Woodlot Management

While financial gain may be the top reason property owners seek to manage timber on their property, creating a wildlife habitat is also near the top of the list. Michael Gass, a forester with Cardin Forest Products in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, dives into woodlot management, and its many advantages, for the small property owner.

- by Hope Ellis-Ashburn

Reasons to Manage

Depending on the acreage, the timber industry can be lucrative. However, there are other reasons to manage timber than financial gain. “On a small farm, a lot of people will manage it to add pasture [to their farms] but also leave shade for their horses and cattle,” Gass says. Leaving some trees in place after harvesting allows the animals pastured there to have shelter from the weather.

As a forester, Gass has also advised property owners on managing their woodlots for wildlife. Clear-cutting timber, for example, can be advantageous for deer. While the term “clearcut” may leave some individuals taken aback, deer can't eat the leaves and tops of trees. "They can eat the brows that are starting to sprout back after a clearcut," Gass says. "You have a lot more deer come in a clearcut area because they have something to forage on."

It's a common misconception that deer primarily feed off white oak acorns. "That is just a snack," he says. "What they really feed on are the brows." Deer in this sort of environment are more plentiful and of larger size.

Others prefer that their woodlot be managed for turkey. "For turkey, you must plant seedling trees to where they drop down and the turkeys have something to eat," Gass says. "They also need places to roost and safety from predators." Regardless of which species you are managing your wildlife for, hunting makes doing so a popular choice.

A Healthy & Productive Woodlot

Once you have decided to manage your woodlot, you'll need to develop an understanding of how to keep it healthy and productive. One of the main things you can do to keep trees healthy is not to put anything with them that will eat the bark from the trees. "That will kill your trees," Gass says. For example, horses without a forage source will eat the bark off trees and kill every tree in the pasture.