For many whitetail land managers, hiring a land consultant is step one on their journey to creating a whitetail mecca. Knowing which questions to ask and when to ask them is key in getting the most out of your land consultant. Photo by Sam Forbes
March 08, 2024
By Josh Honeycutt
Hiring a deer hunting land consultant isn’t for everyone, but it’s exactly the thing to do for some landowners. And there are certain things to consider before selecting a consultant, as well as questions you should ask once you’ve hired them. While this isn’t an exhaustive list, it’s a great starting point for your pre-consultation planning.
PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS TO ASK As with any large hire, it’s important to properly vet the deer hunting land consultant. There is a long list of potential questions to ask, even before they begin work on your land. Some questions to ask include:
1. What is your experience level with land consulting and hunting whitetails? 2. Are you experienced with the habitat type(s) on my property? 3. How many mature, 4 1/2-plus-year-old bucks have you harvested? 4. What contractors or employees do you work with? 5. What will the management plan product I receive from you look like? 6. Can you provide a sample management plan for reference? 7. How many clients do you have, and what acreages do they own? 8. Can you provide references? 9. How much do you charge? And do you charge more for additional services? 10. Do you prescribe general templates, or unique plans for each property? Once you ask these preliminary questions and feel as if this consultant is right for you, this is where you can get into your specific property.
A land consultant can help you shorten the learning curve of habitat management, but it is also important to realize land management can be a long-term investment of you time. The author tagged this incredible mature buck on a property that he helped manage for eight years. Photo by Honeycutt Creative What should I do about neighboring lands? One thing you can’t control is your neighbors. It’s important to have good relationships with neighboring landowners and hunters before pouring a ton of resources into your land. Unless you control thousands of acres, it’s difficult to overcome challenges posed by neighbors who aren’t on the same wavelength as you. In fact, land consultants will ask about this, and if you have a small acreage and challenging neighbors, good consultants may not waste your money with a visit.
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What should my property access look like? Good access will look different for each property. However, for areas that receive more northerly and westerly winds, it’s usually best to have access from the south and east. Being able to approach from downwind is important. Furthermore, your entry and exit routes must shield deer from seeing, smelling or hearing you. If a property has bad access, it can sometimes be fixed with land improvements and modifications. However, it should be known that those changes will take extensive work.
Where should I have water sources? Deer prefer still water over flowing water, and it can be simple to establish supplemental water sources. Strategically placing small watering holes and ponds on the fringes of bedding areas, staging areas and food sources can help herd health and your hunting. When talking with a land consultant, make sure they give you a thorough assessment of your property’s water situation.
An important aspect of habitat management is properly laying out your land for deer hunting. A land consultant will help you strategically select tree stand, food plot and other habitat improvement locations. Photos by Honeycutt Creative What should I know about soil pH? The acidity of the soil (pH) is an important figure you should focus on during the planning stages of food plotting. For many food plots species, a good soil pH number to hit is 7.0, but readings can show soil conditions well outside that desired medium. It’s all about potassium, phosphate, nitrogen, magnesium and other key nutrients. A soil test will help you accurately assess your soil.
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Can or should I enroll my property in a government subsidy program? Government programs are a great way to help pay for the property while also providing early successional habitat that benefits wildlife. However, knowing the ins and outs of available funds and programs is vital. Not every property or landowner will qualify, but it’s certainly good to check with your consultant just in case.
What is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)? This is the largest conservation program in the nation. Ran by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), it’s designed to remove agricultural practices from lands to prevent habitat loss, erosion and water quality degradation. Since 1985, it’s been protecting bottomlands, floodplains, forest and grassland habitats. It’s also benefitted ducks, deer, turkeys, pollinators and a host of other wildlife and insect species.
What is the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)? The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is a spinoff of the CRP program. It’s meant to focus on the most important environmental issues. Like the CRP program, CREP pays out a sum of money for landowners to pull land from agricultural practices.
What is the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP)? The Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) is designed to prevent the loss of grazing and pasture lands. It stops them from being developed or planted in crops. Landowners receive a rental payment for enrollment, and if your consultant believes your property is a good fit for the program, it could be worth looking into.
What are the Farmable Wetlands (FWP) and Wetland Reserve (WRP) programs? The Farmable Wetlands Program (FWP) and Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) are geared toward improving and protecting wetlands and wetland buffer zones in agricultural areas. These programs pay landowners to provide buffer strips, and to protect areas so they can revert back to wetlands. For land managers who have wetlands on their property, this could be a good one to learn more about.
The goal for many landowners is to produce big, mature whitetail bucks on their property. Your land consultant can help you achieve this goal, and they will do so by focusing your management plan on that goal. Photo by Honeycutt Creative Should the timber be harvested? Timber is a very valuable commodity, and properly harvesting it can be both financially and environmentally beneficial. If there is any standing timber with some age to it on the property, you could be looking at a very lucrative piece of land. Although trying to manage timber for maximum cash value and maximum wildlife value can conflict, finding a balance between the two is very realistic.
