Land & Legacy - Habitat + Hunting

Latest Episodes:

The Recipe for Producing Top Caliber Deer ANYWHERE Feb 04, 2020

Show notes

The excuse of I don't live in Iowa or Kansas anymore doesn't work. Big deer can be produced anywhere across the country! No matter the state, the resources are present on the landscape, they just need to be managed in a way to produce the results you are looking for.

A developed age structure in a whitetail herd is difficult to come by in many portions of the country. The number of older bucks in the herd is simply less in states like West Virginia or North Carolina, but that does not mean that buck cannot get big in North Carolina or West Virginia. We are simply scratching the surface on how big deer can get and what states can produce superior caliber deer.

If you have any doubting friends, be sure to share this podcast with them. If you know anyone who feels limited by their area or state, share this podcast and start a co-op! Change the game and change the habitat in the process! #ForLoveoftheLand

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Addition by Subtraction - Land Management Edition Feb 04, 2020

Show notes

This week we find ourselves in the great state of Iowa! the hunting heritage is strong here in the state. But to make the hunting better and to improve the land, it is important to understand the basic principle that you must subtract to add value.

Most farms we work do not have the existing habitat in place that you can simply begin to manipulate disturbances to improve habitat. First off, in most cases, things must be removed. This could be closed-canopy timber, cool-season non-native grasses, or even invasive species. Once these are removed or subtracted, then the fun of adding species can begin!

Land management does not always make sense when it comes to math, but when adding value to the landscape, it is often necessary to remove species before adding any! Thanks for listening, be sure to share this with a new follower this week! #ForLoveoftheLand

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Cookie Cutter Consulting - Why Historical Evidence is Important in Land Management Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

When it comes to land and wildlife management there should be very little cookie cutter techniques. That's due to the ever changing landscape that we get to call home. There should be a change in your management from what ecosystem to the next or from one state to the next. The principles of replicating nature and using nature as our model are the same but our focus of plant communities and layout may change to support the local wildlife and their needs. That's why we don't follow any ratio or stats that claim each property should have Blank% of cover and blank% of food plots. Those ratios create a landscape with less diversity and less diversity is a loss for everyone.

Have you ever heard the claim that a certain amount of your food plots should be clover or 50% of your timber needs to be converted to young forest? We break those down and why you should be focused more on what the stressful period of the year is for the wildlife and how you can help the wildlife during that period of time. Because if you're in the south it's completely different than in the north and so our management must change.

During this podcast we also discuss the different types of thermal cover and how it varies from wildlife to location. We often forget about the use of thermal cover in the south and how we should manage for it just as much as land managers use thermal cover in the north. This podcast is loaded with deep thoughts on land management and what we often forget with habitat improvements. Next time you're considering the traditional method of land management consider looking at the landscape first and working to improve the land wants to be, rather than what you want it to be. #ForLoveoftheLand

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How To Make Your Property A Chick Factory Jan 28, 2020

Show notes

This week is all about chicks, as in how to increase brood survivability on your property. Quail and wild turkeys can nest in many different locations and in varying types of vegetation with adequate success. So if they are nesting successfully to sustain a population why are numbers dropping?

In this podcast we address the most crucial timeframe for both quail and wild turkeys and what they need on the landscape. Once a turkey poult or a quail chick has hatched the average rate of survival is roughly 25%. This is a result in many cases of poor brood rearing habitat. Everyone forgets about how important weeds and flowering forbs are in the life cycle of young game birds. Upwards of 70% of their diet in the first weeks of life are protein rich insects. Without insects and the right habitat to support insects, they will not be recruited into the adult population. We also address the reasons behind wet springs and how that impacts nest success and brood rearing capabilities.

If you love to hunt birds and improve your land, this podcast is for you. Please share with the hunter or landowner in your life who is looking to improve wild game numbers on their property.

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Growing and Harvesting a Michigan Giant Whitetail Jan 20, 2020

Show notes

Every state has the potential to grow top-caliber deer. In most areas, the natural resources are already present on the landscape to produce great habitat. However, it’s just in the wrong form. That is how we help assist landowners to shape the landscape on a way that improves the land but also produces results. This podcast walks you through that exact situation as Jason from Western Michigan tags a 163” whitetail on his home turf.

Despite the many challenges in getting deer to older age classes based on hunter densities across the state and liberal bag limits, it can be done! Adequate cover and security is the key to making this happen. During the podcast we discuss how a logging operation, invasive species removal, prescribed fire, edge feathering, and patience paid off.

