Habitat Season 2020: What you got?

Year two of my buckthorn eradication project begins Monday

My plans for now.

Contemplating digging out the old muzzle loader and putting a scope on it. New deer could move in as the corn comes out. I could hunt another 16 days.

Habitat plans.
1. Cut some buckthorn and a limb on a downed tree that partially block a shooting lane on the Lucky Stand.
2. Order Goodland apple tree.
3. Graft Milo Gibson, pipsqueak Crab, Golden Russet, and pear scion from Stu.
4.move three apple seedlings out of the garden.
5.con my neighbor into planting corn plots for me.
6.plant some rye/oats in the fall.
7. See what things look like after logging up north. I won’t do much Habitat work up there anymore. I am abandoning my tiny foodplots there and not planting any more apple trees.

Instead of building a road across swamp can you roll chain link and let the grasses firm it over time?

I fenced 2 separate 1.25 acre enclosure for rotational grazing. Going to try an acre of forage kale to see how much winter feed it gives me. My deer dont really care for turnips. Looking to lower feed bill from $85 per animal down to about $10.

Going to up my pheasant plantings. We have been out about once a week and the birds are plentiful.  Dog and I flushed 17 different birds yesterday in 45 minutes. Deer eat the seed heads as well but did not destroy the cover for the birds. Going to work some in as screening for preferred bedding areas if it holds upright through some of winter.

Plant some Russian olive seeds I have stratifying in the freezer.

Adding about 2 acres of white clover blends scattered about the 40 that I started prepping this fall. Its the only thing the deer can't killl. They even burn out my rye plantings.

I have a couple scattered islands of aspen, maybe acre in size I trying to decide how to cut. Maybe cut half of each now and half in 5 or 6 years to up browse and secure bedding with visual screening.

Biggest project will be to pull $125K in trees off a parcel that accepted an offer, have the loggers add a few food plots and trails. But I won't be doing the work there, just the planning.

I've ordered a few more fruit trees to plant in the spring.

Thinking of opening up more ground for plots, my wheat/clover mixes are already hammered down fairly low.

Going to do some sort of disturbance on other parts of the place to create quail habitat.

Considering a permanent duck/deer blind along the edge of the watershed. Have it open towards the lake for duck hunting, shooting slots towards the bank (back wall) for deer hunting.

Pretty much everything is at the new place. Old place is done and I’ll just let it be. Still need to take care of the apples there and plant food plots but that’s it. Will probably have farmer replant our big clover field so food plots should be a breeze. Just throw seed when he plants clover in late July.

At new place. Lots of stand tweaks/setting. More scouting. Still haven’t walked every inch.

Get some clover going.

Build another box blind or two for areas with no stand trees. I’m planning on an octagon blind with vertical windows so I can bow hunt out of it.

Put up a bag target for archery practice.

Plant a screen along the neighbors house/barn on our 1 acre field.