Creating Better Wildlife Habitat with Prescribed Fire and Native Regrowth

VIDEO SUMMARY

When many landowners look across a field filled with ragweed, native weeds, and young regrowth, they often see a mess. Wildlife, however, sees something completely different.

In this episode of the SWAPA Land Stewardship Series, Chipper Gibbes explains why some of the best wildlife habitat begins with disturbance and how a combination of prescribed fire, timber management, and targeted herbicide applications can create ideal conditions for deer, turkeys, and other wildlife.

From Clearcut to Thriving Habitat

The field featured in this video began as a timber harvest approximately six years ago. Following the harvest, the area was mulched to ground level and allowed to naturally regenerate.

Over the years, Chipper used a combination of:

• Prescribed fire
• Light disking
• Natural succession
• Selective herbicide applications

to encourage beneficial native plants and improve habitat structure.

Most recently, the field was burned during the winter and later treated with Plateau (Imazapic) and Clethodim to reduce unwanted grasses and promote broadleaf plants that benefit wildlife.

Why Native Regrowth Matters

One of the biggest benefits of disturbance-based habitat management is the response from native plants.

Following the burn and herbicide application, the field produced an abundance of:

• Ragweed
• Native forbs
• Early successional vegetation

These plants provide highly nutritious forage for deer while also creating important cover for young turkey poults.

Ragweed, in particular, is often overlooked by landowners despite being one of the most valuable native wildlife plants found throughout the Southeast.

Creating Better Turkey Poult Habitat

Successful turkey nesting habitat requires more than just cover.

Young poults need areas where they can move easily while feeding on insects. This field contains abundant exposed mineral soil beneath the vegetation, allowing poults to travel without fighting through heavy thatch or dense ground cover.

The combination of:

• Open travel corridors
• Insect-rich feeding areas
• Overhead protection
• Sun and shade diversity

creates ideal brood-rearing habitat during the critical summer months.

Benefits for Deer and Other Wildlife

The habitat improvements aren’t just helping turkeys.

Throughout the field, deer are actively feeding on young regrowth and native vegetation. Tracks throughout the area demonstrate just how heavily wildlife uses these disturbed habitats.

With adequate rainfall, the native plants and forbs will continue providing food and cover throughout the summer while supporting a wide variety of wildlife species.

The Value of Disturbance

Many of the most productive wildlife habitats result from intentional disturbance.

Whether through prescribed fire, timber harvests, disking, or selective herbicide use, creating opportunities for native vegetation to respond often produces far better wildlife habitat than simply leaving a field untouched.

As Chipper demonstrates in this episode, sometimes a “dirty-looking field” is exactly what wildlife needs.