Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting

All grass benefits from periodic mgmt whether it's mowing, burning, grazing, or plowing & reseeding. This is an example of improving habitat.

Quack wrote:All grass benefits from periodic mgmt whether it's mowing, burning, grazing, or plowing & reseeding. This is an example of improving habitat.

Might be better stated to say.... "This is an example of improving habitat under current social and economic constraints..."

I'm not familiar with the area around Pelican other than the occasional drive-by, but have to imagine it is much like most of the other WPA/WMAs. Some mix of switchgrass, bluestem and whatever else falls on the soils and grows.

It is my personal belief that modern habitat improvement is creating a habitat monoculture. I have come to this after years of getting no real training in biology, talking about these things while drinking, and avoiding public forums where real biologists hang-out; but, I walk around on a lot of these places and they all look the same.

So now I beat my drum: land acquisition needs to be curbed so we can start investing coin into making the existing lands REALLY productive. This will require investment in more diverse biomes and heavier use of strategies like burning and grazing. Mowing does it's part for dormant species that require light and open space such as clovers, but beginning and end, mowing is the least likely to stimulate significant regeneration in the form of increased nutrient supply~ but damned if it isn't easy.

Again, most of this formulated with a drink in my hand.

Oh yeah, and while I'm spending everyone's money, we need more creative use of moist soil management.

Thanks!

Don't even get me started on the whole moist soil management debacle.

Team Power Dump

gimpfinger wrote:Don't even get me started on the whole moist soil management debacle.

Team Power Dump

At work, we have a hydraulic pump, and it's name is power team or something like that. I'm honestly not sure what it actually says, because I always read it as "team power dump"

Thanks

Goldfish wrote:

gimpfinger wrote:Don't even get me started on the whole moist soil management debacle.

Team Power Dump

At work, we have a hydraulic pump, and it's name is power team or something like that. I'm honestly not sure what it actually says, because I always read it as "team power dump"

Thanks

You're welcome

Team Power Dump

Hell, Gimp's avatar from TOS is still burned into my brain.

greatwhitehunter3! wrote:

Big Doe Hunter wrote: Also, why do they plant food plots (corn & beans) on WMAs? There is corn everywhere! There is no need. The WMAs should be all grass. IMO that is a joke.

Winter food sources.

That's BS. There is and would be plenty of winter food sources without planting any crops on WMAs. IMO it is a huge waste of land that would be better suited for habitat.

Big Doe Hunter wrote:

greatwhitehunter3! wrote:

Big Doe Hunter wrote: Also, why do they plant food plots (corn & beans) on WMAs? There is corn everywhere! There is no need. The WMAs should be all grass. IMO that is a joke.

Winter food sources.

That's BS. There is and would be plenty of winter food sources without planting any crops on WMAs. IMO it is a huge waste of land that would be better suited for habitat.

Truth!!!

Big Doe Hunter wrote:

greatwhitehunter3! wrote:

Big Doe Hunter wrote: Also, why do they plant food plots (corn & beans) on WMAs? There is corn everywhere! There is no need. The WMAs should be all grass. IMO that is a joke.

Winter food sources.

That's BS. There is and would be plenty of winter food sources without planting any crops on WMAs. IMO it is a huge waste of land that would be better suited for habitat.

I'm not for or against it. What's your opinion on why it's there then?

Same reason some dolt puts out a pile of corn on the corner of a wood lot and his deer stand 25 yards away.

But more likely, the theory is to work more like a food plot on private land.

If left standing, the birds and deer will knock corn off during deep snow. Generally, there is enough waste grain, but covered in snow and frozen to the dirt takes a lot of energy from chinese feather balls. Deer can munch cedar to get through, but the pheasants, rabbits and squirrels benefit a bit more from whole kernel.

Seems odd though, some one plowed up grass to plant corn so the state could buy it back to put in grass but then plants corn.....

Likely makes sense in areas there are several blocks of land strung together, like around Jackson county, and some diversity to the land scape.

The other added advantage could be having feeding areas close to cover. Long travel increases risks to exposure and predators. Have the corn next to the grass/grove should help both.

Pheasants need to live 365, not just when you're out chasing them. If 10 acres of crop cover helps that, so be it.

Would like to see it used more on perimeters as part of the "living snow fences" initiatives.