Wildlife Management

The best part of proper Timber Wealth Management is the mutual wildlife benefits from a healthy forest with a variety of stand ages, timber types, and foodplots when acreage allows . We are able to accomplish a great deal with normal timber harvesting schedules. Thinnings that keep our forests growing healthy do wonders for large and small game, and cutovers and early stage forests have the most abundance and variety of wildlife.

 There are a great deal of things that we can do to greatly improve wildlife, hunting, and recreation in general while improving the conditions for our timber investment. Here are a few:

 During thinnings we have the opportunity to cut firelane access trails, shooting lanes, foodplots and foodplot expansions, and create wildlife benefit from road improvements. 

 Firelane Access Trails

Even without stumping, access trails play a crucial role should there ever be a wildfire. In creating and maintaining these trails, the opportunity for atv/utv access is created.

 Shooting Lanes

Take Out Rows, and, if you hunt your own land, that perfect shot from a stand can be created while we’re thinning to open lanes and pay you for it.

 Foodplots and Foodplot Expansions

Proper cleanup after a harvest is crucial. You’ll have a bulldozer on the property after the harvest regardless, so it’s a great time to clean up loading decks. Planting them happens to be part of the erosion plan, so it’s very easy to create a foodplot in that process. Additionally, should there ever be storm damage, we have the proper logging logistics ready to get in there as fast as possible. 

 Road Improvements

One of the best things we can do is to daylight a road by cutting back the trees on either side to allow daylight to reach the roadbed. This helps to keep it dry and better prepared for wet weather access. Whether you do the minimum needed or a bit extra, whether you want to leave the stumps or pay to remove them, we have the opportunity to greatly improve the bird habitat by seeding this daylighted ground.

 Jeff’s Thoughts:

For remote foodplots, loading decks, and roads, I personally prefer sericea lespedeza because the birds love it, it grows most anywhere and is truck friendly, it requires minimal maintenance, and it does an amazing job holding roads together, even in steeper terrain.