THE SEED ROOM

"What's the best thing to plant for wildlife?" is one of the most frequently asked questions that we hear, second only to: "just what do ya'll do anyway?" In answering the latter question, part of my answer is, "we also do the farming work on game-lands...", which usually leads right in to the former question.

In order to give a good answer, one must turn the tables and ask the inquirer a long list of questions: What kinds of animals are you trying to attract/feed? What time of year do you want to plant? How much acreage do you have available to plant? Is it an upland or bottomland site? Does the area get full sunlight or is it mostly shaded?What kind of equipment do you have available? What kind of vegetation is currently present? What will the grazing pressure be like?

Many entire books have been written on the subject, and there is no way to give good advice on planting for wildlife without knowing all of the above information (and more.) The agricultural work that we do involves managing the openings on game lands for the benefit of all forms of wildlife. For example, some openings are managed mostly for the benefit of small game, some are managed with the goal of providing quality forage for deer and other herbivores, and some are planted mostly to attract doves or other birds. Planting itself is only a small part of the work done in managed openings, other work includes plowing or disking, fertilizing, spraying, mowing, burning, managing the field edge, and removing rocks, stumps, and other debris.

Last year we planted a total of 86.5 acres on District 7 game lands. These plantings were done in seven months of the year and consisted of an amazing variety of crops. Here is a list of the different plant seed that has passed through our "seed room" and has been planted on game lands in recent years:

Alfalfa
Alyceclover
American Jointvetch
Arrowleaf Clover
Austrian Winter Pea
Barley
Berseem Clover
Big Bluestem
Birdsfoot Trefoil
Black Eyed Susan
Browntop Millet
Buckwheat
Chickory
Chufa
Corn
Cowpeas
Crimson Clover
Crown Vetch
Durana Clover
Eastern Gammagrass
Egyptian Wheat
Fescue*
Grain Sorghum
Hairy Vetch
Illinois Bundleflower
Indiangrass
Kale
Kobe Lespedeza
Korean Lepedeza
Lablab
Ladino Clover
Little Bluestem
Maximillian Sunflower
Oats
Okra
Orchard Grass*
Partridge Pea
Predovic Sunflower
Proso Millet
Rape
Red Clover
Rye
Ryegrass
Sesame
Sesbania
Small Burnett
Soybeans
Switchgrass
Timothy Grass
Turnips
Weeping Lovegrass*
Wheat
White Dutch Clover
Yellow Sweetclover

*note that these grasses are generally not recommended in wildlife openings, we only use them in erosion control situations.

Above is a photo of the interior of our seed room.

The NC Wildlife Resources Commission used to provide seed in annual and perennial mixtures that was intended for use as a small game food and cover planting. This program ended in the early 1990's, we no longer have any seed available to the public.

Perkins Game Land - Directions

Perkins Game Land

The Perkins Game Land is located in Davie County. Perkins is not a state owned game land but is leased from Duke Power.  There are three parking areas to access the Perkins Game Land on Riverview Road.  To access the Perkins Game Land:


From the intersection of US Highway 64 and NC Highway 801; travel south on NC Highway 801 approximately 1.3 miles to Riverview Road on the left. After turning onto Riverview Road, travel approximately 100 yards to the gated parking area on the right.

 35°51'22.14"N   80°26'41.50"W

To access the other the other two parking areas continue traveling Riverview Road approximately 1.9 miles to the end of the pavement.

35°50'22.48"N   80°26'49.93"W

And then from there continue on the graveled section another 0.6 mile to a gated parking area.

 35°50'6.41"N  80°27'19.42"W

For an online interactive map of Perkins, please visit the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission website @ www.ncwildlife.org or click HERE to link to the interactive maps.

A detailed map of Perkins in PDF form can be found HERE.

