I receive a bunch of emails, Facebook posts, phone calls, etc., asking “What should I do to become a wildlife biologist?” Some of the comments that accompany these notes indicate that some folks believe all that is necessary to become a wildlife biologist is a strong desire to hunt or be outside.
There are probably as many answers to “What should I do to become a wildlife biologist?” as there are wildlife biologists. Here are some of my thoughts on that topic.
Wildlife biologists usually work more than hunt during hunting season. Opening day is usually spent collecting data from deer that other hunters harvested.
To be an effective wildlife biologist, it is critical that we can communicate technical information to folks from a wide variety of backgrounds. That means talking and writing to folks with all levels of understanding about wildlife. The need to have good oral and written communication skills is a constant!
When selecting a field of study or career, take time to determine what you really enjoy. For example, I enjoy eating. However, I don’t enjoy cooking. It’s easy to pick a career based on misguided choices.
One of the best ways to know if you would enjoy and be productive at a career is to give it a test drive. I volunteered to work with a wildlife biologist that managed mule deer habitat on federal land in Nevada. I thought I’d be working with mule deer. However, I identified plant species and distribution in the winter ranges of mule deer during the summer. I rarely saw deer as I worked where mule deer spent the winter while they were typically at a higher elevation during the summer. However, the experience cemented to me that God built me to be a wildlife biologist. It could have just as easily confirmed to me that I’d rather hunt during my vacation days in the fall and forget the ticks and snakes that are present during the summer.
The image to the right is of Hunter and Nathan – two interns helping at The Proving Grounds this summer. Hunter will be a junior at the University of Michigan this fall. He’s trying to decide whether to orient his degree toward wildlife or pre-med. I think Hunter was wise to spend a summer working with a wildlife biologist to see if he truly wants to be working in this field.
It is sad to me that some folks research cars they consider purchasing more than a career choice. You can check out my thoughts on future deer managers and becoming a wildlife biologist to learn more.
It has been very wet in much of the Midwest this spring. In fact, many farmers are still planting and/or replanting corn and soybeans due to the wet field conditions. In other parts of the whitetail’s range there is a serious and ongoing drought occurring. In fact, it is a small percentage of the whitetail’s range that has experienced normal precipitation and temperatures during the 2011 spring crop planting season. The quality of the nutrition available is a huge factor in white-tailed deer expressing their full potential. In fact, for whitetails to express their full antler, body and fawn development potential, they require a diet with a sufficient quantity of quality forage year round. Certainly whitetails can and do survive in areas where the quality and/or quantity of forage is less than optimal, however, they do not express their full genetic potential. Due to the typical quality forage (primarily soybeans) available during most of the growing season in the Midwest and grain (corn and soybeans – standing or missed during harvest operations) whitetails usually express more of their potential in areas with ag production compared to areas dominated by timber or pasture. The exception is areas like south Texas where supplemental feed is extremely common. Basically the crops produced in the Midwest are harvested, trucked, and fed at many ranches in south Texas – giving them a very similar diet to deer in the Midwest.
When weather conditions prohibit crops (forage or grain) from being produced during the entire growing season, or the quality of the crops are limited because the soil is too moist or dry for the plants to uptake nutrients, whitetails (and other consumers) will not express as much potential because of reduced dietary quality.
Each week that quality forage is not available reduces a deer’s ability to express its full genetic potential. The lack of ag crops can be buffered by quality native forage. However, weather conditions that reduce the ability of ag crops to be established or produce at their maximum potential also limit native vegetation from expressing its best potential.
Except in controlled environments (like us living in a house versus a tent), tough environmental conditions simply reduce the ability of living organisms to express their full potential. It is much more likely that deer will be able to express more of their potential the following year then to offset a lack of nutrients within the same antler or fawn development season.
