Pennsylvania’s spring gobbler season wrapped up last Saturday, with mixed reports of success and frustration. Most hunters seemed to have encountered gobblers that did not want to sound off, but instead would come to the call silently, if at all. But spring gobbler hunters are a resilient bunch, and most are already making plans for next year’s hunt. In the meantime, since the winter weather has finally broken and the grass is growing and trees are leafing out, let’s turn our focus to what habitat improvement work we can accomplish to better the feed and cover for the wildlife we want to entice onto and hold on your property.

Your Habitat Management Plan should include an inventory of current desirable and undesirable trees, shrubs and vines on your property. Additionally, include a listing of those new trees, shrubs and vines you would like to add – including how and where you want to plant them.
ERADICATE THE INVASIVE PLANTS:

Over the years, government agencies and well-intended organizations have offered free seedlings of autumn olive, Tartarian honeysuckle, barberry and multiflora rose to be planted for wildlife habitat improvement. Since their introduction, each of these species has spread, sometimes taking over fallow fields and forest openings. Today, each one of these species is listed as a non-native invasive plant that should be eradicated wherever possible.

Over the next few weeks, and before grasses and other vegetation push up, these invasive plants are easily spotted wherever they are popping up in fields or along field edges. As we get into the summer months the ground will harden, making it more difficult to mechanically remove some of the larger and more mature plants. Further, once these undesirable plants are removed, you can plant new shrubs and trees that will provide much better wildlife cover and feed.

If the plants are small enough, mowing them with a brush hog will keep them in check and, over time, begin to eliminate them altogether. If the plants are larger and have developed a larger woody stem, they may be removable with the use of a chain or cable and ATV or tractor to pull them out. If they are really large and otherwise unmanageable, you will probably have to resort to chemicals to eliminate them.

The most effective way to clear out the large invasive plants is to cut them off at the base or trunk at ground level and apply a small amount of Roundup or Garlon 4 on the stump. It takes very little of the herbicide to stop any future growth and kill the plant. While I hesitate to recommend chemical treatments, use of these herbicides is effective in killing each of the invasive species we are trying to eliminate.

While the majority of these invasive species will be found in field settings or along forest edges, they can also be found and should be eliminated in woodland settings as well. Finally, there are two undesirable species of plants that we should turn our attention to in the woods that should be a target for elimination – the stripped maple and the New York or hayscented fern. Spraying the ferns with Roundup – particularly in July and August is very effective. For the stripped maple, make a nick in the outer bark of the tree with a hatchet or machete and apply two or three drops of Garlon 4 in the opening. It will kill the tree. Between the stripped maple and the New York or hayscented fern, the fern is the more important to eliminate as it emits a toxin wherever it grows that restricts other plants from growing, and it has no real food or cover value for wildlife.

Elimination of these invasive and encroaching plants is a critical first step in any habitat improvement plan. Once they are eliminated, you can develop food plots, create better field conditions for wildlife and establish valuable plantings of shrubs, trees and vines that will more properly benefit wildlife of all kinds. Next time, we’ll look at some of those improvements that should work for you.