THE D7 crew repeats as "duck banding champs"

During the summer of 2009, THE D7 Crew again claimed title to the Coveted GOLDEN ROCKET award by banding more wood ducks than any other Wildlife Management crew in NC. THE D7 crew banded 327 wood ducks, 233 more ducks than the Andrews crew, who was this year's runner-up. All other crews across the state combined to band 421 wood ducks over the summer. The "preseason" wood duck banding effort proved difficult for all crews as repeated flooding occurred in areas that had seen low water levels for the last few years. Several of our best duck trapping sites were simply gone, washed away or flooded throughout the trapping season. We were able to adapt by seeking out new sites and employing our new productive trapping technique of "drop netting". The drop net can be employed where there is not enough space for the traditional rocket net, and can be left in place and employed as soon as high waters recede at a flood prone site. Here are some examples of sites where we caught and banded ducks using drop nets.

Above is a "lean-to" drop net made from river cane poles.

Above is a small "hoop" net suspended from a cable, and the two pictures below are of larger hoops suspended from overhanging trees.

Above is a hoop suspended from a wooden bipod over a particularly challenging site to trap, and below is another very small hoop suspended from a tree.

Our goal for next year is to reduce our time invested in wood duck banding by 1/2 and still retain this MAJOR award here in our trophy case.

What has THE D-7 crew done lately? (October-December 2009)

October 2009
- Crewmember assisted with youth hunt and collected data from three deer.
Crewmembers collected data from eight deer from meat processors and sportsmen.

-Spread 80 tons of gravel on public parking area on Three-top Mtn. GL.

-Performed routine depot, yard mowing, and site maintenance tasks.

-Mowed 3 miles of road edges on Mitchell River GL.

-Repaired and replaced rear tires on TL90 tractor.
Performed maintenance and repairs on bulldozer.
Performed maintenance and repairs on Truax planter.
Painted temporary bridge components.

-Cleared 1/2 mile of firebreaks on Mitchell River GL.
Reconnoitered layout of firebreaks for future burns on MRGL.
Installed two temporary stream crossings on MRGL firebreaks.

-Removed rocks, stumps and debris from 2 acres of openings on TCGL.
Sprayed 13 acres of openings on TCGL.
Planted 21 acres of openings on TCGL.
Planted four acres of openings on Mitchell River GL.
Removed rocks, stumps and debris from 1.5 acres of openings on MRGL.
Mowed 2 acres of openings on Mitchell River GL.

-Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended regional meeting in Marion.

-Treated 342 Hemlock trees for Hemlock Wooly Adelgid control as follows:
Treated 32 trees on Buffalo Cove GL
Treated 42 trees on Mitchell River GL
Treated 186 trees on Thurmond Chatham GL
Treated 82 trees on Three Top GL

Jim applying pesticide to control HWA

-Replaced stolen battery bank in tandem and 2-ton dump trucks.

November 2009
-Crewmembers collected data from 212 deer at various meat processors.

-Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Hauled off trash and recyclables and scrap tires to landfill.
Crewmember met with state fire marshal for depot inspection.

-Repaired washed out culvert on MRGL.

-Maintained various non-highway equipment.

-Constructed 1.3 miles of firelanes on MRGL.

-Reviewed burn plans with regional forester and prepared burn plans.

-Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.

-Maintained and inspected dump trucks and 10 & 20 ton trailers.
Maintained pumper unit truck (PM3579).

-Crewmember hauled Huntmaster trailer back to depot from Morganton depot.
Prepared, demonstrated, and signed out Huntmaster for NWTF handicap hunt.

December 2009
-Crewmembers collected data from 235 deer at various meat processors.

-Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Repaired depot security lighting system.
Plowed snow to provide access to depot.

-Repaired and performed scheduled maintenance on three tractors.
Repaired and maintained Alamo mower.
Repaired and maintained depot air compressor.
Repaired and maintained Honda ATV.

-Constructed temporary bridges needed for firelanes.

-Inspected, cleaned, and maintained 30 wood duck nest boxes at Hunting Creek waterfowl refuge.

-Inspected tracts to be burned on Perkins and MRGL, and prepared burn plans.

-Crewleader attended regional meeting at Marion depot.
Crew completed mandatory training regarding e-mail policies.
Routine office work and preparing reports.

-Had pumper unit truck inspected (PM3579).

-Prepared, demonstrated, and signed out Huntmaster for two handicapped hunts.

