habitat improvement

The Benefits of Balancing Deer With the Carrying Capacity of Their Habitat

Nov 17, 2025 Kip Adams

“Carrying capacity” is an often-used concept in deer management discussions. Biologists, managers and hunters routinely refer to the carrying capacity of an area, or whether a deer herd is above or below this magical point….

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Top 5 Map Layers for Habitat Management You’ve Probably Overlooked

Apr 23, 2025 Matt Ross

Two of the biggest limitations in managing deer habitat are a lack of knowledge and time. Not everyone has formal land management training or experience, and we all do our best to balance life’s other…

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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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How Long Before You See Bigger Deer After Improving Nutrition?

Nov 20, 2024 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

You were present in your maternal grandmother’s womb. I know this is a strange way to begin a story about deer, but stay with me: It’s the simplest way to explain an important concept of…

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12 Signs You Should Harvest More Does

Aug 21, 2024 Lindsay Thomas Jr.

How many does should you harvest? It’s a perennial question for our organization and many deer hunters. Here are 12 signs to look for that indicate you need to take more than you have been….

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The Block System of Deer Management at Virginia’s Fraley Family Farm

May 1, 2024 Bruce Ingram

On August 9-12, the next NDA Deer Steward 2 course will be held, this time at the Fraley family farm and at the Preserve at Crooked Run in Botetourt County, Virginia. The approximately 10,000-acre contiguous…

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How to Use Growing-Season Fire in Hardwoods for Better Deer Habitat

Apr 24, 2024 Craig Harper and Mark Turner

More land managers are using fire to manage habitat for deer and other wildlife today than at any time in the past century. And for good reason. There is no other tool that can improve…

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How to Feather Field Edges for Deer Attraction and Habitat Improvement

Mar 27, 2024 Cheyne Matzenbacher

This article is about feathering edges to improve deer habitat, not feathering hair. I remember the feathered hairstyle fad back in the 80s, but I don’t think feathered edges are a fad because this is…

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30 Years of Deer Habitat Management, Part 3: What Will the Future Bring?

Jan 17, 2024 Craig Harper

The last 30 years brought rapid change to deer habitat management techniques and knowledge. It all began with food plots, and then science led us into fields and forests. Now let’s finish the history and…

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30 Years of Deer Habitat Management, Part 2: Into Fields and Forests

Jan 8, 2024 Craig Harper

Deer hunters today are more knowledgeable about deer habitat management than ever before. We are driven by a desire to produce better deer and better hunting, and science gives us better information and improved strategies….

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