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NWTF Corn is a valuable wildlife food

According to a Native American legend, corn was the food of the gods that created the earth. In core samples of the lake sediment beneath Mexico City, scientists found fossilized pollen grains of corn believed to be more than 80,000 years old.

Most people today associate corn with Native Americans who introduced the crop to the early settlers. The plant that was so important to the survival of those early colonists is still vital to our survival today. Beyond that, it is also an extremely valuable food source for a multitude of wildlife species.

Corn, as a wildlife food source, is most often available to animals as a waste product of normal agricultural harvest. But, today’s highly efficient farming methods often leave little corn on the ground.

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Mixing grasses and clovers benefits wildlife

Grasses and clovers are good plants to use in your wildlife openings and are especially important to wild turkeys. They offer excellent foraging and brood habitat for adult wild turkeys and turkey poults. These plants produce a large amount of seeds, which benefit mature birds, and attract hordes of insects, the essential element of a young turkey's diet. Additionally, grasses and clovers help control erosion when planted on roads, logging decks and fallow fields.

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Planting trees and shrubs for wildlife can be a challenge when there are a lot of deer around. One shrub that deer tend to leave alone, yet provides an excellent food source for wildlife, is Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii). The multiple stems and dense branches of the Japanese barberry are covered with sharp spines that make it inaccessible to deer.

Ted Walski, an NWTF Technical Committee representative and wildlife biologist with the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, says he plants barberry around field edges. “Barberry is well used by many different game species and provides excellent cover for cottontail rabbits.”

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Bur Oak provides winter food for wildlife

Finding enough to eat in the winter and early spring can be very challenging for wildlife. Planting mast-producing trees can help provide a good food source for wildlife during that time of year. Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) is native to central and eastern North America and grows to be 70 to 80 feet tall and two to three feet in diameter. It is a member of the white oak group, which means that its acorns mature in a single year and provide good food for wildlife.

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Chinese chestnuts are excellent for wildlife

In the early 1900s, chestnut trees dominated U.S. forests from southern Maine to Mississippi. This prolific nut producer consistently produced an abundance of mast.

In 1904, a lethal fungus was discovered in New York City infecting American chestnut trees. Within 50 years this fungus had wiped out nearly all American chestnut trees. However, Chinese chestnut (Castenea mollissima), a blight-resistant tree, thrived in the United States. Chestnuts are an excellent source of food for wild turkeys and other wildlife.

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Dogwood offers prime winter food source

Very few trees are appreciated more than a flowering dogwood. From Maine to Michigan and Texas to Florida, flowering dogwoods beautify the understory of mature hardwood forests, and decorate communities with their lovely spring flowers and vibrant autumn foliage. Indeed, dogwoods are a year-round favorite, valuable to man and beast.

With the exception of gobblers gobbling, very few signs of spring are more recognizable than the blooms of flowering dogwoods. On top of its spring beauty, dogwood leaves cast a thick shade that provides an oasis from the hot summer sun. And in autumn, dogwoods burn with red, scarlet and purple colors that rival any in the forest.

After its leaves have withered and fallen, dogwoods hold onto their bright red berries through late fall and early winter. According to Dr. James Earl Kennamer, NWTF Senior Vice President of Conservation Programs, songbirds, small mammals and game birds readily eat this reliable producer of soft mast.

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Gobbler sawtooth oak is great producer of acorns

“Acorns provide nourishment to many wildlife species during fall and winter months,” said Bryan Burhans, NWTF Director of Land Management Programs. “One tree that wildlife flocks to is the gobbler sawtooth oak, which is a great producer of acorns.”

The gobbler sawtooth oak is a variety of sawtooth oak developed from acorns taken from a tree in Maryland in the 1960s. Its range includes eastern Texas and Oklahoma to the northeastern states of New Hampshire and Massachusetts and the entire Southeast, excluding the Florida Peninsula.

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Hawthorn creates cover and food for wildlife

No two snowflakes are alike, and the same can almost be said of hawthorns.

Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) is a member of the rose family, and some species can reach 40 feet in height. Anywhere from 30 to more than 1,000 species of hawthornes have been identified in the United States, and individual species are often impossible to identify.

Hawthorns, however, do share common traits: dense foliage, tangled limbs and sharp spines that can grow longer than two inches. Sometimes straight and sometimes curved, the spines keep predators at bay and make hawthorne a favorite nesting tree for songbirds.

