Habitat Enhancement Using Coppice Management

This year it became evident to me that most of the stories told at the local camps I visit were from days long since gone by. It seems only the baby boomer generation still has the numerous stories about the big rack bucks or the fields full of deer on a summer evening. Very few of us young adults can do anything but listen to these glory days.

I think we all can agree that Vermont needs change to bring back the glory days but it seems there is a lot of controversy on how to get there. Many people feel that herd management is the whole key to a successful rebound in the deer herd population, but I partially disagree.

As sportsman we need to better understand what is good habitat and what is great habitat. So many times I have heard “the deer had plenty of feed this year, so I don’t know why the herd numbers are down” but when I ask what food source they are talking about they reply “apples, beech, and acorns of course!” Well that maybe true but most forget these are only fall food sources, what do the deer eat the other nine months?

When you are planning habitat enhancements, you need to think about the yearly picture. Whether you are planting your first food plots or just trying to enhance natural vegetation the goal should be something for each season. Since it is winter I would like to start discussing how you can greatly improve the browse available to deer.

It is commonly agreed amongst biologist that a deer’s diet is approximately 95% native vegetation and 5% food plots in a state like Vermont. So a person can immediately see that enhancement to the native vegetation can make a large difference on the deer herd. So the next step would be to identify how to get the maximum affect on this type of forage?

Forage-Nutritional Advantages of Small Fuelwood Cuts for Deer by Peter J. Pekins and William W. Mautz published in the Northern Journal of Applied Forestry, Vol. 6, #2 June 1989 provided some interesting insight to what plants and at what stage of growth deer preferred during the summer months. These researchers used Lead-deer as their test subjects on year old timber cuts ranging from 1.5 acres to 6 acres.

They followed four deer, counted each bite and flagged sites the deer ate at. Once the deer were done feeding they returned to each flag and estimated how many more bites could have been taken to determine the how preferred each plant species was. Some interesting results were found. Some of the highest-ranking types of trees were: Red maple, Black birch, Yellow birch, and White birch. Also the study discovered that raspberry leaves and Canadian mayflowers were preferred along with blackberry fruit even before they had ripened.

The two researchers also discovered that the deer preferred stump sprouts (coppice regeneration) to saplings of the same age and species. Intrigued they sent samples of both types for nutritional analysis and they found that stump sprouts were higher in crude protein and lower in crude fiber! This is why so many hunters find deer on and around cuttings ranging from 1 to 3 years of age.

Coppice Management

The best time of year to harvest your hardwood trees is the fall or early winter. This is the time of year that trees store most of its sugars in their root systems for use during the cold winter months. By ensuring you have an abundance of nutrition left in the cut stump, sprout success and growth will be about three times better. To retard the growth of unwanted species the tree should be cut late in the summer when the new sprouts will not have sufficient time to harden off before winter.

You should select juvenile trees for coppice regeneration ranging from 2-8 inches in diameter for the best results. As the diameter of a tree increases the number of sprouts reduces. You want to make sure the stumps are cut no more than 8 inches from the ground to ensure that there is plenty of food storage left in for the sprouts. In trees larger that are larger than 8 inches the stump should be cut as close as possible to the ground to produce better quality sprouts for timber regeneration. It’s a little know fact that roots can be 40 years older than the stems on most hardwood species.

This practice can maintain a diverse forest that will feed deer and other wildlife for many years. The other benefit is you will provide cover as areas grow into the next generation of trees to manage.

For more information regarding coppice management and other forestry practices check out these websites:

• Iowa State University: Woodland Management Publications

• Logging for the 21st Century: Forest Ecology and Regeneration

• Quality Deer Management

There are a lot more sites on the internet that can provide information to better help you enhance your property so you can attract more wildlife. So start looking today and help create a brighter hunting future for the next generations.

I am a partner with Wildlife Habitat Consulting and everyday I have to remind people that the changes many of us would like to see are not going to happen with more regulations on what animals we harvest. It comes from us as hunters becoming educated on wildlife habitat and our ability to change the habitat. It is true that your property will make a difference.