If you lease hunting land, few sights are more disheartening than the appearance of skidders, log loaders and logging trucks, especially just before or during hunting season. If you own your hunting land, you are the one who calls in the skidders, log loaders and logging trucks when you harvest timber. But many hunting landowners and hunting land leasers share the same concern: Will the equipment, noise, habitat disturbance and human activity of a logging operation have a significant impact on deer activity in the immediate area?
That was a question that Don Draeger, wildlife biologist at the Comanche Ranch in South Texas, wanted to answer through research. In the Brush Country of South Texas, wildlife managers are using mechanical techniques to create more edge habitat. One technique involves “chaining,” in which a heavy-duty chain connected to large bulldozers is dragged through brush to create openings, then the debris is cleared and stacked. After that, a large dozer pulls a root plow through the openings to eliminate hardpans and aerate soils, encouraging growth of native grasses and forbs. While the long-term effect is very good for the habitat and deer, the mechanical process itself is a significant disturbance. Don wanted to know if whitetails are being pushed into other areas by the habitat work. Continue reading – LINK