Posted by: mtw in MyBlog on Feb 15, 2010
Well, I don't know the answer to that question for your particular neck of the woods. I would have to hear your answers to some of these questions before I could judge...
1. What is present on your forest's floor level (from ground to 5 feet high)?
2. What have you done in the last 10 years to supply natural vegetation (food) for your wintering deer herd?
3. How many deer did you see the first day of the hunting season last year? How many doe? How many buck? How many "yearlings," or fawns?
4. Do you have a large amount of "competing plants" in your woods (such as striped maple, birch, or fern)?
If I could hear your answers to these questions, I could probably tell you whether your deer herd is in trouble this winter or not. Really, it is simple. An average deer needs over 6 pounds of "browse," or woody vegetation/buds, per day to maintain a healthy diet. Of course this winter the farm crops are gone and the acorns are buried under snow and ice, so if there is no woody browse to eat, guess what??? the deer are in trouble and so may be your future hunting possibilities. What is the answer? Well, it certainly isn't a big pile of corn (read To Feed or Not to Feed). The ANSWER is YOU...and your resolve to improve the health of your forest! Check out THE FORESTER on this site - look under the Current Topics tab! At THE FORESTER, you can find many articles that discuss improving forest health and improving the foundational elements of your forest to create a healthier deer herd. Of course, its not all about deer hunting, but most of the improvements we make for deer hunting will benefit other wildlife as well! Don't forget to leave a comment or ask a question while you are there!