Two new habitat projects for my zone 6 property

[Bucksnbows]

Why no chestnut trees or some other hardwood like American hazelnut?

 

There are still some old stumps from American chestnuts in the forest and they continue to sprout, but never reach maturity before the blight kills them off.  Amazing to realize that the chestnut was once by far the dominant tree species on that land.  The good news is that even though Sparta, NJ is basically ground zero for the hemlock woolly adelgid infestation, the state's release of beetles to combat them years ago is paying off.  While I won't live to see mature hemlocks on that land, we do have many survivors and even some new recruitment.  If I felt we had sufficient recruitment of hemlock, I would not bother to plant spruce and white pine. 

 

Young hemlock

[Bucksnbows]

I just realized as I saw my hemlock photo blown up on the screen that next to it is a dead white spruce seedling we planted most likely in '13 or '14.  Glad to see the native sprouted where the other did not live.  

[Haskell_Hunter]

We have a very mature hemlock on our property in NH.  Was my favorite tree to climb as a kid.  It had two masts and a storm in the past 10 years took one of them down.  But all of the kids (cousins) eventually find there way under the canopy of that tree.  Hopefully yours reach full maturity.

 

I still have to get you to put in some American Hazelnuts.  I've got 4-5 on my property and the critters are real healthy as a result.  I got a few good crops from them, but now that the squirrels know they're there, I see them feasting a few feet from my bedroom window.

[Bucksnbows]

One of the things you have to deal with and have a plan for is when we have failed mast crops as we did the last few years before this one and you are doing clear cutting.  Here is a cut we did 4 winters ago now, and it is currently mostly black birch which is not as desirable for wildlife habitat (food) as oaks.  

 

Before leaf out early this spring:

 

And later this summer where you can see excellent regeneration, but mainly of black birch.  Over time, I will mostly hinge cut patches of these for bedding and thin them heavily to allow the acorns to seed better for future mast crops.

 

Years like the current one are times you ideally want to cut and our 4th clear cut is coming in Jan. and Feb., but that one will be cleared to become a food plot(s) and I am not worried about regeneration this time.  But having these around in big numbers helps with your forestry work:

[Bucksnbows]

One of the things you have to deal with and have a plan for is when we have failed mast crops as we did the last few years before this one and you are doing clear cutting.  Here is a cut we did 4 winters ago now, and it is currently mostly black birch which is not as desirable for wildlife habitat (food) as oaks.  

 

Before leaf out early this spring:

 

And later this summer where you can see excellent regeneration, but mainly of black birch.  Over time, I will mostly hinge cut patches of these for bedding and thin them heavily to allow the acorns to seed better for future mast crops.

 

Years like the current one are times you ideally want to cut and our 4th clear cut is coming in Jan. and Feb., but that one will be cleared to become a food plot(s) and I am not worried about regeneration this time.  But having these around in big numbers helps with your forestry work:

[Bucksnbows]

One of the things you have to deal with and have a plan for is when we have failed mast crops as we did the last few years before this one and you are doing clear cutting.  Here is a cut we did 4 winters ago now, and it is currently mostly black birch which is not as desirable for wildlife habitat (food) as oaks.  

 

Before leaf out early this spring:

 

And later this summer where you can see excellent regeneration, but mainly of black birch.  Over time, I will mostly hinge cut patches of these for bedding and thin them heavily to allow the acorns to seed better for future mast crops.

 

Years like the current one are times you ideally want to cut and our 4th clear cut is coming in Jan. and Feb., but that one will be cleared to become a food plot(s) and I am not worried about regeneration this time.  But having these around in big numbers helps with your forestry work:

[Glasswater Outdoors]

Save the hinge cuts for a severe winter. this is when they will benefit the most from it. 

[Besa0559]

Nice work

[Kype]

and i thought i was cool for growing a garden last spring from seeds... lol 

[Bucksnbows]

Save the hinge cuts for a severe winter. this is when they will benefit the most from it. 

 

If you do your hinge cuts correctly, they will last for years and years.  Also, we're cutting deciduous trees which means that there are no leaves on them at this time of year and deer aren't bedding there much in winter like they would be the rest of the year.  Think fall bow seasons as to when hinge cutting is at its most effective to hold deer on your property.  But cutting in winter is by far easier than when leaves are on the trees.  

[tcook8296]

If you do your hinge cuts correctly, they will last for years and years.  Also, we're cutting deciduous trees which means that there are no leaves on them at this time of year and deer aren't bedding there much in winter like they would be the rest of the year.  Think fall bow seasons as to when hinge cutting is at its most effective to hold deer on your property.  But cutting in winter is by far easier than when leaves are on the trees.  

I like to hinge cut on my farm also in winter,( with temps above freezing), the trees tops don't weigh as much with no leaves, making it a little safer hinge cutting and less of a chance of the tree snapping off. Every year since I started hinge cutting I have been seeing better bucks and more of them. My neighbors buck sightings are definitely less than what I see. The woods around me is all mature forest, you can see right through it for hundreds of yards. I have been working on mine for 2 years now turning it into a thick nasty mess. After watching bucks bird dogging through the hinge cuts this year, I think I will be a little more aggressive at it. I started off slow the first year, slow , not knowing what to expect. I saw some good results so I cut some more the 2nd year and the results are amazing. I cant wait to get to work over the upcoming winter. The water hole is an excellent feature to add. I did 2 water holes on my property and the deer used them more than I thought they would. They don't have to be deep or even buried. If they hold water, they will drink out of them. I have 2 water holes naturally made by huge trees that fell . When the trees fell, the roots left a huge hole in the ground that holds water. I may dig them a little deeper with the Kubota after the season, but there are tracks in the mud all around these water holes and I watch deer all the time drink out of them. 

 

Edited December 27, 2015 by tcook8296

[Ravenrock_bowbender]

I thought you can only hinge cut in the spring? Learned something new

[Bucksnbows]

I thought you can only hinge cut in the spring? Learned something new

 

Any time, but as Tcook, mentioned, I feel it's safer without the added weight of the leaves and of most of the sap in the trees.  

[tcook8296]

If you like reading as I do, check out this thread https://www.qdma.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30537&highlight=hinge+cutting

[tcook8296]

I started hinge cutting on my place 2 winters ago. If you look at the hillside in the pic it will give you a good idea at what a lot of my area looks like.

This is what the woods looked like before I started

Some of the hinge cuts

I cut the smaller trees that I can safely hinge

This is what you get in the spring