Well-managed Deer Property Improves Your Chances Of Success

By Author: Westervelt Wildlife Services
Total Articles: 43
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America is a country known for its love of the outdoors, people spending time in nature and, yes, hunting.

Southern states such as Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida and others are popular destinations for whitetail deer hunting, especially on tracts of land that are well managed, lands where enough resources guarantee ample deer of high quality, which is what the hunter is after. Astute landowners understand that they compete with other owners for business, such as leasing their land to visiting hunters. It makes sense, therefore , that every owner wants to know that they can offer good quality animals to the visitors – or be ignored.

Good quality deer will only be raised on land and habitat conducive to offering them the resources they need to prosper, i.e. good water and food sources. This is why habitat management plays such an important part in raising quality deer herds for the hunt. Good techniques and systems which are employed by the landowner helps to ensure that wildlife thrives. This means having to look at those issues that lead to decreased forage, and to look at ways to turn the situation ...
... around by, for example, planting food plots, trees, berry bushes, grain patches, corn fields the animals may have access to, and other natural growth that contains good carbohydrates.

Of course every landowner knows what works best for them, but it is important to understand that the better you look after the habitat and what it offers your herds, the better it is in the end for what quality buck will be found on your land. We live in an age where it matters what methods you use to improve the habitat for the deer you hope to attract so you can offer them to hunters. This is also a leading reason for landowners in the South and nearby regions to employ professional help such as, say, wildlife biologists, whose field of expertise is habitat for deer and how to control herds.

These professionals are normally employed by wildlife companies and conservationist services where they do excellent work to enhance wild life – also quality deer herds. There are a few good such conservationist companies in the South, for example Westervelt Lodge and others. These companies employ the wildlife biologists and assistants that understand what good habitat requires. Therefore it is found that more and more Southern landowners contact these companies for advice and even a full-on management service to ensure their habitat is attractive for the deer they want to offer hunters.

This includes the abovementioned planting and keeping of food plots, but it goes beyond that to also looking at controlling natural vegetation such as cutting trees from time to time, the right trees at the right time. It is, therefore, important to discern between the types of vegetation on the land, and how to make sure the habitat is meant for a specific type (and not another) to attract and keep deer.

Carrying capacity for the deer is important, and if there is no balance between numbers of deer on a piece of land that offers the desired habitat, you may soon find that the herd dwindles, or does not produce quality offspring. This is especially important, too, in a region where hunting and timber activity meet each other. Planning of your management systems needs to look at all the variables that may affect carrying capacity.

Habitat that does not consider the needs of the herd, may indeed cause sub-standard animals, and that can be disastrous for the landowner that may rely on the income derived when they offer hunting leases, either privately or via the services of an agent.

More landowners than ever before are aware of these issues, which is why an increasing number now contact well-known agencies to implement a proper habitat management program for deer on their lands.

About Us :

At Westervelt Wildlife we manage nearly 700, 000 acres of hunting leases across a few states in the southeast of the United States in conjunction with our main activity, which is timber production. Our expertise allows us to manage our activities to incorporate good management capabilities with high quality wildlife practices and excellent hunting opportunities for the enthusiast. We have been known for many years for the hunting leases we offer and the wildlife services that we believe form the backbone of proper, responsible hunting activities. We are proud of our history and the ethical behavior we are known for in terms of the land and wildlife that we are responsible for. For more about us, please visit https://westerveltwildlife.com/.