Opinions wanted on tree farm

nhn2a

Ten Pointer
I'm thinking about doing a little change up to my hunting property. I have a 25 acre tree farm that was planted before I bought it in Loblolly pine. Unfortunately it wasn't managed well so its very overgrown in-between the rows of trees with thick brush and briars. The area makes great bedding areas but only leaves me about 3 acres on each end to the property hunt. Trying to get through it is horrible as its so dense with briars.

I'm considering selling off the trees for pulp wood early so that they clear the land then I could replant the property and manage it better. The trees are currently about 15years old so they aren't due to be harvested for another 10yrs if I wanted to sell them as lumber.

I bought the property for a hunting property, not because I had any real desire to become a tree farmer but that was a nice benefit. Another alternative is to do a prescribed burn on the undergrowth but I'm a little nervous about that. The property is adjacent to a housing area and the land is slanted right on the boundary making it hard to cut a firebreak.

Any ideas or suggestions from the group?
 

pcbuckhunter

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Is the property enrolled in a CRP program with the forest service?

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Muzzleodor

Eight Pointer
Couldn't you bush hog and then spray between the rows to make shooting lanes? Or hire a bulldozer to come in and open up some shooting lanes and food plots that you could then keep mowed and or sprayed yourself? If it was mine I would go with the bulldozer option.
 

nhn2a

Ten Pointer
Couldn't you bush hog and then spray between the rows to make shooting lanes? Or hire a bulldozer to come in and open up some shooting lanes and food plots that you could then keep mowed and or sprayed yourself? If it was mine I would go with the bulldozer option.

I hadn't thought of that option but I guess I could go that route. My only concern there would be the expense, not sure how much it would cost.
 

Muzzleodor

Eight Pointer
We have paid a guy $80 an hour to make shooting lanes in the past. He got alot done for the time spent and got a tip. Make sure it is a big dozer.
 

para4514

Eight Pointer
Contributor
Lots of options for this tract, but if you "clean it up" too much you will ruin your bedding area. If much of the land around you is "well managed" or "housing areas" your 25 acres may be the bedroom for many more deer than you would typically hold on a small tract that you can navigate easily. In order to "manage it better" you will have to define what you are managing for.

Thinning may be an option, but acreage may limit the interest from a timber buyer. If maintaining bedding cover is an interest to you take 20 to 30% more trees out than the typical production oriented thinning. This will allow ground cover to flush out and persist for a longer period of time than in a closed canopy stand.

Burning may be an option, but it will really depend on how much development is around you. I would definitely hire out burning if you are not experienced. Burning will top kill some of the woody sprouts, but also remove pine needle litter allowing other herbaceous stuff to come up.

Herbicides may be an option, but make sure you have a clear objective before applying. Active ingredient, formulation, rate and surfactants all play a part on what they will control, and how long they will control it for.

Might be that you want to look at multiple treatments. Depending on the possibility of a burn, break the tract in half or thirds with strategically placed fire lines and leave the area closest to the housing area unburned. This will help with accessibility, maintain some thick bedding cover, improve browse in understory and give you a start for linear food plots.
 

Southern

Ten Pointer
1000 bucks, one day with small forestry grinder, open it up, then keep,it sprayed with four wheeler sprayer or mow with small tractor.
 

25contender

Twelve Pointer
Clear out 3-4 acres in the smack middle of the property. Have a few trails for you to access cut the same directions as your most prevailing winds. Open up a few travel corridors for the deer to that field, make it easy access for them. Plant and maintain the field in a browse that will come back for a few years like clover and you will have it made.
 

curdog

Ten Pointer
Contributor
I'd talk with your county NCFS office or a private consulting forester to get local advice on timber management. But many parts of the state are beginning to manage for pulpwood rotations instead of longer sawtimber rotations. Clearcutting instead of thinning may be a viable option depending on your local markets. I was talking with a logger today that is only getting a few dollars a ton more for chip and saw logs over pulpwood.
But a heavy thinning in some areas combining with clearcutting would give you a wider variety of habitat and more edge areas as well.
I like prescribed fire after at least two years of a thinning. It allows the trees to recover from the stresses of thinning and allows enough regrowth to get beneficial results from the burn. Unless it's a cliff, I wouldn't worry too much about building fire lines. And if it's too steep, you can bump back a thin row or two for pushing fire lines.
But I'd get professional local advice.
 

Thomas270

Ten Pointer
I was under the impression that burning a loblolly stand was not the best idea, that long leafs could handle the heat better. Which I realize as thick as the op said it was, a little loblolly death may not be a bad thing if his main purpose is deer hunting, not raising a stand of timber.
 

para4514

Eight Pointer
Contributor
Lobs can take a lot of fire, just not as early as longleaf. Lots of factors can impact how a stand or an individual tree will respond to fire. I've seen 12 year old loblolly recover from major needle scorch and 80 year old longleaf killed dead by a low intensity backing fire. Most folks wait till the first thinning to conduct a burn in lob stands. Until you get some sunlight on the forest floor, a burn does little more than reduce wildfire fuels. I have had several friends who have been disappointed with the habitat results from burning, but most of the issue was too much shade.
 

bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
Have them thinned.

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this is your best route. I know everyone likes food plots but honestly native browse is the best and by thinning you will have a ton of it. I would make sure I fertilized any honeysuckle you have and also smilax(green briers).
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Thin and maintain your thinning lanes with herbicides where you plan to hunt . You can put in a nice foodplot in the center if you have the money for that. Talk to your county forest ranger. I had a 15 acre tree farm up in Northampton county. The forestry service burned 6 acres of it after I thinned part of the 6 acres.... The deer and turkeys loved it. My loblolly pines were 12 years old with some natural hardwood growth.
Killed a decent 10 ptr that year after. Saw all kinds of deer and turkeys.
Sold it the next year cause the neighboring farmer let the biggest dirtbag poacher in that county , 'Little' William Massey kill deer at will. Your neighbors are going to have a lot to do with your hunting success....unfortunately!
Massey went to prison the next year for stealing timberland rights I heard. ;)
 
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