Mitchell River GL road repair project

A few months ago, we discovered some serious damage happening on a road on Mitchell River Game Lands. This road was constructed by a local land swindler/developer who was only interested in getting a road in there, getting the timber out, and then getting people in there in order to buy parcels of property. Needless to say, great care was not taken in this road construction. Since becoming game lands, we just closed out this road to the public and use it for administrative access only. We pretty much knew that this road would create problems eventually. Twenty or more feet of poorly supported and connected culvert pipe was left extending out far above grade.

This created a 25 foot high waterfall, which over time, eroded the ground beneath it until culvert sections were left unsupported. One culvert section broke off and the process started over again at the next section of 20' culvert, until the resulting erosion shown in the photo's below threatened the stability of the road.


We came up with a fix for this area with the advice of an engineer from our Engineering Division who came out one day to observe our work. Our first task was to remove two of the extended culvert sections. The one that had broken off was pulled from the gully with the dozer winch, the next one was excavated with the backhoe.


Next, we needed to convert the very steep banks of the "cut and fill" used to create the road in this section into a better designed drainage area. The easiest way to do this was to shove soil straight down the embankment with the dozer. After careful assesment of the risks involved, Jim strapped into the dozer and shoved down the steep embankment using the mound of soil that he was pushing as his emergency brake. At this grade, the dozer just kind of slides downhill on a one way trip, a path was pushed beforehand as a way to climb back out.

The drainage basin continues to take shape, the spillway is lined, and rip rap is placed...


Some matting is placed on the steeper sections.

We lined most of the waterway with heavy fabric, installed a few log check damns, hand placed several tons of rip rap, and a large pile of brush in the bottom of the basin to help stabilize the soil and slow down any heavy water flows. We then seeded the entire area down with a mixture of grasses and crown vetch.

Finally, we mulch down the site with straw. We completed this project in less than a week.

Buffalo Cove Game Land - Directions

Buffalo Cove Game Land

The Buffalo Cove Game Land is located mostly in Caldwell County, with a small portion located in western Wilkes County, in northwest North Carolina. There are two entrance roads to access the Buffalo Cove Game Land, Green Rock Road and Cove Branch Road. Both game land entrance roads can be accessed off of Buffalo Cove Road. A third access point via a small parking area and hunter trail provides access to the northern most "Long Ridge" tract. To access the Buffalo Cove Game Land:

Green Rock Road entrance - Travel NC Highway 268 to Buffalo Cove Road. Travel north on Buffalo Cove Road approximately 1.8 miles to the Green Rock access on the left.

36°2'18.10"N 81°31'18.43"W

Cove Branch Road entrance - Travel NC Highway 268 to Buffalo Cove Road. Travel north on Buffalo Cove Road approximately 2 miles to the Cove Branch Road on the right.

36°2'25.03"N 81°31'22.91"W

To access the "Long Ridge" tract via hunter trail, travel NC Highway 268 to Buffalo Cove Road. Travel north on Buffalo Cove Road approximately 6.5 miles to Old Sampson Road on the left. After turning left onto Old Sampson Road, travel approximately 0.4 miles to CC Camp Road on the left. Travel approximately 0.6 miles on the graveled CC Camp Road to the small parking area on the left. The hunter access trail begins across the creek and heads across the ridge to the game land boundary. GPS coordinates for the hunter parking area: 36°6'1.94"N 81°32'16.20"W

For an online interactive map of Buffalo Cove, please visit the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission website @ www.ncwildlife.org or click HERE to link to the interactive maps.

A detailed map of Buffalo Cove in PDF form can be found HERE.

Mitchell River Game Land - Directions

Mitchell River Game Land

The Mitchell River Game Land is located in Surry County, in northwest North Carolina. There are two entrance roads to access the Mitchell River Game Land. One game land entrance road is located just off of River Road and the other entrance is located on Haystack Road. To access the Mitchell River Game Land:

To access the River Road entrance - Travel Interstate 77 to the Dobson Exit (#93). Head west on Zephyr Road approximately 1.5 miles to Kapps Mill Road on the right. After turning onto Kapps Mill Road, travel 1.8 miles to the end of Kapps Mill Road. At the stop sign, turn right onto River Road. Travel River Road approximately 2 miles to the game land entrance road on the left.

