Whitetail Deer Habitat Management: Essentials for Effective Home Range Maintenance

1. Habitat Management & Home Range Original Power Point Created by: Andy Harrison Modified by the GA Agriculture Education Curriculum Office July 2002

2. Habitat Components • Three requirements for Whitetails: • Brush • Cover • Water • Deer thrive in areas of natural disturbance • This habit was well understood by American Indians • Disturbances include: tornadoes, fires, and hurricanes • Disturbances allow for new growth

3. Browse • Natural Succession • Succession: a stepwise, unidirectional process in which one ecological community prepares the way for and is replaced by another. • Example: destruction of old growth forest prepares way for new growth • Plants that were not growing now have the opportunity to grow.

4. Cover • Allows deer to remain hidden until darkness • In northern climates allows for protection from the elements • In hotter climates provides shade from the sun

5. Water • Some believe a half gallon of water is required per day • Important for digestive processes • Sources: • Ponds • Streams • Succulent vegetation • Water needs to be available within ½ mile distance

6. Arrangement of Components • Edge • Interspersion

7. Brush • Also called “browse” • Whitetail usually prefer “forbs” weeds • More palatable and nutritious • Not available throughout year • Production tied to rainfall • Browse is always present • May not be equal to forbs in nutrition but is a consistent source of food

8. Browse ( Brush ) • Includes baby trees and shrubs • Deer pick and choose plants that provide optimum nutrition • Quality determined by: • Plant species • Time of year • Age of plants • Rainfall • Light reaching forest floor

9. Edge • Occurs when the needs for certain types of food and cover come together • For example, where the edges meet

10. Types of Edge • Inherent – natural transition between habitat types, includes: • Transition from upland to bottom land • Interface between forest and lakes • Drastic soil type changes

11. Types of Edge • Induced Edge – occurs after the actions of man have changed the forest • Clear-cut forest adjacent to uncut forest • Soft Edge – overlap between two entirely different habitat types • Brush type plants between forest and fields

12. Edge Species • The whitetail is an “edge species” - the amount of edge affects both the quality and quantity of the deer on the property.

13. Interspersion • How the habitat is arranged on the landscape • Corners – where three or more habitat types meet • Corners are the #1 place to harvest deer

14. Openings • Openings provide high quality forbs and cool season grasses • Optimum size - greater than five acres is less attractive to deer • Shape - a long narrow power line or pipeline opening regardless of size

15. Opening • Size - maximum distance across should not exceed 100 yards • In daylight, deer are reluctant to venture out of cover. • 10% of management area should be maintained as permanent openings • Must be mowed annually; usually late summer • Must be fertilized in spring with a balanced fertilizer • In the summer, apply ammonium nitrate

16. Standard Management Practices • Planned disturbances: • Fire • Mechanical • Herbicide

17. Fire • Wild – occur either through man’s carelessness or naturally occurring (such as in the case of a lightning strike) • Prescribed – well planned; least expensive disturbance compared to mechanical and herbicide • Best to perform late winter or early spring – minimizes impact on new vegetation

18. Fire • Interval between burns depends on soil and climate • Dry climates – less frequently • Wetter areas or heavier rainfall areas – more frequently • Site index – soil’s ability to grow trees • High index equals a greater potential to grow forage

19. Basic Rules • Never burn at interval less than every other year • When in doubt, burn when woody vegetation is between 4 & 6 feet • Firebreaks - should be 12 ft or more • Permanent firebreaks are useful for supplemental feeding • Do not burn adjacent areas in same season

20. Additional Benefits of Burning • Keeps vegetation in reach of deer • Releases nutrients • Produces new succulent growth sprouts

21. Disadvantages to Burning • Public sentiment – may lead to restrictions • Smoke – particularly near highways or metropolitan areas • Must have adequate sunlight reaching ground

22. Thinning Timber • Allows sunlight to reach forest floor • Basal area – total area within an acre covered by trunks of trees • Must maintain 70 – 80 sq. feet per acre of basal area • Intensive forestlands – 150 sq. feet per acre can have no forage

23. Intermediate Treatments • Aimed at maintaining cover production as succession proceeds • Example: maintaining growth of feed stuffs until the main replacement forage grows in.

24. Mast Production & Wildlife Stand Improvement • Not all hardwoods are alike: • Some better than others • Distribution is important • Some are sporadic and unreliable

25. Factors That Influence Mast • Diversity of mast producing species • White oaks • Red oaks • Age of stand production – usually 25+ years • Density of trees - crowded crowns are the low producers • Site fertility and index • Recent fruiting habits

26. Fertilization • Has positive effect on native forage • Adds phosphorous & nitrogen • Soil test to check pH should be performed • Can add lime if necessary • Apply fertilizer to: • Road sides • Permanent openings

27. Streamside Connection • Evolved in association with drainage • Makes excellent landmarks for travel • Early travelers navigated along rivers • Deer stay closer to drainages in the summer and fall and farther away in the spring and winter

28. Streamside Management Zones • Also known as SMZ’s • They are treated as separate management zones

29. Home Range Estimates • Determined by focusing on movement habits in your house • Can be determined by grid mapping of movement • Core Activity range – a well defined area of routine activity or movement

30. Home Range Size • Can range from 100 acres to several thousand • Buck’s range size is often 2X larger than doe’s • Home range maximizes in the fall and during the rut season • Home range size increases as animal becomes older • The land required is dictated by the deer but also by management objectives

31. Application of Habitat • Size of management area • Food plots – 1-5% of area • Cover – 30% of area • Permanent openings – 10% of area • The rest of the area should be for food production • Timber • Range management • Mast Production