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Burning for Bigger Bucks
One of the most cost-effective ways to manage whitetail habitat is to set the woods on fire. Here's how to do it in a way that helps wildlife without hurting people or property.
By Dr. James C. Kroll & Ben Koerth
One four-letter word, perhaps more than any other, strikes terror into the hearts of "civilized" man: FIRE!
That's understandable. Tragic fires take many human lives. And, each year, thousands of acres are consumed by wildfire. In fact, in the Pineywoods of East Texas, where our Institute for White-tailed Deer Management & Research is located, prominent signs erected around the county warn of the current fire danger status.
But fire in the woods isn't always bad. In fact, done right, it is one of the best ways to improve deer habitat.
Much of North America's landscape was sculpted by intentionally set fires long before the first Europeans arrived. Were Native Americans pyromaniacs, or did they have a reason for burning the land? Most likely it was the latter.
The father of wildlife management, Aldo Leopold, once said the three tools of the wildlife manager were the axe, the plow and the match. In other words, wildlife thrive on disturbance, including that resulting from fire.
The modern human vision of wilderness is a place where the forest is old and the trees are tall . . . a place where you can walk for miles without stumbling through thick undergrowth. That might be a nice place for recreation, but it cannot support many species of wildlife -- especially whitetails.
A typical mature Eastern forest can barely support a healthy deer per 50 acres. The crowns of those majestic trees interlock to keep nearly all sunlight from reaching the ground, so nutrients remain tied up in their ancient bodies. If you're a deer it might be a nice place to visit, but only if you bring your lunch with you!
Annual burning of some habitats is a good way to recycle nutrients and keep browse within reach of deer. But not all sites should be burned each year. Photo by Gordon Whittington
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The whitetail is even more a creature of disturbances than are most other animals. Its entire biology is geared to taking advantage of conditions created by wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, ice storms and the like. Once the canopy cover is removed, abundant sunlight and nutrients produce a rapid flush of green vegetation rich in protein, calcium and phosphorus -- all of which are needed for nursing fawns and growing large antlers. In most such cases, it takes only seven years for a deer herd to go from low to high density.
In ancient times there was no pattern to such disturbances, only chance. After all, who can predict the time and place of the next tornado? So early man took it upon himself to do things in a more planned manner. Modern deer management only mimics these time-tested methods for increasing forage and deer numbers.
Can fire be part of your own management program? Yes. Here's how.
A WILDLIFE FIRE IS A PRESCRIBED FIRE There is a huge difference between a "wildfire" and what we call a "prescribed" fire. The latter, as indicated by its name, is a management activity prescribed and planned by a professional or trained land manager. Wildfires, by their nature, are unplanned events resulting from the buildup of dangerously high fuel loads. Who can forget the horrible conflagration of the Yellowstone fires in the late 1980s? Some say these were just natural events; however, the fires were so hot that much of the land was sterilized of organic matter and seed stocks. It thus has taken many years to see vegetation return to this beautiful park.
What caused such a disaster? Over-protection from fire, or what we call the "Smokey Bear Syndrome," had a great deal to do with it.
Prescribed fires serve many purposes, not all of them related to wildlife habitat. Regularly burning the forest or openings reduces fuel loads, so that any later fire (planned or not) will burn gently through the understory, rather than "climb" into the canopy. This lowers the risk to people and property.
Another important use for intentional fire is insect control. With Lyme disease reaching epidemic proportions in some regions, there is a need for a natural way to control the ticks that carry this deadly disease.
FIRE AS A HABITAT MANAGEMENT TOOL At our various research facilities, over the years we have conducted many studies involving the use of fire as a management tool. But we are not the only ones conducting such research; in fact, Tall Timbers Research Station in southern Georgia probably has done more research on fire ecology than any other research group. These and other projects have produced sound principles of putting fire to use on your hunting land.
Remember, the overriding philosophy behind this "Building Your Own Deer Factory" series is sound food-source management. By providing proper nutrition, you can solve most management problems. Even if you have the best genetic potential and let bucks grow to a ripe old age, they still will not have the biggest possible antlers or bodies unless you also pay close attention to nutrition.
For providing forage, landowners and hunters tend to focus on planting food plots and/or, where legal, providing supplemental feed. Yet no matter how effective such a program is, you still should provide abundant quality native forage as well.
Although a host of minerals and other nutrients are needed daily, the three primary "players" in deer nutrition are protein, calcium and phosphorus. A quality forage is one that provides these nutrients in high concentrations and at the same time is highly digestible. Many plants have mechanisms to prevent grazing or browsing or become less palatable as they mature.
As a plant puts on new growth, the first shoots are tender. Later, the plant replaces the highly digestible material with fibers such as cellulose, a primary constituent of wood.
When food is in short supply, forage plants have a hard time growing out of the reach of deer. However, if a plant can eventually get its "head" above this height, it can flourish. As a result, in many mismanaged woods there are tons of highly nutritious forage just inches out of reach for deer.
Our research, and that of other scientists, has shown that periodic fires can go a long way to solving this problem. Yes, some trees and brush are killed by the fire, but only the parts above ground level. By the next growing season, you will find lush, tender, nutritious green shoots growing from the bases of the plants.
If there are deer and/or elk in the area, you will quickly find evidence that they are utilizing this bonanza of forage. Removal of the canopy releases minerals, which then are carried into the ground by the next rainfall. Also, deer immediately move into recently burned areas to lick the ash.
Hopefully you now realize that fire is an important management tool. If so, it is time to move on to the three questions you now have in mind: (1) Where should I burn? (2) How often should I burn? (3) How do I do it?
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