36°25'6.98"N 80°51'27.00"W

To access the Haystack Road parking area - Travel Interstate 77 to the Dobson Exit (#93). Head west on Zephyr Road approximately 1.5 miles to Kapps Mill Road on the right. After turning onto Kapps Mill Road, travel 1.8 miles to the end of Kapps Mill Road. At the stop sign, turn right onto River Road. Travel River Road approximately 3.5 miles to the intersection with Haystack Road. At the stop sign, turn left onto Haystack Road and travel approximately 4.5 miles to the game land entrance on the left.

36°25'7.09"N 80°55'43.14"W

For an online interactive map of Mitchell River, please visit the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission website @ www.ncwildlife.org or click HERE to link to the interactive maps.

A detailed map of Mitchell River in PDF form can be found HERE.

Directions to game lands in District Seven

We are attempting to get detailed directions posted to each of our game lands here in District 7 here on our blog. While this will take us some time, as there are many game lands, please check back for updates and notice that direct links to the directions for each game land can be found on the left-hand side of the page under the "Links" tab. Directions to the Thurmond Chatham game land, in Wilkes County, can be found there now.

Thurmond Chatham Game Land - Directions

Thurmond Chatham Game Land

The Thurmond Chatham Game Land is located in Wilkes County, in northwest North Carolina. There are four entrance roads to access the Thurmond Chatham Game Land. One game land entrance road is located just off Highway 18 North known as Joshua Creek Road and three game land entrances are located off of Longbottom Road. To access the Thurmond Chatham Game Land:

From Wilkesboro, NC - From the junction of Highway 18 and Highway 268, travel Highway 18 North approximately 13.5 miles to Longbottom Road on the right.

• Osborne Ridge Road - From the intersection of Highway 18 and Longbottom Road, travel east approximately 2.5 miles to the Osborne Ridge Road entrance on the left.
  

36°21'9.58"N 81°12'11.09"W

• Pike Creek Road - From the intersection of Highway 18 and Longbottom Road, travel east approximately 3.5 miles to the Pike Creek Road entrance on the left.
  

36°21'21.60"N 81°11'15.51"W

• Bell Branch Road - From the intersection of Highway 18 and Longbottom Road, travel east approximately 5.7 miles to the Bell Branch Road entrance on the left.
  

36°22'8.96"N 81° 9'16.97"W

• Joshua Creek Road - From the intersection of Highway 18 and Longbottom Road, travel north on Highway 18 approximately 1.8 miles to Old Highway 18 on the right.
  

After turning right onto Old 18, travel approximately 0.3 miles to the Joshua Creek Road entrance on the right. GPS coordinates for the entrance: 36°21'27.22"N 81°14'11.64"W

From Elkin, NC - From the stoplight at the intersection of Highway 21 and Poplar Springs Road, travel approximately 8.5 miles north on Highway 21 to Traphill Road on the left. After taking the left onto Traphill Road, travel approximately 5.2 miles west to Longbottom Road on the right.

• Bell Branch Road - From the intersection of Traphill Road and Longbottom Road, travel west approximately 8.8 miles to the Bell Branch Road entrance on the right.
  

36°22'8.96"N 81° 9'16.97"W

• Pike Creek Road - From the intersection of Traphill Road and Longbottom Road, travel west approximately 11 miles to the Pike Creek Road entrance on the right.
  

36°21'21.60"N 81°11'15.51"W

• Osborne Ridge Road - From the intersection of Traphill Road and Longbottom Road, travel west approximately 12.1 miles to the Osborne Ridge Road entrance on the right.
  

36°21'9.58"N 81°12'11.09"W

• Joshua Creek Road - From the intersection of Traphill Road and Longbottom Road, travel west approximately 14.5 miles to the end of Longbottom Road to it's intersection with Highway 18. From the intersection of Highway 18 and Longbottom Road, travel north on Highway 18 approximately 1.8 miles to Old Highway 18 on the right.
  

