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| Babe
and his October of 2004 Illinois Whitetail. |
Airs the weeks of
July 23- July 29 and October 22 to October 28
Owning land has always been
a huge part of the American dream, although in
earlier times,
staking a claim was much more directly tied
to providing family sustinance than it is today. Gone are the days when a man
could provide for his family purely by the sweat
of his brow
and
the bounty of the land. Once self-sufficent,
small family farms are now predominantly owned
by large, highly efficient corporate opperations.
In turn, the way of small-time
loggers and ranchers have followed a similar
path. Over
time, the
end result has been a mass migration of historically
rural people to large cities, and a general
disconnection from the land.
Likewise, where
as hunting once largely determined what, if
anything, may have graced the family
table…today, hunting’s role
is more recreationaly-based and about keeping
the tradition
alive. Perhaps all this explains the
resurgence of sportsmen and nature lovers investing
in rural
properties
and managing them for the benefit of wildlife
and/or private hunting.
Like many of you,
I am proud to be a landowner. My goal, here
on my property in central
Minnesota, is pretty aggressive—to
attract and maintain healthy populations
of local wildlife for my
friends and family to enjoy on a year-round
basis.
Why go to all the work and
expense to develop a private wildlife utopia,
when
hunting
on public land or going with an outfitter
would
be so much
easier?
Well, I take great pride in
ownership and the freedom to do my own thing.
The
wholesome
lessons
my kids learn in the great outdoors are
invaluable and it’s also honorable,
even if only in a small way, to be a
good steward of god’s
great creation.
From the very beginning I had much to
learn about becoming an effective land
and wildlife
manager.
So, I did a lot of reading up and talked
to experts on subjects like wetland and
habitat development…the
creation of edge conditions…the
development of productive food plots…and
predator control.
Wow! It’s taken
a lot of hard work, but what a labor
of love this place has become for
my entire family. Why go through all
the cost and effort, for example, to
plant pheasants in
an area where local populations are marginal
at best?
Number one is simply because
I want to and I can. Secondly, I think to myself…“wouldn’t
it be nice to one day leave this world
knowing I’ve left this tiny piece
of heaven even better off than when
I originally found it?”
Then finally,
yes…we’re also seeding
wild ringnecks in hopes of establishing
huntable numbers for years to come.
Ya know, I think when it comes
to managing private land for wildlife, it helps
to be a dreamer.
You see, in addition to pheasants, I have the
same hopes for trophy bucks…ruffed grouse…wild
turkeys…waterfowl…hungarian partridge
and a slough of other non-game species on my
land.
Sure I’m a dreamer, but
once the ball of sound land management gets rolling,
what’s
good for one species is often equally supportive
for all.
So on this weeks "Outdoor Secrets"…techniques
for attracting, developing and documenting
local whitetail bucks via nutritional supplements
and
digital trail cameras. Then later…an
exciting bow hunt for a boss Illinois buck!
So make sure you check this one out.
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