From a manager’s prospective, the best plan to limit the amount of variation in deer herd health from year to year is to create a very diverse habitat and maintain a deer herd’s population density well below the amount of food and cover available during tough conditions such as drought, harsh winters, etc. Most deer herds can be fairly productive during years with good growing conditions. However, those weather patterns are rare. By maintaining herds and habitat in a state of readiness for tough conditions, both will be extremely productive when environmental conditions are better than average!
To know what environmental conditions you can expect this growing season use drought prediction maps.
Most hunters I know talk about finding cheap land for deer and turkey hunting! I do also. There is a way that many can gain acreage for literally a few hundred dollars per acre and some sweat equity! It is as simple as controlling noxious, invasive weeds.
Webster’s dictionary defines a weed as: a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially: one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants. Most hunters can only afford or have access to hunt land that is less than desirable. If weeds are taking up space on your hunting property, then it is much less expensive to kill those weeds and improve the habitat than to purchase additional acres!
Weeds that are common and very invasive throughout most of the whitetail’s range include:
Sericea lespedeza
Johnsongrass
Honey locust trees
Knapweed
Kudzu
There are many more species of invasive weeds that rob literally millions of acres of productivity from wildlife habitat.
The good news is that most of these weeds can be controlled by using a selective herbicide. A selective herbicide is one that only kills specific species. With some research, usually a herbicide that will kill the targeted weeds and not harm the beneficial species can be found. Although this research may seem daunting, I frequently use Crop Data Management Systems free website to research which herbicides to use for specific weeds.
The site can be searched by simply going to the Services and then Labels tabs. Then use simple search for the name of the herbicide to research, or use the advanced search option and search on specific herbicides and the crop you wish to protect.
For example, sericea lespedeza has invaded some of the bedding and native vegetation areas at The Proving Grounds. It doesn’t provide quality forage or cover for wildlife. It is literally decreasing the functional size of my hunting property. Some quick research pointed toward the herbicide PastureGard. However, I wanted specific information to know if PastureGard would control serecia lespedeza and if so, how to apply the herbicide. I searched the CDMS website for the PastureGard label and quickly confirmed it was a good choice to kill serecia lespedeza, how much herbicide to apply, and any personal safety precautions. The image at the top of this blog was taken this morning. I’m thrilled to see the serecia dying and the sparse big bluestem undamaged by the herbicide. I had confidence that would happen after reading the herbicide label.
Controlling weeds is a very important part of wildlife habitat management. Using the correct herbicide, if that’s the best method, saves the manager money and time and returns acres to productive habitat. I’m all about getting more hunting land for not much money and some sweat equity.
It’s fawning season throughout most of the whitetail’s range. Current conditions have a huge impact on the survival and health of newborn fawns. Just like humans, the health of a deer while it’s a fawn is a determining factor of how much genetic potential it can express as an adult.
If the fawn is healthy and has all the resources (food, cover, water) it needs as a fawn, it has as good chance of expressing its full genetic potential as it matures. However, if the fawn is stressed by lack of quality food, fear of predation, or lack of water, its development will be hampered and it will likely not express its full genetic potential as it matures.
That’s why I monitor the weather, crop growth, and other factors this time of year as I plan future hunts. The current conditions this year in many areas haven’t been favorable for fawns. It’s very hot and dry in much of the southeast. It frosted last night in parts of Pennsylvania. Last week I had to wear a coat here in southwestern, Missouri and the temps are predicted to be above 90 degrees for the next seven days! West Texas, Oklahoma and other states have been experiencing a severe drought for several months.
There are always some pockets of ideal weather conditions throughout the whitetail’s range. This is one reason why huge bucks are killed in some areas for a few years and then that area returns to producing bucks with average antler size.
With all that said, I enjoy hunting properties I have a long-term relationship with the most. A mature buck is always a trophy, whether it has 140” or 180” of antler on its head. I’m a better predator on properties where I have experience. So, my chances of harvesting a mature buck are better on properties that I have a relationship with than hunting the latest “hot spot” where I don’t know the lay of the land.
