Have any of you hunted on land that has been burned the same year? How much effect do you think it has on deer hunting? Reason I ask is, as I mentioned in another thread the area that we normally hunt in the Wayne National Forest was burned this spring. I would have to think that this would provide a lot of food as new vegetation grows back. But I have doubts that the area would grow back enough in time for there to be good cover or bedding areas. What do you think?
I was wondering the same thing im hunting on public this year cause we lost our leases. And the public we are hunting is going to be burned in may or june by the dnr. I was wondering if i should even hunt there this year due to the lack of cover and bedding from the burn.
It depends on what type of site and what condition it was in before the burn. Rasberry patches will explode if the fire was not too intense and create cover...most grasses and such that come back will be summer feed but not so much for fall time...if it has an overstory of trees that are fire resisitant, pioneer species, and meant to increase regeneration of say Jack-pine then you will have to wait a couple years for the benenfits...Aspen/Poplar if present(will regenerate from root sysems) could come back in very thick and very quick this summer to provide cover and late season(late fall/early winter) browse. Soil/humous layer content can/will be a factor as well...some fires when burning too slow will burn into the ground and kill those roots that would regenerate aspen or the berries for example. It all depends on the goal of the prescribed burn and various preexisting conditions of the site...one thing being that it was an early spring burn means there could be frost and should be lots of moisture in the ground so root systems and many seeds would be spared so regeneration should happen quickly(but that still depends on what was already there).
By me there there burning 2 spots both over 2000 acres. There doing controlled burns on all the grasses and crp there not touching the woods or trees so about 1300 acres of grass .
The area I'm talking about they say they are burning for the benefit of oaks and hickory trees. Also it said something about benefiting wildlife.
The grasslands should realize the benenfits within a couple months and some areas even sooner...often in the prairie grass they are trying to release the native deep rooted grasses(perrenials) and get rid of some of the annuals and invasives. Hunting this fall should be fine. The woodlands should still have a decent(even excellent possible) mast crop for feed, and the understory should really be nice in a couple years....but also as I said, certain species such as the raspberries will come in thick especially where they have sunlight and can provide thick cover this summer. The benefits of the ground fire under the mast trees is to get some areas exposed(getting rid of woody debris, leaves, and dead grass) to the mineral soil which oaks especially like for germination(I am not so well versed on hickory and we have none near here but prob'ly similar likes as oaks). There will be some patches that will likely be more cleared than others... I wouldn't avoid hunting your area this coming fall either but some patterns may change a little temporarily.
Buckeye, your an Ohio guy. How familiar are you with the wayne? How do you think this year's burn will impact the deer hunting this fall?
Generally a burn will have a positive effect by creating more natural browse and eliminating a lot of duff. I generally burn a portion of my property every spring. This year I burned my 15 acre hay field to help open the soil up to sunlight and clear all the dead grass. It has come back nice and thick. I had 4 deer out browsing in it this morning.
We have burned pheasant hunting fields and hunted them the same year, never tried it with deer but if you burn early and get some rain after it should work? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
There was a "prescribed" burn that got a bit out of control on the ranch I hunt in Texas. Too much cover was lost and a almost nothing grew for 2 years. Needless to say the hunting was impossible but now, 3 years later, it seems to be coming back. At least the browse is but the cover will take longer. The drought we've had hasn't helped. Sad situation. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
