#FunctionalEdgeHabitat

As an aside, today marks 34 years since my Mom suffered through the pains of labor and deposited me into the hands of a midwife at Chatham Hospital in Siler City, NC.  She was 19 and just a kid herself  – Thank you Mama.  How I managed to get here, playing in the dirt of North Carolina in an effort to create edge habitat for wildlife – only God knows that I guess.

First and Foremost, I must give credit where credit is due – That said, I’m much appreciative for landowners who afford me the privilege to be a steward of their property; for the discretion to implement such habitat creation initiatives so long as not to degrade the valuable timber resources that abound throughout.

So, what is Functional Edge Habitat? What is Edge Habitat for that matter?  Quite simply, edge habitat is where two differing types of habitat meet – Functional Edge habitat is more than that – It’s a place that can be readily used for hunting, observing, and evaluating deer, turkey, or other game species.  It’s where wildlife populations are censused, where our hunting heritage is strengthened and passed on to the next generation of hunters, and for me at least – it’s memories and photographs in the making.

Sometimes, edge habitat isn’t the limiting factor affecting the diversity of your property.  It’s something else, like the lack of a perennial water source or the absence of cover.  Functional Edge isn’t necessarily a wildlife food plot where animals feed.  It could be a geographic spot on the map where an early stage of succession with grasses and forbs meets a later stage with small trees and shrubs. Such an edge is  “functional” to any wildlife manager in the sense that it provides an opportunity to observe wildlife so long as the earlier stages of forest succession are maintained.

The limiting factor on most of the properties I am involved with isn’t cover or water – it’s food and the type of habitat that breeds great nesting grounds for wild turkeys.  As such, I create areas where supplemental food sources can be planted or where an earlier stage of succession can be generated and maintained.  Once an understory crosses a certain threshold in the small trees and shrub stage, it’s just about impossible to accomplish to reclaim it with a tractor and a bush hog.  Enter the bulldozer – And, within a few hours time, you have set back succession and created what I refer to as functional edge habitat.

P.S.  – If you’re an individual landowner, timber company, nature conservancy, or other entity that may lease or grant permission to hunt – be open to such initiatives, especially if you’re not paying for it.  If you limit or restrict all such activity, you’re not doing your land or the game we love to hunt any favors, and you’re likely to find yourself having a high turnover rate of lessees.  Creating functional edge habitat for wildlife only happens when you have an “involved” steward on your property – Such an involved presence is more beneficial than you may realize.  Open the door, give it a try.  You might just be surprised at the results and the strength of the relationship between you and those who are the keepers of your land.