After turning right onto Old 18, travel approximately 0.3 miles to the Joshua Creek Road entrance on the right. GPS coordinates for the entrance: 36°21'27.22"N 81°14'11.64"W

There is one other game lands access point that is found off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This access road leads to a hunter parking area and the game lands are accessed by following a hunter access trail across park property to the "D Section" of the Thurmond Chatham game lands. To find this parking area travel the Blue Ridge Parkway to milepost 239. Turn onto "Air Bellows Gap" Road.
Follow Air Bellows Road south approximately 0.75 miles until reaching the terminus of the road at the hunter parking area. GPS coordinates for the parking area: 36°25'16.46"N 81°7'22.00"W

For an online interactive map of Thurmond Chatham, please visit the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission website @ www.ncwildlife.org or click HERE to link to the interactive maps.

A detailed map of Thurmond Chatham in PDF form can be found HERE.

What has THE D-7 Crew done lately (July-Sept. 2009)

July 2009

-Conducted bear bait station surveys in district seven (34 stations, 13 bear visits)

-Performed routine depot, yard mowing, and site maintenance tasks.
Disposed of ½ ton of trash and recyclables.

-Mowed vegetation in 12 acres of openings on Thurmond Chatham GL.

-Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended regulation proposals review meeting in Yadkinville.

-Trapped 121 wood ducks and banded 115 with new bands.

-Trapped 15 doves and banded 14 with new bands.

-Scheduled maintenance of highway vehicles.

August 2009

-Performed routine depot, yard mowing, and site maintenance tasks.
Accompanied State Property Engineers during inspection of buildings.

-Cleared debris from 17 miles of public access roads on TCGL.
Opened and closed gates to allow sportsmen access onto TCGL.
Opened and closed gates to allow sportsmen access onto MRGL.
Opened and closed gates to allow sportsmen access onto BCGL.
Put up signs and improved barriers to block ATV traffic on Saddle Mtn Tract.
Met with Supervising Biologist to plan for parking area on Three-top Mtn GL.

-Mowed vegetation in 17 acres of openings on TCGL.
Mowed 14 acres of dove fields on Perkins Game Lands.
Burned 1.5 acres of field crops on Perkins GL Dove fields.
Spot sprayed invasive plants on 22 acres of openings on TCGL.

-Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.

-Trapped 207 wood ducks and banded 180 with new bands.

-Trapped and banded 18 doves.

-Scheduled maintenance of highway vehicles.

September 2009

-Installed access barrier around public parking area on Three-top Mtn. GL.

-Performed routine depot, yard mowing, and site maintenance tasks.

-Mowed 1.5 miles of access roads and parking areas on BCGL.

-Retrieved tractor from vendor in Wilkesboro after repair was completed.

-Mowed one acre opening on Thurmond Chatham GL.
Mowed nine acres of openings on Perkins Game Lands.
Burned one acre of field crops on Perkins GL Dove fields.
Sprayed and planted eight acres of openings on Buffalo Cove GL.
Mowed fifteen acres of openings on Buffalo Cove GL.

(photo above is of a strip of sunflowers, Lablab, and cowpeas we planted on Thurmond Chatham Game Lands, in early September, bears discovered the sunflowers and soon thereafter it looked like the area had been bombed as the bears visited the 2 acre patch and devoured the sunflowers, once the bears had eaten all the sunflowers, they left and the deer moved back in to feast on the Lablab and cowpeas)
-Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended Regional meeting in Marion.

-Trapped 38 wood ducks and banded 32 with new bands.
Prepared and submitted banding records to waterfowl Biologist.

-Performed scheduled maintenance of three highway vehicles.
Obtained spare tires and parts for 3 western Region Huntmaster trailers.

-Transported vehicle and two truck loads of NCWRC property from former employee’s residence to depot for storage.

What has The D-7 crew done lately? (April-June 2009)

April

Development of Clearings:
Cleared debris and expanded existing openings by one acre on Perkins GL.

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Worked on improvements to depot storage facilities.
Disposed of ½ ton of trash and recyclables.

Boundary Maintenance:
Unposted 1.1, and posted .6 miles of boundary on Three-Top GL.
Posted 2.6 miles of boundary on ALCOA GL in Davie County.

