How to Improve Small Properties
Filed under: Ask Grant, Habitat Management
Hey Grant,
I got your info from my friend, Glenn Chappelear. My wife & I run a Christian Retreat center just outside Bryson City, NC in the Great Smoky Mountains. Ten years ago we purchased what was left of an old cattle farm (38 acres). Our vision is to build a 100 bed lodge on the property to minister the love & grace of Jesus to others. About 20 acres is steep pasture land & the rest in woodland. There is a 39 acre woodland tract adjoining us that we are leasing. I have a shot with my trail camera with eight deer (does & yearlings) in it. This excites me because our county average is 0.12 deer per square mile (85% of our county is public land, either national forest or national park).
That’s the background, now my question: What can I do on a very limited budget, with very little equipment (I have a 350 dozer & a 230 2wd MF tractor), on steep ground, to increase the size & health of the heard in this area?
By the way, I loved the video of your daughters! I have three (ages four, six, and eight) that I am introducing to hunting. My sons (ages two years, and four months) have to wait a little.
Thank you for your time! Blessings!!!
Trusting JESUS,
Bill
Prov.3:5-6
Bill,
Thanks for watching GrowingDeer.tv! Sounds like a great location to introduce your children to creation!! Most deer’s home range will extend beyond the boundaries of smaller tracts, so the goal is to keep them on your tract during daylight hours as much as possible. You can accomplish this by identifying which of a deer’s daily needs, food, cover, and water, is in limited supply in your neighborhood. For example, if you are surrounded by cover, provide a quality food source centrally located within your property. By identifying if food, water, or cover is in limited supply in your neighborhood and providing that resource, your tract will become the hub for deer whose home range includes your property.
Growing Deer together,
Grant
