Management Articles by WWS
Abandoned Wells and Mine Safety - Information for the Hunter and Outdoorsman
There are many hazards of the forest other than snakes, insects and poisonous plants.
Drought Resistant Food Plots – Set Yourself Up for Success
If you are like me, checking the weather forecast during planting season is an hourly event. I monitor the weather religiously, hoping the 60% chance of rain provided at the end of the 10-day forecast is actually legitimate and not just a courtesy post to make me and other food plot managers feel better about themselves and the food plots we are managing.
Fruit Trees - Improve Your
Property for Wildlife, Aesthetics, and Hunting
Today's hunters apply year-round management strategies, understanding that it takes this type of approach to achieve certain goals, as well as satisfy our inherent urge to be involved with the land and wildlife until the next hunting season rolls around. Under this approach, there is always something to be done on the property, no matter the time of year.
Applications for Controlling Annual Ryegrass - Important Considerations for Quality Food Plot Management Programs
Annual ryegrass is a re-seeding coolseason grass with aggressive growth habits. If left uncontrolled, annual ryegrass will out-compete more desirable forages, reducing the quality of the food plot.
Digging Deeper
It's been said that "good farmers understand the value of well-tilled soil...and the dangers of over-tilled ground". Soil compaction, resulting in what is commonly called a hardpan, has been recognized as a potential limiting factor in crop production since farmers transitioned from horse-drawn plows to heavier tractors and more aggressive tilling strategies in the early 1900's. From a wildlife manager's perspective, where planting food plots has become "standard practice" on most properties, it is important to learn and understand farming techniques and soil management practices.
Moving Mountains
The 800-acre tract in the Potts Mountain range of Virginia was steep, rocky, and blanketed with mature hardwood forests holding a less-than-healthy deer population. Six years later, the same tract is a QDM showcase.
Steady Under Pressure: Tips to Reduce Deer Hunting Pressure & Improve Hunting Experiences
It's like clockwork. Around mid-December each year our biologists at Westervelt begin receiving calls from frustrated hunters that are not seeing deer and most want to know "what happened to the deer?"
Wildlife Consulting
Whether you purchased your property as an investment, for the timber, wildlife, recreation, or other reasons, or if you are simply leasing the hunting rights on a property, it is probably safe to say that you want to get themost out of the property. Learn how.
Clearcutting for Wildlife
Clearcuts do not have to be a bad thing for wildlife. With the right design, location and management, clearcuts can provide quality habitat and hunting opportunities.
Common Deer Diseases/Viruses and Their Management Implications
Every hunting season we get questions like... "We've seen a deer that looks like he's covered with warts. What's wrong with him?", or "We've harvested a few deer this season with cracked hooves. Is something wrong with our deer?" Both instances refer to diseases that are common to white-tailed deer. Hopefully this article will address these questions and shed some light on the more common deer diseases, causes, and their management implications.
Economical Food Plot Management Strategies - Maximize Your Dollar
As the long, hot summer days gradually begin to cool, virtually every deer hunter across the country begins anticipating the approaching hunting season. Each work day is continually interrupted by thoughts of upcoming days spent in the woods or constant emails from hunting companions containing the most recent trail camera photos. Many are counting the days until the first weekend spent on their property or hunting lease to kick off the season by preparing food plots, cleaning up hunting stands, trimming roads and stand entrance trails, etc. One of the most popular pre-season activities is planting fall food plots. Supplemental food plots have become a major component in nearly every quality deer management program.
Brain Abscesses - A Potential Thorn in the Side of Intensive Deer Management Programs
Are you interested in producing mature bucks on your property? What about harvesting mature bucks? Without a doubt, deer management programs promoting an older-buck age structure are becoming increasingly popular throughout the whitetail's range. Today, more and more hunters are willing to pass opportunities to harvest young bucks to allow them to reach maturity with the expectation of improving antler quality.
High Fences: State-by-State Regulations Across the Southeast
Like many people, my job, hobbies, and other activities often cause me to spend the greater part of a day in my truck. As a hunter I often find myself searching every pond, pasture, and woodlot for ducks, turkeys, deer, and other wildlife. As a biologist, I notice different habitat types, management practices, and the chronic spread of suburbia. Over the past several years, as I have navigated countless interstates, highways and county roads that dissect the South, I have noticed an increasing number of eight-feet, woven-wire property lines. Based on these observations, there is no doubt that in some parts of the country, the use of high fences to confine and manage deer herds are becoming more common.
So You Want To Grow Turkeys
If you have not experienced spring turkey hunting, you are missing out on some of the most exciting hunting available. Spring turkey hunting is more than just sitting next to a tree and waiting for a gobbler to pass by. It is a sunrise pursuit of an unpredictable love sick gobbler roaming the woods gobbling his head off that forces the hunter to be mobile while exercising strategy, woodsmanship, patience, and nerves of steel. It is hard to describe the thrill and adrenaline rush experienced when everything works right and a gobbler closes into range in full strut and thunders out a gobble at eye level with you! At this point, tunnel vision sets in and the hair on the back of your neck rises. One wrong blink at this range could wreck the hunt. It is this thrill that hooks more and more new turkey hunters each year.