If you are interested in learning how to manage the landscape and hold big deer on your property, this is the podcast for you! Enjoy. Learn. Share!

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The Pitfalls of Managing for Big Bucks Only Jan 20, 2020

Show notes

Being our on the road a lot during this time of the year, we begin to see many different habitat types that are struggling and begging to be managed in a better way. During this weeks podcast, we discuss the recent observations from the field. We cover states like Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, and Ohio.
In addition, we pose the question, what if we only managed for big bucks. What would the landscape look like, what would be the priorities of our time when on the property? How would this affect the overall health of the property? Would the land increase in diversity or would it diminish as we begin to fear working the land?

We answer all these questions and continue to support why managing for diversity and managing for plant communities rather than for specific plants is far more rewarding and healthier for the land. We hope you enjoy and share with someone new this week! Enjoy. Learn. Share!

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Observations from Across the Whitetail's Range Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

On this week's podcast, we discuss our recent observations traveling from Kansas to West Virginia. We saw farming landscapes, bottomland, CRP, and thousands of timbered acres. These observations will help you to look critically at your property so you can influence it greater making it more attractive for wildlife.

First and foremost, improving and restoring the landscape is important. Wildlife need a home, not an insufficient place to simply survive. We are looking for all wildlife to thrive, this can only happen when each acre is addressed! Despite the landscape changing in appearance and land use from the recent states we visited, deer still were present, but just because a species is present, does not mean it is thriving. Thriving habitat and wildlife means diversity of species that occupy the 3 to 6 ft. range is present.

As we cover more properties in the next few weeks, be sure to follow along and learn through the eyes of Land & Legacy. We will teach you how to examine, critique, and improve the land. Enjoy.Share.Learn. #ForLoveoftheLand

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How to Shrink a Deer's Home Range Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

Trying to keep a mature deer on your farm for as many days as possible is a goal many hunters try to obtain. Others wish to lower the amount of deer they find dead from "winter kill" or from predators. Landowners also find themselves in a stand still and what else to do to improve their farm. All these scenarios or problems can be solved with the technique we call "fragmenting the farm."

We we start out looking over an aerial image we try to coordinate different habitat features or plant communities and look at their arrangement on the land. So many times we will find vast acres of one habitat feature. That could be large amounts of mature timber or overgrazed pasture with no shrubs around. There are many types of food resources and types of cover that deer and many other game species use in a year that it's easy to overlook some of them. We take a look at a simple technique to add diversity to your farm.

Fragmenting your farm will add more year round benefits to create a property that provides benefits from January to December for not just deer but small game too! Our goal at Land & Legacy is to make your farm better than you found it and by fragmenting the habitat features you will create a landscape conducive of growing plenty of game and a healthy ecosystem. #ForLoveoftheLand

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Must Kill Management - Finding True Land Management Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

Have you ever heard a deer hunter speak about needing to kill more coyotes and a few months later complain about having too many deer? Or better yet a self proclaimed conservationists complain about native weeds taking over his non-native food plot? One that hurts the most is the process of taking a highly diverse, highly beneficial grassland or old field and plant it in a monoculture food plot. SO many problems here that can be solved with a little deep thinking.

Must Kill Management is a huge problem arising in deer management across the country. A hunter loses focus on drastic complexity of the land and focuses solely on deer. When a single species becomes the focus many other will suffer, and some animals have suffered long enough.

We discuss some of the worst practices we find with "Must Kill Management" with this podcast. Remember, just because it's management doesn't make it good! This podcast is meant to open our minds and create positive thinking to look at the land in a new light that lowers stress and creates a more enjoyable time spent afield. #ForLoveoftheLand

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Tricking Out a Kansas Farm Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

On this week's podcast, Matt, Kyle, and Frank breakdown the steps it is going to take to convert an under-utilized farm in Kansas into a dynamic wildlife rich property. Currently, these parcels have several key elements to attract, hold and harvest various wildlife game species.

On the podcast, we cover topics such as CRP buffers, managing nesting/brood rearing cover for quail, creating corridors for wildlife, timber stand improvements, cattle and grazing contract management, cover crops, soil improvements, water quality, covey headquarter establishment, cedar removal, prescribed fire, and much more. All of these elements with the appropriate layout will turn what appears to be game rich lands into actual dynamic, functional, and income-producing properties. Not every property in Kansas can produce giant deer, however, executing this habitat plan will get them well on their way!

Be sure to share this podcast with those who can benefit from maximizing and managing the resources on their lands. Thanks for listening! Enjoy.Learn.Share!

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