protection from inclement weather.

In Texas, the control of plant species such as ashe juniper, eastern red cedar, mesquite, prickly pear, and oak species that invade a variety of rangeland sites is often warranted. When these species dominate an area, they diminish plant diversity and the quality of habitat for most wildlife species. Vegetation manipulation may be in the form of prescribed burning, mechanical, biological, or chemical control of trees, brush, or weeds. Most of these practices will require the use of specialized equipment or machinery for plowing, discing, bulldozing, spraying, or other vegetation or soil manipulation procedures. The cost effectiveness of the different control measures must be considered prior to initiation of control measures.

Prescribed burning under a predetermined set of guidelines and plans is the most cost-effective habitat management tool that can be used to enhance plant diversity by stimulating the production of a variety of forb and grass species. It is also effective in controlling low-growing woody plants and maintaining them at the low heights most beneficial to wildlife. Livestock as well as wildlife can benefit from a properly planned and conducted prescribed burn. However, there are legal constraints and liabilities in the use of fire. The land manager should be well-trained and knowledgeable on the proper use of fire before attempting a prescribed burn.

A written burn plan should be developed that specifies the environmental conditions under which burns should be conducted. A long-range burn plan for a ranch should indicate the number of acres that are planned to be burned annually and the general burning cycle. A 5-7 year burning cycle, where an area is burned once approximately every 5-7 years, is generally recommended for north and central Texas. The burning cycle in your area will vary with the plant community, soil type, and rainfall in your area.

Mechanical equipment can also be used to control woody plants, and can be highly effective on smaller, targeted sites. The use of mechanical equipment to control woody plants will typically result in an initial growth of forbs and annual grasses and the resprouting of many woody species.? Soil disturbance associated with mechanical controls releases the natural seed bank found in the soil, increasing the quantity, quality, and distribution of plants beneficial to wildlife. However, without periodic follow-up treatments of fire, herbicides, or additional mechanical manipulations, and/or without proper livestock grazing management, these sites will eventually again become dense stands of regrowth brush and trees.

Mowing (shredding) areas of herbaceous plants and/or low-density woody plants is another form of mechanical treatment. Mowing should be postponed until after the peak of the nesting/young-rearing period of local ground-nesting birds and mammals. One-third of open areas can be mowed per year, preferably in strips or mosaic types of patterns, to create “edge” and structural diversity.

Biological control can also be implemented to control brush in certain situations.? Biological control is the use of heavy grazing pressure by livestock such as goats to control or suppress woody plants and sheep to control herbaceous weeds. Long-term heavy grazing pressure by goats, which prefer woody browse but will also consume forbs, will eliminate all leaves from woody plants up to a height of four feet.

The creation of this “browse line” and the resulting park-like appearance of the woody plant community will have negative effects on the?deer that also depend on the low-growing foliage of woody plants for both forage and cover. Heavy grazing pressure by sheep, which prefer forbs, will reduce or eliminate forbs that are also beneficial to deer. Under certain management goals, short-term biological control of woody plants and forbs can be a legitimate practice if done correctly.? However, it is not normally a recommended wildlife habitat management practice.

Finally, chemicals can also be used to control the growth of woody plants. The use of chemical herbicides can have a significant negative impact on many plant communities and may suppress or eliminate plants other than the target species. From a wildlife habitat management perspective, the use of herbicides is one of the least desirable methods of vegetation control. If herbicides are used, selective applications, rather than broad-scale applications, are recommended to avoid the elimination of plants that are important to wildlife. When used, herbicides should be applied in strict accordance with label directions.

Ashe Juniper (Cedar) has invaded large areas of central Texas and it dominates many range sites with shallow limestone soils. The suppression of fire and long-term overgrazing by livestock has contributed to the spread and invasion of this evergreen woody species. If not managed, cedar will eventually form a closed canopy that prevents sunlight from reaching the ground.

This limitation of sunlight then suppressed the growth of grasses, valuable forbs, and desirable woody plants. The massive shallow root system of cedar allows it to successfully compete with more desirable plants for available soil moisture. The foliage of cedar intercepts rainfall and prevents moisture from reaching the ground. Soil erosion is enhanced under cedar stands due to the limited amounts of herbaceous plants.

Cedar has minimal food value to both livestock and wildlife. Its foliage is not preferred by browsing species. Deer only utilize it to a small extent, typically during the late winter when the availability of other foods is low. The fruit (berries) that it sporadically produces are eaten by some bird species and occasionally by deer, but they are not normally important components of wildlife diets.

