Alabama Champion Tree

We have a large Mountain Chestnut Oak on our property that was recently certified an Alabama Champion Tree.  I think there are others out there somewhere that may be larger but at this time it is certified as the largest mountain chestnut oak on record in Alabama.

Anyone may contact the Alabama Forestry Commission in their county about a tree of any species that they feel is the largest of its kind and have it checked.  You may look at http://www.forestry.alabama.gov/PDFs/ChampionTrees.pdf  to see the trees that are now on record as being a champion tree and what measurements made it the champion.  The Alabama Forestry Commission website has more information about this program.

Fall Road Maintanence

This has been my view for several of the last few days.  Each fall I bush-hog all the roads and most of the firebreaks to keep it where access to the property is available for fire protection and travel to hunting stands.  It is important that these roads are trimmed annually because after two years of neglect the roads will become impossible to travel.  I use a 4-wheeler with a sprayer sometimes in areas that need the competition taken out.

What Are You Doing About It?

How many times do I hear older adults saying something about all these electronics?  Others say children depend too much on video toys.  Well, what are you doing about it?  That is the question I am about to address.  I will try to give you one suggestion for "Doing something about it."

There are numerous ways for building interest for your children or grandchildren in getting outdoors while learning and enjoying the forest. 

One project my wife and I just completed with our grandchildren was naming a road, trail or other place on our property after them.  We not only called this special spot with their name but we purchased a sign for each one of them with their name on it and took a day with them to place the sign on the property.

They loved doing this.  They have their own piece of the property that they can claim ownership of.

This project has been great for us in helping them appreciate the property GOD has blessed us to own.  Our oldest grandson, who likes electronics too and lives in our instant world of entertainment, said "Grandmother I am sure glad we have this land!"

That makes it all worth while.

So if the younger children you are with are not interested in the forest, shame on you! 

What are you going to do about it?
Oh, by the way, the parents of these children were also out on the property that day making photographs of wildflowers and repairing treestands.

Educational Tour

Tuesday, we hosted an educational seminar and tour on our property for agency people such as NRCS, Soil and Water District, Alabama Forestry Commission.  This was a project about "Forest Roads" and protecting the water shed.  

Many groups had a hand in making this happening possible, many individuals work hard to make this day a success.  It started at our lodge with the indoor sessions and then when Congressman Mike Rogers came by we actually went to the site where the road work was carried out.  Our goal was to give the Congressman a first hand view of forest roads and how forest landowners are working to keep the water shed clear of erosion which has been a hot topic on the national level the past few years.  We had 34 to attend the seminar.

This was the conclusion to the Forest Roads Project but the road work may be used in logger educational training and the Clay County Forestry Planning Committee may do a landowner tour here at a later date.

Longleaf Pine Management

There was a prescribed fire put through these longleaf pines in February of this year.  These trees are about three and a half years old.  The little man standing next to the tree in the picture is about four feet tall.  The picture below is what the trees looked like immediately after the burn in February 2014.

Water Quality and Fawn Predators

Here is  a rock found in one of our streams that had Spring Lizard eggs under it.  We placed it back like it was so the eggs could hatch.  We have found lots of eggs in the branch and it is full of Spring Lizards.  They say this is a sign of clean water.  Many people depend on this stream for drinking water. 

Coyote scat.  We are having a problem with coyotes on our property.  We try to remove all we can but just last week we looked at pictures on our game cameras and one camera had the pictures of three different coyotes.  What is the significance of the above picture?  The scat has deer fawn hair all in it.  They are the number one predator for whitetail deer fawns.  We are going to have to up our pressure on these destructive coyotes.

Site Prep, Food Plots and Road Work

I have added to the "Timber Management" tab information about site prep, to the "Wildlife Management" tab information about food plots and to the "Water" tab information on where we are for the forest roads tour.  Click on these tabs for more information,