fsi

Hinge, Girdle, Fell or Leave? A Guide to 50 Tree Species in Deer Habitat Management

Mar 12, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

So, you read an article or watched a video about Forest Stand Improvement for deer habitat, and now you’re standing in the woods ready to work. You hold a chainsaw in one hand and a…

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Do Deer Use Hinge-Cut Bedding Blocks? New Study Results Out

Feb 26, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Dr. Craig Harper and his students at the University of Tennessee seem to love fact-checking untested but long-held assumptions about deer habitat. Their scientific work confirmed some popular theories and crushed many others. The latest…

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5 Easy Steps to Better Deer Forage and Cover

Jan 22, 2025 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

One of the easiest ways to quickly improve forage and cover for deer is to remove a plant that doesn’t belong here. Whether it’s a non-native tree, shrub or vine, the space and resources it…

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Is Craig Harper’s FSI Cocktail Safe for Non-Target Trees?

Jan 9, 2023 NDA Staff

You can quickly restore sunlight to a closed-canopy forest to fuel deer forage production – a technique called “Forest Stand Improvement” (FSI). We recommend girdling and spraying select trees to kill them standing using an…

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Dr. Craig Harper on Using Forest Stand Improvement to Create Great Deer Habitat

Jan 5, 2022 NDA Staff

In this week’s episode of NDA’s Deer Season 365 Podcast, we’re talking with Dr. Craig Harper of the University of Tennessee about how to use forest stand improvement to create great deer habitat. Dr. Harper…

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Deer Habitat in a Squirt Bottle part 2: Tools, Teams and Techniques

Jan 27, 2021 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Removing surplus or non-native trees and shrubs to restore sunlight to the ground, fueling a rebirth of deer forage and cover, is a great way to rapidly improve deer habitat. Dr. Craig Harper of the…

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For More Acorns, Don’t Fertilize Oak Trees. Maybe Cut Some Down.

Feb 19, 2020 Dr. Craig Harper and Jarred Brooke

Acorns. If you are a deer hunter in a forested area of the eastern United States, it is likely you consider them a crucial factor in deer management. It is likely they influence your hunting…

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Survey Acorns Now to Improve Production

Aug 22, 2017 Matt Ross

Acorn Scouting TipsNow is a great time to scout the acorn crop. What you find can help identify stand sites for this fall and also predict winter food supplies. Here are a few helpful tips…

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The 3 Biggest Obstacles to Creating Young Forest Cover

Mar 27, 2017 Tim Russell

Young forest is an important cover type for whitetails. The dense thickets of shrubs, weeds, vines, seedlings and saplings in a young forest provide ample food and cover. For some, creating these conditions could be…

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5 Clues You Might Be Hinge-Cutting Too Much

Mar 2, 2017 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

Hinge-cutting has exploded in popularity in recent years, and as with anything that explodes in popularity, some people take it too far, focusing too much on the technique while missing the bigger picture. It has…

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