Reasons for becoming a Landowner:

Every wildlife species requires a little different habitat. My focus as a landowner,  is on deer, turkey, and ruffed grouse.  Every effort is taken to provide these guys with the best cover possible. Timber, native grasses, shrub thickets, and wetlands provide most of the shelter.  The cool thing is that each species crosses over into another species major living quarters. Some of those species are not on my focus list. Flowering crabapple and American plum was incorporated into the management plan a number of years ago thus providing both food and shelter. I cannot stress enough how valuable fruit bearing plants have been to the success of drawing in and holding a menagerie of wildlife.

What Landowners do before the hunt:

The most important part of everything we do before the hunt is to make sure all the equipment is safe and in good repair. Sitting in a collapsed ground blind, falling from a deer stand, or being left stranded in a remote location by an ATV that won’t start is not my idea of an end to a perfect day. Most things that can or do go wrong can be avoided by simply taking the time to inspect and repair your equipment. What better time to do this than right now in summer?

Getting ahead of the hunt has become as rewarding as the hunt itself. I once was only a user of the outdoors and now I am a user as well as a provider. How gratifying. My hat is off to all you landowners who provide outdoor opportunity for others. Happy Hunting!

Where can you find more Babe Winkelman topics of interest? Right Here! Also, check out his facebook for live streamed videos about real outdoor topics!