The most common species of cedar in central Texas, ashe juniper or blueberry cedar, does not resprout from roots as do most other woody species, if all above-ground green material is removed or killed. Redberry juniper does occur in some areas, especially the more western portions of the region. Redberry juniper has the ability to resprout from roots and is therefore more difficult to control. A landowner should learn how to identify the species occurring on his land so the most appropriate control methods can be used.

Cedar can be controlled with a variety of control methods including mechanical (dozing, chaining, grubbing, hydraulic shears), fire, herbicides, biological, and hand cutting. Selective, single-stem removal (hand cutting, grubbing, hydraulic shears) of cedar where it is growing in stands mixed with other desirable woody plants is preferred over broad-scale removal to prevent damage to the desirable species. When it is removed from these areas, care must be taken to avoid reducing the amount of cover in the stands below minimum levels needed for wildlife. Because of its evergreen growth form, cedar can add structural density to stands of deciduous woody plants during the winter months. Where it is growing in dense stands and broad-scale “mass removal” (dozing, chaining) is a viable option, care should be taken to minimize removing or damaging excessive amounts of preferred woody species.

Properly applied fire (prescribed burning) can be used to economically kill small blueberry cedars up to about 3-4 feet tall. Other control methods are necessary to initially remove larger cedars that are not effected by fire. Prescribed burns at no more than 5 to 6 year intervals can be used to maintain control of cedar seedlings that are continuously being established throughout central Texas from undigested seeds that are widely dispersed by birds and other animals. Fire will kill cedar saplings less than 1 1/2 inches in basal diameter if it is held for 6 or more seconds at the base of the tree. Fire will also kill all trees in which it removes all green growth.

The biological control of cedar with goats is not recommended because excessive browsing on other more preferred species of woody plants will precede utilization of the cedar, resulting in the degradation of wildlife habitat. Control of cedar with certain specific herbicides can be effective on low densities of cedars less than three feet tall.

Cedar does have some value as wildlife escape and thermal cover, especially in areas where other forms of woody cover are lacking or in short supply. The amount of cover on open “prairie” habitats of central Texas may be less than needed to provide a minimum amount of security for wildlife. Although some species of wildlife may prefer and utilize open habitats, others are hesitant to venture very far from escape cover. While it may not be the most desirable, cedar is one of an apparently limited number of woody species that can grow on certain soil types of central Texas. It is recommended that small stands and strips of cedar be retained and encouraged at 200-300 yard intervals in habitats lacking sufficient woody cover. These blocks and strips of cedar can provide structural diversity, travel lanes and security cover that is beneficial to many species. The distribution and density of cedar can be controlled over time to prevent it from forming dense stands.

The best cover for white-tailed deer is a pattern or mosaic of woody brush and trees interspersed within open areas at an approximate 60% open area to 40% woody cover.  Clumps or strips of brush should be wide enough so that an observer cannot see through them from one side to the other during the winter months when deciduous species are bare of leaves.  This gives whitetail the security they desire and keep in mind that cover strips should be as continuous as possible to provide travel lanes throughout the property.

Deer can easily be displaced by disturbance from an area without adequate escape or security cover.  The amount and distribution of cover on neighboring lands also needs to be taken into consideration when assessing the cover needs of a wide-ranging species such as whitetail deer.  For example, a small ranch would need a larger amount of security cover on a percentage basis than would a larger ranch where the vastness of the area provides security.

Remember, promoting ideal cover requirements for deer to retreat into when disturbed may keep the animals calmer, less stressed, on your property, and ultimately more productive.

Managing the habitat for proper nutrition should be the primary management goal.  Supplemental feeding and/or planting of food plots are not a substitute for good habitat management.  These practices should only be considered as "supplements" to the native habitat, not as "cure-alls" for low quality and/or poorly managed habitats.

To be most beneficial, supplemental feeding in particular needs to be integrated into an overall deer population and habitat management program that maintains the range in good condition. Feeding programs which provide sufficient additional nutrients to be of value to deer are expensive and take a long term commitment.

Although corn is commonly used as a supplemental feed, it is one of the poorest types of deer feed available and it should not be used as the only source of supplemental feed. Its low protein level (7-10%) is not adequate for the development of bone and muscle, especially at times when the protein levels of native forages is also low. The preferred method is to use a 16% to 20% protein pelleted commercial feed, fed free choice, from feeders distributed at the rate of at least one feeder per 300 acres located within or adjacent to adequate escape cover. (more…)