Pine County Landowner Improves Hunting Habitat

Pine County Landowner Improves Hunting Habitat

A landowner in Pine County purchased 120 acres of land and looked to Kanati to design a plan that would improve hunting opportunities on the property. This would help create a special place in nature to share with friends and family.

The Vision

Growing up, the landowner’s family did not hunt. However, a local family mentored the landowner which provided him with some of his best memories. He wanted to give back to his friends and family and create a wildlife paradise. The lack of time the landowner had to accomplish and maintain these objectives heavily influenced the decision to work with Kanati. He wanted to restore and expand the trail systems so he could have an easier time accessing the property with others.

His property was entirely one continuous cover-type with minimal existing trails that were not maintained. The landowner’s property was logged within the last 20 years and the current timber stand was similar in size and species composition. He gave Kanati a tour of the property during the initial site visit while he expanded on his goals for his newly acquired land. Kanati walked side-by-side while listening to stories about previous hunts and more about the future intentions.

The Process

Taking inventory of the property on-site helped Kanati formulate a plan that saved the landowner an immense amount of time in an actionable format. Kanati researched and dug through the relevant information and available resources to present to the landowner rather than him having to source them himself. Kanati used their expertise to develop a comprehensive plan so that the following steps to implementation could be easily laid out for the landowner.

A Summary of Kanati’s approach:

On-site Evaluation of the Land: Assessed the property’s current habitat conditions and discussed landowner’s goals and priorities.
A systematic plan was developed with: A proposed recommendation map with specifications and aerial images of property, a detailed breakdown of each recommendation and hunting strategy and how they applied to the property, the steps of action and a timeline, a cost estimate with options for financial assistance, and management strategies and further resources.
Implementation: Kanati fulfilled site-prep and implementation installment and aided in further management and follow-up recommendations.

The landowner agreed with every practice along with the proposed budget recommended in the habitat plan. With an action plan and budget in place, Kanati was able to determine a road map for implementation.

The focus of the first year was forest stand improvement, which involved cutting down trees in strategic areas for Aspen regeneration and the clearing of priority food plot areas. The second year Kanati created secondary food plot openings by clearing and grubbing stumps and trees. Several food plots were designed throughout the property in locations that were easily accessible by the newly established trail system. When clearings were opened, Kanati seeded and maintained the food plots. While developing food plots, Kanati selected trail camera locations so that the landowner could monitor wildlife movement while he was away from the property.

The Results

Kanati offered the landowner a sense of relief knowing his property was being taken care of, and even improved upon, without having time to make these enhancements himself. He could now spend time on his property enjoying it rather than feeling distracted by the constant upkeep and management needed to maximize what benefited the land. The biggest benefit from this initial consultation is that the landowner is now seeing and harvesting more deer than ever. The proposed hunting strategy included in the plan aimed to minimize pressure, encourage adequate number of does harvested, and allow for young bucks to live to the next age class. After year one of implementation, the landowner told Kanati, “We have never seen this many deer before.” While remembering those younger days as a beginning hunter, the landowner now has the satisfaction of seeing his own family and friends enjoy nature. These are the memories that will last a lifetime!