When great growing conditions occur at the properties where I know the land this usually results in the best hunts for me. That obviously can’t happen every year. I set my expectations accordingly. For me the key to satisfying hunts is to hunt when and where I can with realistic expectations. I hope for good growing conditions, but learn how to be a better hunter and manager in all conditions.
Brad, Hunter, Nathan, and I scouted some areas for new Hidey Hole food plots today. Hidey Hole plots are small plots that are usually less than an 1/8th of an acre in size. I usually create them by using hand tools – no tractors or mechanical equipment. The ideal location for a Hidey Hole plot is an area where:
Deer frequent
Hunters can access without being detected by deer
Wind direction usually remains constant (like a ridge top)
It helps if no large trees need to be removed
We like to locate these areas this time of year to limit disturbance to the deer herd closer to season. In addition, we begin killing brush, etc., now with a herbicide so when we remove saplings they don’t sprout back. We kill any grass or broadleaf weeds with a herbicide so they will dry up before planting season.
Just before planting the forage crop, I add ample fertilizer to help the forage crop grow rapidly and taste palatable to deer. For example, one 50 pound bag of 19 19 19 fertilizer applied to 1/8th acre is equivalent to applying 76 pounds of N, P, and K (400 pounds of 19 19 19) per acre. That’s usually enough to get a forage crop like wheat up and tasty for a month or two of great forage production. I plant the crop roughly three weeks before I anticipate hunting or the first frost. I also hang my Muddy stands and secure my Muddy SafeLine well before hunting season.
I try to avoid the area from when I plant until I hunt to allow deer to become conditioned to feeding in the area without being alert to two-legged predators. This is a critical step in creating a successful Hidey Hole food plot. In addition, I only hunt this location when the wind direction is appropriate. I don’t waste the effort spent creating the hotspot by allowing the local deer to associate the spot with human (predator) activity.
This is a great technique to see and harvest mature bucks that can be used on properties from ten to 1,000 acres. Hidey Hole food plots are not designed to increase the quantity of nutritious forage in an area, but to allow hunters to observe and harvest mature bucks at close range by providing high quality forage with minimal equipment and expense. Hidey Holes are a great tool to harvest mature bucks.
In a blog entry earlier this week, Using Maps To Plan Where to Hunt this Fall, I shared a source of data from the NOAA in the form of a map that predicted precipitation or the lack of for the next few weeks in the Lower 48. Precipitation levels can be correlated with forage production and quality. Too much or too little precipitation can limit plants ability to transfer nutrients from the soil to deer.
Deer require high quality nutrition on a year round basis to express their full antler growth or fawn production potential. I doubt many free-ranging, wild deer express their full potential. The stress of avoiding predators, lack of quality forage, parasites, diseases, injuries, etc., all reduce a deer’s ability to express their full potential. Of these, it’s easiest for hunters to predict the quality of forage available when planning where to hunt during the upcoming season.
This time of year many whitetail and elk hunters are applying for tags in states where they are not residents. If antler potential is a factor of where you are deciding to hunt, I encourage you to study the following map based on NOAA data.
Precipitation amounts during spring green-up are critical to the antler development that year. Many forage plants (native and cultivated) are highest in digestible nutrients during the spring. If too much or not enough precipitation occurs during this time of year, the quality of forage and therefore quality of antlers can be reduced.
This is critical data to consider if you are planning an out of state hunt with the goal of harvesting a buck that has expressed a high percentage of his antler growth potential.
Based on the following map, most of west Texas, Oklahoma, and southwestern Kansas received way less than normal precipitation during the critical spring green-up period this year. Most of the Ohio River Valley and southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas received way more precipitation than normal during this same period of time. I suspect antler development will be less than average in both of these areas.
Much of the Midwestern corn belt received about the normal amount of precipitation during the same period of time. If this pattern continues throughout the summer, antler development should progress well in these areas.
Most of us have limited time and funds for hunting. By using the data from the map in this and the previous blog, those limited hunting days can be spent in areas where antler development may be the best this fall. Maps are one of the most useful scouting tools!
