Variables in Habitat Management

By Shane Olson

Native Grasses

How many of you read the article in Quality Whitetails entitled “Native Grass....One More Variable in Your Habitat Equation”. It is refreshing knowing that this issue is basically  " All Minnesota ", as everyone that had insight about Native Grasses for the article were all from Minnesota. One of the points that really hit home for us who are in extreme Northwestern Minnesota, is the fact that Native Grass plantings can hold up in the winter months. In the article they took a photo showing native grasses and introduced grasses side by side and the fact that native grasses can hold up so much better than introduced grasses in the winter months due to snow cover.

I formerly worked for Carlson Prairie Seed Company right here in Halma and I would like to share some insight when considering native grass plantings for CRP, CREP, RIM or any other wildlife plantings.

Big Bluestem will be the most readily available grass to add to your mix and you will be awestruck as it makes its color changes throughout the summer months. Indian grass is another tall grass that will provide habitat for wildlife in the cold winter months. If you are in real dry ridge areas you will definitely want to add Little Bluestem, Blue Grama, and Sideouts Grama to your mix.  Switch grass, Canada Wild rye Deer hunters will be happy to know that adding Western Wheat grass species to your mixes will attract deer due to its ability to pull salts from the ground, making them a tasty treat for deer. Russian Wild rye is another tasty treat for deer as I witnessed during my years working at the Carlson Prairie Seed Farm, although this species is very hard to establish and will die out due to the fact it isn’t a grass suited for this far North.

To add some color to those mixes, which will drive deer crazy, hunters will want to add Maxmillian Sunflower, one of the most preferred native foods for White-tailed deer. Purple Prairie Clover and White Prairie Clover are musts in Native Grass Plantings.  Some other plants you might consider using are Wild Licorice, Wild Bergamot, Leadplant and Blazing Stars.  

Patience is the key to Native Grass plantings….it might take 2 to 3 years before a planting will succeed, but when it finally does it is worth every penny!  Prescribed burning and the use of herbicides to spot spray weeds and other undesirable plants in the planting are also a key to the success of a planting.

Noxious weed (Canada thistle) maintenance on hunting land

One thing that is far too much overlooked each year is noxious weed maintenance on hunting land, especially CRP. It is very few and far between to not find an area of land in Northwestern Minnesota that has some Canada thistle on it. Many people don’t even realize that it’s the law to remove noxious weeds from actively growing on their property. Yes, a person could realistically pay a hefty fine if and when noxious weeds are not controlled.

The two easiest ways of dealing with noxious weeds such as Canada thistle is to spot clip or spraying of herbicides labeled for use. Neither one is a "Silver Bullet", to fully eradicate Canada thistle from your property, but both are much needed to get ahead of the battle. Both are very costly….but they need to be done!

One thing that really bothers me is the folks that totally turn their attention away from their CRP fields in the summer months to try an establish food plots in other places on their land. For the most part a well maintained CRP field is one giant food plot. Usually, you will find that possibly the worst places you will find Canada thistle in a field, you will also find some of the best clover or trefoil in that spot of the field also.

Timely spot clipping of these areas will remove the potential of Canada thistle going to seed in that year and will encourage regrowth of clover, creating lush new growth of clover for deer.

Spraying herbicides on Canada thistle areas is another timely key to consider. For the most part using chemicals such as Curtail or Cimarron Max your best bet is to wait until late summer or early fall, as Canada thistle are moving energy to their root system, preparing themselves for the winter months. This creates the perfect time to spray Canada thistle for those landowners that may have spot clipped during the summer months.

Again I will say that these measures aren’t always a Silver Bullet, as sometimes using both of these means might encourage even more Canada thistle growth due to the fact that you have removed the canopy and there is no competition for new Canada thistle plants.

Fire is another tool that can help your situation or even in some cases make it even worse. Timing of fire is the key. Burning off CRP fields too early can cause Canada thistle infested areas to get a huge headstart over the other desirable species. The positive thing that can be dealt with when this happens, is that this is the perfect opportunity to spot spray the infested areas of Canada Thistle, because they will be much taller than the rest of the other more desirable plants.

Likewise, a very late may or early June burn can also set back Canada thistle growth as it will encourage the other plants to get a headstart due to the warm temperatures usually observed by this time of the year.

One thing is for sure, ignoring the noxious weed problems, especially Canada Thistle, is just going to make things much worse for yourself and all of your neighbors in future years.

Contact Shane Olson at: shaneamy@wiktel.com

Shane Olson President of Devil’s Playground QDM Coop

Kittson County Ag Inspector