Maintenance of Public Use Facilities:
Mowed and cleaned up around monument site on Hunting Creek Waterfowl refuge.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Cleared trees and debris from seven miles of administrative roads on TCGL.
Delivered 30 tons of aggregates for road drainage repair project on MRGL.
Cleaned 20 culverts on road system on TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Performed repairs and maintenance on tractors and other motorized equipment.
Repaired seed drill, disc harrow, sprayer, planter, and other tractor implements.

Firebreaks:
Installed .4 miles of firebreaks on burn areas on Perkins GL.

Herbaceous Planting:
Planted 4.5 acres of firebreaks and other openings on BCGL.
Planted two acres of openings on TCGL.
Sprayed various herbicides on 14 acres of openings on TCGL.
Disked six acres on TCGL.

Tree and Shrub Planting:
Pruned eight apple trees on TCGL.

Vegetation Control:
Bladed and disked ½ acre of early successional openings on Perkins GL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, reporting and review of budget.

Miscellaneous State Funded Activities:
Crewmember attended medical appointment relative to workman's comp. injury.


May

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot and site maintenance tasks.
Disposed of ½ ton of trash and recyclables.
Completed project to waterproof depot storage facilities.

Maintenance of Public Use Facilities:
Cleared vegetation in campground and parking area at Basin Creek on TCGL.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Spread 30 tons of gravel on MRGL access roads.
Delivered 45 tons of aggregates for road drainage repair project on MRGL.
Closed access road gates on MRGL and TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Performed repairs and maintenance on tractors and other motorized equipment.
Repaired sprayers, Brillion planter, ATV disk, debris loader, and Huntmaster lift.

Herbaceous Planting:
Spread two tons of fertilizer on dove fields at Perkins GL.
Disked six acres in preparation for planting on TCGL.
Sprayed 7 acres of openings on TCGL.
Planted four acres on TCGL.
Planted ½ acre of field crops on Wilkes Depot property.

Tree and Shrub Planting:
Removed 35 tree shelters from trees and shrubs planted on TCGL.
Released eight mast producing trees from entanglement with kudzu on Perkins GL.

Vegetation Control:
Spot-sprayed for kudzu control in and around 8 acres of openings on Perkins GL.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, reporting and review of budget.

Waterfowl Banding:
Investigated several wood duck trapping sites, began preparing trapping equipment.

Miscellaneous State Funded Activities:
Assisted herpetologists with survey for bog turtles in Wilkes Depot Bog area.


June

Building Maintenance:
Performed routine depot, yard mowing, and site maintenance tasks.
Disposed of ½ ton of trash and recyclables.

Maintenance of Public Use Facilities:
Mowed 1/2 acre in campground and parking area at Basin Creek, TCGL.
Mowed monument area at Hunting Creek Waterfowl Refuge.

Road and Trail Maintenance:
Spread 45 tons of aggregates for road repair on TCGL.
Blocked illegal ATV access onto TCGL.

Maintenance, Repair & Purchase of Non-Highway Equipment:
Performed repairs and maintenance on tractors, implements, and other equipment.
Prepared Huntmaster lift for use, instructed user, and inspected upon return.

Herbaceous Planting:
Spread 4500 lbs of fertilizer on openings on TCGL.
Spread 7 tons of pulverized limestone on openings on TCGL.
Sprayed 8 acres while planting openings on TCGL.
Planted 11.5 acres on TCGL.
Sprayed and planted one acre on Wilkes Depot property.
Mowed vegetation in 7 acres of openings on TCGL.

Vegetation Control:
Spot-sprayed invasive plants in and around 2 acre Mulberry Mill Bog site.

Planning, Coordination, Evaluation & Reporting:
Routine office work, purchasing, and reporting.
Crew attended regional meeting in Marion.

Waterfowl Banding:
Investigated and prepared several wood duck trapping sites and equipment.

Maintenance, Repair, and Purchase of Highway Vehicles:
Scheduled maintenance of highway vehicles.

productive forage plot on very dry ridge site

The game lands that we manage tend to have very little potential for "normal" agricultural management. Lets face it, if the land was suitable for farming or development, it would not be game lands. As a result, we are left to do what little agriculture we can on marginal sites that are scattered across the landscape. Here in D-7, almost all of our state-owned game lands are in mountainous and steep terrain, and as a result, some of the only opportunities we have for creating an opening are on ridgetops which are most often very rocky and dry with poor soils.

