Importance of successional habitat for landowners
There is a misconception among some landowners that deer will thrive in areas that only have mature timber. But in reality, whitetails do best in areas where different types of vegetation meet.
These areas, sometimes referred to as early succession or “edge” habitats, can include older trees, conifers, young trees and grassland. This combination of younger and older growth provides bedding cover and food sources that whitetails love. So keep in mind that it’s important to have varying ages and types of vegetation on your recreational property.
As a recreational property owner, how do you create areas like this on your acreage? As a blog post on northamericanwhitetails.com describes, this takes planning.
And there are numerous government programs that can be helpful, whether in planning or potentially with financial support. Most are run by one of two U.S. Department of Agriculture programs — the Farm Service Agency or the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
One program that might be a fit for a recreational property owner is The Conservation Reserve Program. It’s designed to remove agricultural practices from certain lands as a way to prevent habitat loss, erosion and degradation of water quality. In turn, properties that have used this program often see an increase in the quality of wildlife.
At PotlatchDeltic, we love selling recreational properties to buyers who are going to be good stewards of the land. And our real estate experts focus on land, not houses, so they are a great resource for someone looking to buy. Contact one of the members of the PotlatchDeltic Preferred Broker Network to get your search started.