SANCTUARIES
"Whenever possible I recommend designating a sanctuary on your property where no one is allowed to enter during certain times of the year. Tree plantings and large fields of native grasses make excellent refuges for big bucks and they'll help keep deer on your property. Also, they're excellent places to find shed antlers, and sheds can tell you which deer made it through the winter."

IMPLEMENTING YOUR PLAN
"Step-by-step planning is best," Mark said. "When I bought my own property, my first goal was to plant 100,000 trees. That was quite a chore. But once we got it done, there was a great sense of accomplishment. What was once a corn field will eventually become a forest of native species producing mast for wildlife."

Plant in stages: "If you buy a bottomland farm that is tillable, plan to do some planting the first spring. Corn and bean stubble make excellent barriers for weeds. Native grasses can be planted up until June 1 throughout much of the Midwest. You can get in and plant your trees a lot easier in the spring and summer when it's drier. Tree planting should be a first priority since it can be a daunting task. It's always better to plant trees as soon as the ground thaws.

"In the summer, spend your time putting in cover crops to keep weeds under control where your food plots are going to be. Wheat, rye or oats are good crops to plant. Any annual-type grasses that will act as a cover crop to keep broadleaf weeds down are a good choice, and they'll provide green fields for the fall."

Keep it manageable: "Don't get overwhelmed by the task if you have large acreage. Someone with 1,000 acres may have to do a few sections at a time instead of working on implementing a plan all at once across the entire property."

Hire it out or do it yourself: This is a difficult question for some folks to answer. The cost of hiring an expert to do some of the work may seem prohibitive, but if you don't, you may end up spending more in the long run.

"There's more to planting trees than just digging a hole and sticking them in the ground," Mark explained. "If you plant 10,000 bare root seedlings and don't do it right, you may have wasted several thousand dollars. Seedlings need to be kept in a cooler beforehand at the right temperature. If they start drying out or budding too soon, or are not packed in at the right depth, they could easily die. Unless you've had some experience, I'd recommend hiring an expert to handle projects like that."

MAINTAIN YOUR PROPERTY
Long-range planning means maintaining what you started. Keep erosion under control by monitoring waterways. A long-range plan for timber management that might include some clearcutting or select harvesting should be considered. And it's always a good idea to work with your neighbors to expand the number of acres under similar management.

Some people specialize in buying and selling land after incorporating management plans for big bucks. If you are considering purchasing such a property, ask to see those plans firsthand. If you plan to sell your property after a certain period of time, keep accurate records of all you have done. It may increase your property value and help you make the sale. Chances are, most people buying recreational property for hunting will own the land for generations, but you never know.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Personal preference often comes into play when developing a quality management plan for your property.

"Decide whether you are trying to kill trophy bucks or managing for numbers," Mark said. "In either case, doe management is important. Keep the carrying capacity of the land in mind by utilizing trail cameras and other legal means of monitoring your deer numbers."

PROOF THAT IT WORKS
As a young man, Abe Lincoln walked the fields and waterways near New Salem State Park in Illinois and once surveyed the land that Mark now owns.

"I own 436 acres that were filled with corn and soybeans when I first bought the land," Mark explained. "During the first year, we planted 100,000 trees on 290 acres. The following year, I planted 40 to 50 acres of prairie grass, then incorporated food plants according to the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) guidelines. What was once a vast expanse of crop fields is now a wildlife-rich ecosystem. After five years, we are now seeing trees that are over 20 feet tall. Cottonwoods and other species came up on their own."

Mark and a few friends have taken several quality deer since implementing his land management plan. What was once marginal agricultural land has now turned into Mark's personal big-buck haven. By following his advice, you can have yours, too!

(Editor's Note: Mark Beck is a licensed real estate broker at Aspen Real Estate in central Illinois. Visit his Web site at www.landguys.net. Or, visit Cabela's Trophy Properties at www.Cabelas.com.)

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