TIMING IS EVERYTHING: SUMMER AND WILDLIFE

The halfway point in any endeavor is a milestone, and the month of July marks that point for the year. You may have heard us say it before, but we believe summer to be a great time to pull out your wildlife management plan and assess your progress. Have you completed at least half of your wildlife management activities for 2010? County appraisal districts generally conduct their appraisals between September and March (but it can be any time of the year), so don't wait until late in the year, particularly as many activities are season specific.

Take a moment to re-familiarize yourself with your plan, and make sure you're staying on top of your wildlife management activities. If Plateau wrote your wildlife management plan, an easy starting point is with your Wildlife Management Planning Matrix, the one page summary spreadsheet created by Plateau to help landowners easily visualize the activities that are to be conducted over a five year window, making short and long range goals more assessable at a glance. Review the 2010 column for the activities you are responsible for this year.

Ideally, this should be done at regular intervals throughout the year beginning in January so that "season specific" activities can be done at the appropriate times. For example, a songbird census is typically done in the spring, while a deer census (both spotlight count and browse survey) is typically conducted from late summer through fall.

Summer is prime time for the following activities:

• Developing a brush management plan so implementation can start in the fall/winter. A consulting site visit by a Plateau biologist to ensure wildlife management activities are on track for the year.
• Implementing chemical control now through July and August.
• Starting deer surveys, including spotlight and camera surveys. Plateau can also assist with MLDP paperwork filings (due August 15).
• Constructing pond/wildlife water features during the dry months.
• Planning trail construction to start after September 1st (as cutting could possibly go through woodland habitat).
• Assuming the rains continue, this fall will be an excellent time to reseed native warm season grasses.

Plateau can help you meet all of your wildlife management goals. Contact us today for more information!