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Landowners get assistance
from NWTF management programs

Wildlife species depend on good habitat for their livelihood, especially on private property. Private land management plays a critical role on the influence of wildlife populations across the country. According to data from the USDA, nearly 50 percent of the U.S. (more than 900 million acres) is privately owned cropland, pastureland and rangeland managed by approximately 4.7 million individuals.

What do the numbers mean? The bottom line is that the future of half of the wildlife habitat in the U.S. is in the hands of only two percent of its citizens. Trends in crop prices, the demands of a growing human population and land values are factors that will continue to impact how land is managed.

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Harrow to improve stands of clover

Here’s a quick tip for landowners with wildlife openings or fields that have reseeding annuals and perennials, such as crimson clover and Redland II clover, planted in them. Be sure to lightly harrow these areas during August every two to three years.

Harrowing will cover the seed produced by the parent plants and allow germination and establishment of a new clover stand. Also, mow your clover plots in late summer and early fall to remove the taller plant species that shade out the smaller clovers. Do not mow less than six inches off the ground. Remember that most clovers are cool season plants that flourish during the cooler months.

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Seedbed prep vital to wildlife opening success

While good roost areas and water are important for a wild turkey’s survival, so are permanent openings in the forest. Openings provide areas of food and cover for adult birds, as well as excellent bugging areas for poults during the spring and early summer. But these areas must be maintained to provide maximum benefits and that starts with planting a quality seed mixture.

The Turkey Gold and the Southeast Spring Strut and Rut mixes, available through the National Wild Turkey Federation, is an excellent choice for planting openings during the spring. This annual mix grows quickly to provide food and cover throughout the summer, fall and early winter. This mix should be planted in the spring or early summer from March 1 through June 30. This mix will grow well throughout the U.S.

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Wildlife openings make
a difference if properly prepared

Do you want to see more wildlife on your property or lease? Then provide quality food and cover.

One effective way to attract and keep turkeys on your land is to construct and maintain wildlife openings, often called food plots. For various reasons, openings are popular with land managers throughout the country. “Food plots are great, because they improve deer hunting by helping to attract deer to the openings, but more importantly, they provide critical habitats for many species of wildlife,” said Bryan Burhans, NWTF Director of Land Management Programs.

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Soil testing improves wildlife openings

For every successful garden or wildlife food plot you see, brimming with ripe tomatoes for people or clover for deer and wild turkeys, it’s a good bet, the success part started with evaluating the soil.

“Testing your soil is the only way to tell how much lime and fertilizer is needed,” said Andy Adams, NWTF wildlife biologist. “Knowing exactly how much to apply will not only save you money in the long run but will also improve the nutritional quality of the planting,”

Best of all, the test is simple and inexpensive. Soil sample kits from your county extension office or the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) office are usually available for about $5.

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Get in the Game

Whether you’re a large landowner or somebody who only owns a few acres, it’s a good bet that you are interested in how to make your land more suitable for wildlife. For those looking for a great source of information about managing their land, the National Wild Turkey Federation has a great new tool called Get in the Game: Attracting Wildlife to you Land, an interactive reference guide and resource planning CD-ROM full of useful information.

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Turkey Gold Strut and Rut is excellent for all game

If you’re a landowner looking to improve wildlife habitat on your property or hunting lease, look no further. Turkey Gold Strut and Rut is a seed blend available by one of the most respected conservation organizations across North America, the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Bryan Burhans, NWTF Director of Land Management suggests that the Turkey Gold Strut and Rut spring annual mix is an excellent choice for planting openings during the spring. “This inexpensive annual mix grows quickly and provides food and cover throughout the summer, fall and early winter,” said Burhans. This mix should be planted in the spring or early summer from March 1 through June 30.

The Spring Strut and Rut mix is a great mixture that provides high-quality feeding areas for turkey poults throughout the U.S.

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Shelters enhance tree survival

If you want to increase survival and growth of tree and shrub seedlings, try using tree shelters. After several growing seasons, a higher percentage of trees will survive with the use of tree shelters than without.

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NWTF regional programs
benefit wildlife across country

While efforts to restore wild turkey populations across North America have been met with phenomenal success, biologists for the National Wild Turkey Federation recognize that habitat improvement programs targeted to specific regions also are important in maintaining and improving these populations. Working closely with state and federal wildlife agencies and even a number of corporate partners, the NWTF has created the following habitat programs:

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