Here is an opening that we created a couple years ago on dry rocky ridge. Our first planting on this site was a fall planting of wheat and ladino clover which did OK through the fall, but mostly died out through the winter and never recovered as the site dried out the following spring. So we opted to replant to a mixture of sweetclover, timothy, and chickory on this site because these plants were the most likely to survive and produce forage for wildlife. This planting grew and established a fair stand despite extreme drought conditions during the 2008 growing season. Now in it's second season, this planting has received some good rains and is producing well.


The sweetclover is the taller plant with yellow flowers, chickory is the lower growing forb that looks kind of like a dandelion, and timothy is the grass with a compact, fine seedhead. All three can be seen in the photo above.

Look closely at the photo above and you can see that this sweetclover plant has been heavily browsed by deer, and judging from the trails and tracks, this plot has become a favored feeding area for many deer. I munched on a bit of the sweetclover myself and found it to be more palatable than most field forage crops, a bit of leaves in your salad would probably give it a slightly bitter, lemon-peppery taste. The field is also abuzz with thousands of bees and other insects attracted to the blossoms of the sweetclover, which in turn brings turkeys and grouse whose young depend on insects for a large part of their diet. Here is another view of this opening with plenty of blueberries and chinkapins in the foreground, the presence of these valuable mast producing shrubs is a direct result of our very effective prescribed burning program. You can also see some dead trees in the background resulting from a burn we conducted here two years ago.

Check out the bumper crop of blueberries (or huckleberries? can anybody tell me the difference?) we have on this site.

The soil on this site is quite acidic, as they are in almost all of our work area, blueberries love it, but sweetclover does not do well in acidic soils. We applied a good dose of pulverized limestone when we planted and after testing the soil, decided to apply another dose of lime recently(see below.)

THE D-7 crew wins MAJOR award!

THE D-7 Crew was recently presented the highly coveted first annual "GOLDEN ROCKET AWARD." This award was created by the waterfowl research folks to recognize the Wildlife Management Crew that captured and banded the most number of wood ducks during preseason banding efforts. Seventeen Wildlife Management Crews across the State competed hotly for this prestigious award. Through hard work, innovative techniques, superior "woodsmanship", and dedication to a military campaign style of operation, THE D-7 crew managed to emerge champions despite not being located in North Carolina's best wood duck habitat. Along with the trophy, THE Wilkes crew also received a .5% pay cut, higher insurance premiums, and loss of use of Work vehicles to travel from home office to depot to reward them for their initiative and inflexible fidelity to the Wildlife Commission.

Wes, Jim, Doug Howell (waterfowl biologist), and Mike.

The Wilkes County based crew captured and banded 226 ducks and 28 recaptures in July and August of 2008. On 21 summer mornings, crew members were up hours before dawn traveling to one or more of 22 remote sites located in six different counties in Northwest NC in order to band wood ducks. The crew employed a variety of electrically initiated rocket deployed and mechanically initiated entanglement and containment devices, and other traps in order to accomplish this important mission. Crew leader Jim Keepfer was quick to give credit to Mike Greene and Wes Duncan for their outstanding work, and to former temporary employee Tim Nixon, D-7 biologist Chris Kreh and CURE guru Johnny Riley for their help. Recognition is also extended to the many cooperating landowners who allowed the crew to hang out in their riparian areas.

The Wildlife Management Division presents other prestigious awards such as the Golden Dove, the Disdainful Turkeyfoot, the dumberer award, The bloody arm award, and others, but, among these, only the GOLDEN ROCKET has been officially declared a MAJOR award. Pictured below, among some of our trapping hardware and accouterments, is The GOLDEN ROCKET which, beside being the first MAJOR award is also the heaviest award ever presented in the history of the Wildlife Management Division. The award will reside in the well-stocked trophy display area in THE D-7 Wildlife Management Crew Depot until some other Wildlife Management crew manages to demonstrate the dedication, skill, fortitude, and luck needed to out-compete the incredibly talented Wilkes Crew (or until some major road construction, new gamelands boundary, or other project keeps them away from the creeks and rivers all summer.)