Mature stands of timber provide poor habitat for white-tailed deer.  The fully crowned trees shade the understory, leaving the forest floor bereft of the quality browse and security cover that deer need.  If the timber hasn't been thinned within the last 10 years, select-cutting may be just what your hunting property needs , and you may even realize a tidy profit doing it.

     While I was working on my wildlife management degree, it seemed that every plan we put together for the purpose of managing white-tailed deer included the selective harvest of some of the properties timber.  The idea is to open the canopy of the forest  by removing mature trees that are not providing much, if anything, for the deer.  The increased sunlight boosts the growth of ground plants and saplings that deer do use for both browse and cover. 

     When it comes to deer browse, the results of select-cutting can be measured in tons.  An old-growth forest may provide no more than 30 to 50 pounds of deer food per acre.  But, at their peak, the thickets that are produced by cutting timber can grow 1,000 to 2500 pounds of deer food per acre.  Newly formed thickets , along with the brushy treetops left from cutting, also provide bedding and travel cover.  This combination of food and cover not only keeps the deer on your property, also draws them over from the neighbor's.

     Before beginning cutting, I strongly suggest that you hire a forestry consultant with knowledge of deer management to help formulate a plan for the property.  Rare is the landowner who knows every species of tree and bush, let alone which ones should be left for deer.

     Tom Claes, a certified forester with more than 30 years experience in the timber business,has consulted on many logging projects, in addition to managing a his families 250 acre tree farm located near Ohio's Mohican State Forest.

     " A forestry consultant will answer important questions for you, such as what species of trees exist on your property, the condition of your timber,and will be able to tell you what your trees are worth," said Claes.  " A consulting forester will also mark all of the timber to be sold, have several reputable logging companies bid on the timber, and then make sure that the landowner gets paid."

    After a plan is formulated and a logging bid awarded, the forester continues to oversee the harvest of the timber, making sure that all is done according to plan without damaging the forest.  Foresters may be paid by the hour, by the job, or make take a percentage of from the timber sales.  Regardless it is money well spent.

    As a rule, the larger the property is, more options a landowner will have in the way of deer management, and thus the more involved the planning can become.  But even a small parcel needs to be managed right.

    " A logging project, even on a small piece of property, is a major operation,"  said Claes.  " Although rare, I have seen properties as small as small as 15 acres that needed 50 to 75 trees removed."

    The plan for a small woods may call for the heavy cutting of a section of undesirable timber right in the center, which creates a bedding area away from the boundaries where deer might be harvested by other hunters.  This can also work well when a small woods id surrounded by crop fields.

    Discuss your future hunting plans with the forester.  Ask about setting up ambush points where deer are likely to moving during daylight hours.  He may suggest cutting a large opening close to a stand of white oaks.

    Any deer hunter worth his salt knows what can happen when you mix prime bedding habitat, deer level browse and white oak acorns in the fall.  It can be magical. 

    Consider the layout of the logging roads and log landings.  These should be configured in a way that improves access into the property and also may provide places to plant food plots with less effort.  Normally logging roads that run east and west receive more sunlight throughout the day, making them better suited for "trail" plots.  Larger woodland food plots do better on south-facing slopes.

    Logging roads are ideal for accessing deer stands, for hauling deer out, and for removing the firewood that will be left on the ground after the cut.  It's also worth mentioning that deer use these roads, too.  It's not at all uncommon to see logging roads littered with deer tracks within days of being built.  Both bucks and does use these roads year-round, and the bucks seem to concentrate rubs and scrapes along them during the rut. 

    If the property lacks a stream or a standing water source, make arrangements with the logging crew to dig a few watering holes while they have the heavy equipment out there.  Deer must have water, and small watering holes can become deer magnets, especially in dry years.  Bucks drink often during the rut, to cool themselves down while chasing does.  Placing a stand close to a watering hole may get you a shot a bruiser buck.

    Once you learn what the timber is worth, you may be tempted to sell all the most valuable.  But when cutting to improve the property for and other wildlife, monetary gain should take a backseat to quality food and cover production.  You may be able to sell a large stand of mature white oaks for a pretty penny, but at the cost of removing a preferred source for deer during the fall.  Unless oaks are aged to the point of severely limited nut production, as a general rule, you should leave them. 

    Deer love acorns, especially the sweet ones produced by white oaks.  Other oaks worth maintaining are all members of the red oak family.  Soft mast trees, such as persimmon, wild apple, crab apple, nannyberry (blackhaw), and wild plum , should also be left.  The fruits produced by these trees are highly palatable and nutritious. 

    Immature stands of eastern hemlock, Virginia pine, white pine and white cedar may offer winter browse along with protection from winter wind and heavy snow, and should also be left.

    A few important woody browse species to keep in mind are wild rose, dogwood, basswood, sumac, serviceberry and hawthorn (thornapple).  But if the lowest limbs are out of a deers reach, they are of little use and should be cut.

    The ideal compromise is to remove the trees that are least beneficial to whitetails but still have market value.  This allows you to improve the property for deer hunting while still realizing a decent profit from the timber sale.

    Many nut trees are of surprising little value to whitetails.  The new growth produced by cutting these trees will usually offer far more nutrition than would the nut crop.  A few examples of nut trees to remove include red hickory (pignut), bitternut hickory, shagbark hickory and chestnut.  But be sure to leave enough of these to maintain a good population of squirrels, as they are the "tree planters" of the native forest.  Other trees to remove are sassafrass, dosage orange (hedgeapple), elm, ash, sweet and black gum, sycamore, cottonwood, boxelder, ironwood and maples.  Some of these supply quality browse and cover when in the sapling stage, but when they mature, all are of little use to deer.

    Timber prices, like most commodities, fluctuate according to supply and demand.  A certain species of tree can become "hot" due to high demand (both here and in foreign markets). As a type of wood becomes popular for furniture, flooring, trim and cabinets, the value of the trees can climb accordingly.  Such trends are constantly changing. 

    Also keep in mind that size, straightness, presence of knots, amount and size of limbs, and the quality of the wood (veneer, board or pulp) also factors into what a particular tree is worth.  A tall, straight with a trunk diameter of 20 inches or more, without knots or low limbs, will always be worth the most, with each flaw lowering the value. A typical stand of timber will have a mix of good, average and poor quality trees.

    I can only offer the general value of trees at the time of this writing.  But consistently desirable species such as white oak, red oak, black walnut, hard maple and black cherry, usually bring from around $100 to more than $500 for a mature tree, depending on the quality.  The less desirable hardwood species, mentioned earlier, generally bring less than $100 for a mature tree.  Again, knowing these thing is how the forester earns his pay.

     Select cutting of the right trees will not only help to keep deer on your side of the fence, it will also make the property more accessible for hunting and other outdoor activities.  And the revenue from the sale of the timber can be used to cultivate and maintain food plots or even purchase a new ATV for the upcoming season.  In essence, you get paid to improve your property for hunting.

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