Forest Management for Wildlife

Show Notes

In this episode, Jon Teater (Whitetail Landscapes) and Kenny Kane (Generations Forestry) discuss forest management strategies and land improvement. Kenny breaks down his hunting season and his success and failures. Kenny explains a trip out of state and his success on a big Colorado elk.

Kenny details the significance of a forest management plan and how to consider short and long term options. Kenny explains problems that persist on a client property and how to attack complications to ensure goals are met. Forest management techniques and changes allow for the opportunity to increase and improve habitat for deer and other wildlife. Kenny explains mistakes that landowners make that can be remedied and options to improve a woodlot. Jon and Kenny discuss how to break down a property into zones. Kenny describes prescriptions to support changes that will make a forest setting more productive for deer and deer hunting. Jon and Kenny discuss bad decisions regarding logging that hinder a property and how money sometimes impacts our decisions too much.

Kenny goes through the entire process of analyzing a woodlot. Kenny details each item he considers with a client property, to include what species to remove. Kenny breaks down the option to remove trees, and what are some of the best treatment options to remove trees and brush. Kenny discusses chemical options and methods of hack and squirt, stump cutting, and basal bark spray.  Kenny explains how to remove specific tree species, and how to evaluate the understory and what steps are needed each year to make sure the property improves. Jon and Kenny discuss ways to improve the number of oaks on the landscape and evaluate strategies that will get the landowner ahead to produce more acorns and seedlings. Kenny explains methods to measure light and ensure enough light reaches the forest floor for regeneration. Jon and Kenny discuss balancing goals when thinking through each improvement, forest regeneration and what tree species should be maintained across the landscape for deer.

Show Transcript