There has been much written about using maps to locate stand locations. I use topo maps, aerial images, etc., to learn the lay of the land, especially when hunting a new area. However, I study the NOAA Drought Indicator maps to plan which state or region to go hunting and to assist me with planning food plot strategies for both fall and spring.
NOAA’s drought indicator maps are available online and for free. They are maps that predict the amount of precipitation or lack thereof for the lower 48 states. It’s obvious why predictions of precipitation amounts are important for planting crops. It may not be obvious why I use them to plan where to hunt.
I’m not using them to plan where to hunt based on the chance of getting rained out! Those predictions are rarely accurate. Meteorologists rarely can predict precipitation three days out let alone three months out with accuracy. However, they are much better at studying ocean temperatures, currents, etc., and predicting general amounts of precipitation a region will receive. Precipitation is a key determinant of antler production.
You may recall that I frequently state in blogs and in episodes that plants are simply nutrient transfer agents. They can’t transfer nutrients to deer if the nutrients aren’t in the soil. If not enough precipitation occurs, the plants can’t use the available nutrients. Most folks associate drought conditions with poor forage quality. In fact, in south Texas there is great research that shows a very strong correlation between rain during the early spring and the average size of antlers per age class that year.
What hunters may not consider is that too much rain can be just as detrimental to antler growth as drought conditions. This is because too much rain can leach the nutrients in the soil deeper than the forage roots’ reach. When too much rain occurs in production ag fields, the farmers usually have to reapply fertilizer to make a productive crop. Still, the crop usually isn’t as productive (bushels per acre) or nutritious as the plants were not adequately fed during the period of above normal precipitation.
This year there are several areas that have received substantially more or less precipitation than normal. In both cases, there’s a good chance the native and cultivated forage there won’t be as nutritious as normal and as a result antler development will likely be less than average.
On the NOAA Drought prediction maps, I like to hunt areas that are white or light green (slightly above average precipitation) during the early spring through summer so antler production will likely be normal or above average for the area. The Proving Grounds has received a bit much rain so far this year, and that trend will likely continue based on NOAA’s predictions. Antler development may be hindered if predictions are accurate and especially if conditions are worse than predicted.
Based on this, how’s antler development looking for your area?
Brad had the following observations to share after running the trail cameras earlier today. – Grant
It’s raining cats and dogs here today at The Proving Grounds, a welcome sight since we were able to get all of our soybeans and corn planted earlier this week. Spring is the time of the year when we typically think deer have little stress due to the abundance of lush/nutritious native forage. The deer herd can definitely keep their belly full, but there are still plenty of stressors during this time of the year. The stressor that disturbs us every spring is the presence of a wad of ticks behind the ears of our bucks and does.
The area directly behind the deer’s ear is one of the few places on their body that the removal of unwanted ticks is difficult. If they do happen to find a way to scratch them off their skin often gets opened allowing for the possibility of infection.
Ticks, as you can imagine, are also directly pulling from a deer’s energy and nutrient supplies. These resources are needed for developing antlers and rapidly growing fetuses. Not to mention the constant irritation can distract them from predator avoidance and normal foraging behavior.
The best method I know of to beat down tick populations is to keep a burning rotation going from year-to-year. Ticks are not easily consumed by the fire itself because they can burrow under debris or loose soil to escape the heat. However, they are susceptible to desiccation – or drying out. With much of the herbaceous and woody material removed, the soil surface can heat up more and lower ground level humidity levels cause ticks to die. In addition, ticks picked off are not simply flicked to the side or out the truck window, they meet their demise between a finger nail and a hard place or at the strike of a match.
I hope your deer are not suffering from ticks on your Proving Grounds, but if so consider implementing prescribed fires to help reduce their presence. It may pay dividends toward more venison in the freezer and larger antlers on the wall.
The area directly behind the deer’s ear is one of the few places on their body that the removal of unwanted ticks is difficult. If they do happen to find a way to scratch them off their skin often gets opened allowing for the possibility of infection.