How do I maximize my return on investment (ROI)? There are many ways to boost the revenue of your hunting land. While it’s quite difficult to cash flow a recreational tract, there are ways to do so. A good hunting land consultant can at least help recoup some funds from the land, if not provide advice on ways to completely cash flow it. Ultimately, this is an important question to ask and can make things financially easier on you.
What are the different soil types, and what kind of soil is on my land? Chalky soils generally have a rockier composition than the other five types. An alkaline-heavy type, chalky soils are somewhat unpredictable in their makeup. It is usually high in lime and/or calcium carbonate. This can lead to reduced growth. It can also result in discolored vegetation where growth does occur. Silty soil is made up of very small particles. This stuff is smooth, compacts easily and holds water well, too. It’s more fertile than most other soil types. That said, it doesn’t retain nutrients like other soil types do. A soil type that holds heat and quickly drains moisture, sandy soils are known for their acidity and inability to produce adequate nutrients. It’s easy to till and disk, but sand soil is difficult to grow most plant species in. Clay soil is what most people have and don’t want. It’s full of minerals, but it gets waterlogged — making it hard to grow crops. Clay soils are very hard when conditions are dry, and they can get extremely sticky when they’re wet. Peat soil holds water extremely well. It also has a lot of nutrients readily available, because of their high levels of organic matter. That said, it can also have higher levels of acidity, which can lead to fewer nutrients, depending on conditions. This type of soil generally requires a good bit of lime to bring pH to a more desirable level. Loamy soil takes the most desirable elements of several different soil types (clay, sand and silt) and wraps them into one. It is drainable yet moist enough to create an extremely fertile seedbed. That said, it still doesn’t hurt to use fertilizer when needed.
Although we all want more big bucks on our property, proper land management also focuses on other concepts. It’s important to also ask your land consultant about how you can improve things like fawn recruitment, herd health and habitat for species other than whitetail deer. Photo by Honeycutt Creative How do I ensure deer spend more time on the property during hunting season? There are certain land improvements and management implementations that will encourage deer to spend more time on the property during hunting seasons. This is the very essence and reason for an in-field visit by a consultant. They will likely give you a variety of answers on this one, so make sure you ask follow-up questions about the techniques they share with you.
How do I use my property’s topography to my advantage? There are numerous ways to improve a hunting property via its natural topography. Certain terrain features, such as south-facing slopes, can be converted in thermal bedding cover deer use in the winter. A variety of terrain features can be used to improve access routes, bedding areas, food sources, water sources and funnels.
What are the best ways to create bedding cover? There are a variety of methods for creating bedding cover. Timber harvests, hack and squirt, native grass plantings and other efforts can all improve the bedding cover on a property. A land consultant will study your property and provide the best options specifically for the tract.
What are travel routes and lines of movement? It isn’t enough to randomly improve the bedding cover, food sources, water and sanctuaries on a property. It all must weave together within a network that not only works for deer but that also lends to the interests of the deer hunters on the land. Creating desired travel routes and lines of movement help deer use the property in a manner that makes them more killable by the hunters on the land, but not by the hunters on neighboring tracts.
Is it better to have a few large food sources, or many smaller food sources? This can vary depending on the scenario. However, to increase the number of mature bucks on the property, it’s best to create a network of smaller bedding areas and food sources spread throughout the property. Mature bucks, and bucks in general, are solitary during the primary hunting months. They do not like to share their immediate surroundings with rivals.
What is the difference between increasing a property’s deer density and improving the buck age structure? Both might be necessary to improve the property. However, a larger deer density is not always desirable. And having a healthy deer density with a promising buck age structure on a property that lends itself to a high degree of hunting success is the ultimate end goal. Every area’s deer numbers and age structures are different, so make sure your consultant takes the time to learn your herd demographics.
How should I develop a sanctuary? A sanctuary is a necessary property characteristic. However, it can be easily taken too far if you only adhere to general considerations for sanctuaries. Finding the right fit is important, and the size, shape and location should be extremely site-specific. When handled correctly, a sanctuary will be key to a quality hunting property.
What is the proper order of land improvement implementations? A seasoned hunting land consultant will provide short-, mid- and long-term plans for the property. This will include a detailed list of actions for the landowner or hired contractors to take, and in which order to follow these. Like anything, having a good plan will help ensure your property is managed correctly.
CONCLUSION All things considered, there are many more questions to ask your prospective and hired deer hunting land consultant; but the above list is certainly a good start. Now, it’s time to take your deer hunting land and create the perfect hunting property. Dreams await!
