Pheasants Forever Habitat Teams can help landowners develop and manage their wildlife habitat projects with not only advice but also equipment. Watch a team in action.
Tips:
Equipment: Most habitat projects require some equipment to accomplish safely.
Tractor: An effective tractor for small to mid-range habitat projects runs in the 50 to 75-horsepower range.
Landowners can create habitat on small plots of land or etch out a project on a previously cropped field. In fact, by creating habitat on a cropped field you will have less preparation time, less management time in the future, and enjoy better habitat sooner.
The American outdoors heritage gave us the term "going afield." With many landowners today creating wildlife habitat on their land, going afield for activity is as common as ever.
If you have the good fortune of owning land near a water resource, then you may have heard about conservation buffers. Conservation buffers are typically strips of vegetation growing in the riparian transition between water - most often a lake, river or creek - and the surrounding wildlife habitat or agricultural fields. Commonly referred to as buffer or filter strips, they are planted to protect the water from soil erosion and the watershed from contaminants.
As you enjoy autumn, prepare for winter and consider projects for next year, keep in mind your wildlife habitat lands and the management necessary to keep them thriving. A little preparation work now will reap habitat benefits in the spring.
Most wildlife habitat projects will require some mowing to support their growth. Limited mowing done at favorable times during the year can help your habitat mature.
If nature has a popular wildlife destination it’s a wetland—an ecosystem made up of open water, emergent vegetation and surrounding upland habitat. Wetlands provide some of the most diverse habitat and wildlife in all of nature.
Shelterbelts are small, one to five-acre woodlands usually planted on the west and north sides of homesteads to protect houses, outbuildings and fields from wind erosion and winter’s blustery snow. In some circumstances, they can cut winter heating bills by as much as 30 percent. They also can add aesthetic and real value to farmsteads. Finally, shelterbelts provide important habitat to wildlife.
Few experiences stir the heart like a wind-driven wildfire racing across an open prairie. Native Americans and early settlers feared wildfires because nothing but a wide river or soaking rain could stop them. Uncontrolled fires were awesome, yet biologically necessary.
Whether you farm, live a country lifestyle or are a landowning outdoor enthusiast, creating and managing wildlife habitat on your acreage can be a labor of love and a year-round source of satisfaction and enjoyment.
"Weed control the first few years gives the native grasses a competitive advantage, It's important to knock down the weeds until the prairie takes over."
Making a master plan for your new wildlife habitat is a good investment, but at some point, the real work with shovels and dirt begins.
Resources:
Preparation
Habitat projects always proceed more smoothly when you prepare well. Meeting with a habitat specialist and other landowners who have completed such work to ask questions is a good way to help prepare. Working from a project checklist also helps prepare. Click on the PDF link below to download a project checklist.
Keep A Written Log Book
Keeping a written and photographic log of your habitat management activities will provide a practical history of your work and a source of enjoyment years from now when you look back and reminisce at your accomplishment. The following written and photographic log pages are basic outlines designed to provide written and visual informational histories specific to your project and your interests.
The downloadable resources above are designed to fit into a 3-ring binder for easy organization. Their copyrights allow you to print as many as you need for personal use.
Links:
New Holland
New Holland is a leader in manufacturing agricultural tractors and equipment, and is an active proponent of wildlife habitat restoration and conservation.
Pheasants Forever
Pheasants Forever is dedicated to the conservation of pheasants, quail and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies and programs.
Pheasants Forever’s Habitat Forever
Habitat Forever, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pheasants Forever, Inc. Habitat Forever specialists are available for hire to complete habitat projects or maintain existing habitat in many areas of the country. Our habitat teams are equipped with tractors, trailers, seed drills, tree planters, watering and fire management equipment, mowers and more. Each team is run by an experienced habitat specialist that can help you plan your project, see if you qualify for federal programs, get it in the ground and manage it in order to maximize wildlife potential.
Living The Country Life
A magazine dedicated to the country life, including wildlife habitat management through its series Creating Habitat.
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited conserves, restores and manages wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl. These habitats also benefit other wildlife and people.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Partners For Fish and Wildlife Program
The Partners Program provides technical and financial assistance to private landowners and Tribes. The Partners Program assists with projects in all habitat types which conserve or restore native vegetation, hydrology, and soils associated with imperiled ecosystems such as longleaf pine, bottomland hardwoods, tropical forests, native prairies, marshes, rivers and streams, or otherwise provide an important habitat requisite for a rare, declining or protected species. Personal attention and follow-through are strengths of the Program and has led to national recognition and wide support.
Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.
Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (originally called the Soil Conservation Service) has provided leadership in a partnership effort to help America's private landowners and managers conserve their soil, water, and other natural resources.
The Land Trust Alliance
The Land Trust Alliance promotes voluntary private land conservation to benefit communities and natural systems. The Land Trust Alliance is the national convener, strategist and representative of more than 1,600 land trusts across America.
