Habitat Management | Deer Hunting & Management

Prescribed Burning for the Management of White-tailed Deer

Prescribed Burning for Deer Management

Prescribed burning is very effective at maintaining highly-productive white-tailed deer habitat. It is one of the best management tools that we land managers have in our toolbox. However, many folks get real nervous whenever someone talks about burning their property. Over the past several decades, there has been a lot of negative press regarding wildfires and the “destruction” of wildlife habitat. Truth be known, (wild) fires are a natural part of the system. In fact, plants and animals are adapted to the periodic disturbance caused by fire.

Prescribed burns, however, are not and should not be wild. When setting up a prescribed burn, prescribed fire, controlled burn, or whatever you want to call it, the person responsible for the fire basically writes a prescription for the fire. This means that a host of conditions must be met in order to carry out the burn safely and effectively.

Planning a Prescribed Burn

Fire breaks, fuel loads, sustained wind direction, relative humidity, and safety equipment must all be address for a properly conducted prescribed burn. When all conditions of the burn are met, the prescription is completely achieved, and the area can be burned. When used correctly, fire is quite inexpensive on a per acre basis and it’s one of the best management practices for native plants and wildlife.

Burning habitat is a great management tool, but to really appreciate what the process accomplishes, it takes more in-depth research on the topic. However, I will let you know that burning an area provides an increase in the food value of regenerated plant growth. In addition, it keeps plants, primarily browse plants, at a manageable level for white-tailed deer.

Remember, deer can only use plant material they can reach, and this is only about 5-foot in height. If it’s higher than 5-foot, it’s out of a deer’s reach. Browse and forbs provide the bulk of a whitetail’s diet and burning helps both of these plant communities.

Habitat Management & Prescribed Burns

Just about every type of “brush” will root-sprout after a fire, except blueberry cedar which is good for blueberry cedar control (Ashe juniper). This is a key point to keep in mind. Once browse plants grow too high, much of the production is not within the reach of a deer. Burning an area and top-killing these plants will top-kill browse plants and promote root-sprouting, low-level regrowth, and more energy-packed forage.

Forbs in the area will also benefit from prescribed burning, but the time during which a burn is conducted can have varying impacts on both forbs and grasses. We will talk more about this later.

Bottomlands are Important White-tailed Deer Habitat

Creeks, streams, rivers, and all riparian areas are important habitat for white-tailed deer. Not only do these areas typically provide access to water and good bedding cover, but they also serve as great travel corridors and have the most fertile soils in most any area. Great bottomland or riparian soil is typically clay and silt-rich and full of nutrients and natural fertilizers.

So why do riparian soils (those found along drainages) serve as outstanding areas of food production areas for whitetail? Well, we know the soil is nutrient rich and this happens over time from flooding and drying and the decay of organic matter. But in addition to being rich in organic matter, riparian soils have a high water-holding capacity. In fact, any soil rich in clay and silt has this ability, but let’s not forget that bottomland soils are also adjacent a seasonal or permanent waterway.

Even without rainfall, many of the plants adjacent a creek or river can simply extract water from the soil below like any other plant, but there is a lot more water. Thus, the amount of forage produced in bottomland areas is often 3 to 5 times that on upland soils during the same year. This soil provides for an abundance of a very lush and diverse plant community. And remember, deer like diversity especially when it comes in the form of forbs and browse!

So what should you do with bottomland areas on your property? As important as they are for deer habitat and the health of the overall wildlife community, I recommend protecting them and revegetating them if necessary. Many bottomland floodplains are cleared and become prime farming and grazing land. If you are serious about deer management, encourage native vegetation to retake these areas, saving some portions for great food plot areas.

This ag field has a filter strip – but to benefit deer, it needs to be “let go” into native weeds, grass, and brushy plant species

In addition, permanently vegetated areas along creeks, streams, and wetlands reduce erosion and sedimentation, stabilize streambanks, improve plant diversity, and improve wildlife value of these sensitive areas. I also recommend establishing vegetative buffers or filter strips along water courses or runoff areas to trap valuable bottomland soil in the event of heavy rainfall and or channel flooding.

So here’s the bottom line: White-tailed deer and other wildlife love bottomland areas. Not only do these areas attract big bucks, but because of the quality and diversity of habitat, it attracts lots of does. And to a big mature buck, that’s a good thing!

Deer Hunting in Texas: 2007-08 Looks Good

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!

Deer Habitat Management – The Fundementals

The management 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.

Proper Grazing for Deer and Other Wildlife

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). Continue reading “Proper Grazing for Deer and Other Wildlife”