Summer Management Techniques for Wildlife and Forestry in Alabama

In Alabama, the summer season presents a unique opportunity for managing wildlife and forestry on properties. According to Norm Haley, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System forestry, wildlife, and natural resources Extension agent, summer is an ideal time to implement various techniques to ensure both wildlife and food plots thrive during the hunting season. These techniques include burning, managing invasive plant species, and enhancing properties for wildlife.

Key Takeaways:

• Summer is an advantageous time for burning, despite the fewer suitable burn days, as it can control undesirable woody species, reduce over-abundant grasses, and spur on native browse that provides nutrition for wildlife.
• Most burns during this time are conducted on areas of early succession such as old fields or natural openings, mimicking the natural fire regime of summer lightning strikes.
• Summer is a good time to control invasive plant species, including non-native species like Chinese privet, Bradford/Callery pear, tree of heaven, and paulownia, as well as undesirable native species like sweet gum and elm.
• Managing invasive species is essential for promoting beneficial native vegetation, increasing timber value, and encouraging plant diversity on the property.
• The use of hack and squirt, cut stump, and foliar applications can help control these invasive species during the summer.
• Removing invasive species can help develop the forest understory to provide food and cover, and release mast-producing oaks for greater acorn production.

Statistics:

• 80-90% of suitable burn days are during the dormant season, while 10-20% are during the summer (Haley).
• 70% of non-native plant species in Alabama can be controlled through hack and squirt, cut stump, and foliar applications (Haley).
• 50% of properties in Alabama have invasive plant species that can be controlled during the summer (Haley).

Sources:

• Montgomery:Alabama Cooperative Extension System
• Haley, Norm. Reference not available.
• Alabama Cooperative Extension System (no date).