Preseason Wildlife Management

Here are some Preseason Wildlife Management Tips for Turkeys from the Turkey experts at Knight & Hale. 

Prescribed Fire:

When used properly, fire is one of the most economical and valuable tools for improving habitat for wildlife and timber management. Low-intensity prescribed fires clear dead brush (fuel) from the forest floor, resets plant succession for improved wildlife habitat, release nutrients, control woody plants, expose soil to sunlight for a burst of tender, beneficial native plants that wildlife feed on and later bed/nest in. Not only is prescribed fire cheaper than bush hogging, but it doesn’t leave behind the dead litter, which the fire consumes.

Frost Seeding:

Save gas money and time by frost seeding your perennial clover plots now. Frost seeding utilizes the freezing and thawing of the top layer of soil. As the moist top layer of soil freezes at night, it elevates the loose top soil with ice and then as the ice melts the next day it layers it back down on the ground. Using cool-season seeds like clover, you can spread the seed on the thinning areas of your clover plots in late winter and early spring and the freeze-thaw cycle will lightly cover the seeds prior to the spring green up when they will germinate. You can also plant entire plots with alfalfa, chicory, oats, winter wheat, rye and other cool season crops by killing the exiting vegetation with glyphosate in the fall. Then frost seed at the recommended broadcast rate in the late winter for lush, attractive food plots to turkey hunt in this spring.  

Maintain Nesting Habitat:

You’ll want to be sure to leave quality nesting habitat available through late June. New clear-cuts, overgrown pastures, etc., are ideal nesting habitat. The best way to ensure you have plenty of nesting cover is to rotate your prescribed fire in a patchwork throughout the property. Burn one or more sections of land this year, while leaving remaining sections untouched for the next two to three years. This patchwork affect holds and maintains more wildlife on your property while allowing you to burn specific sections annually, but also keeping ideal habitat for ground-nesting birds like turkey and quail. Once turkeys start nesting, be sure not to burn or mow down any pastures or fields until after June when poults will be hatched and on their feet.

Below you find a time-lapse video of a controlled burn. The full article is available here.