Well, the QDM Workshop up in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, was a great time rubbing shoulders with foresters, private land managers, farmers, biologists, and more.  The one common thread was a love for deer and managing their habitat.  A lot of people have misconceptions about QDM advocates - in it for the big bucks, selfish and snobbish hunters, etc.  Nothing could be farther from the truth if they truly understand quality deer management.  All of wildlife benefits when deer are properly managed for and habitat is the big winner when deer management is taken seriously!

On day 1, we heard almost 12 hours of dialogue/presentation on everything from aging whitetail deer, to food plot management, to clearcutting and other silvicultural techniques, deer disease biology, and the history of quality deer management.  Craig Harper was a great speaker from Universiy of Tennessee-Knoxville and many consider him to be one of, if not the, leading authority on food plots.  Craig gave a couple of great talks and I really enjoyed his expertise on the 2nd day on the field trip.

Also, Joe Hamilton, founder of QDMA was in attendance and gave a couple shorter presentations.  I presented on some of my research findings from the farm in Maryland, Brad Howard from the WRC gave a great disease presentation and also the history of deer management in the North Carolina mountains.  Chris Moorman gave a great talk on habitat management. 

That evening in the ’shoot from the hip’ session, discussion was bantered around about hunter recruitment, predator management, supplemental mineral feeding, and more.

The field trip on Day 2 took place on the Apple Mountain Demonstration Site.  You can’t imagine what these guys have squeezed into a little over 400 acres.  In a nutshell, the property was formerly old-growth hardwood forest but was 50% clearcut 3 or 4 years ago.  In the logging roads and decks, food plots have been established.  Apple orchards have been planted.  Native browse can seemingly be measured in the tons per acre!  The property is a text-book example of the 180 degree turn-around that habitat can experience with smart timber management practices and planning ahead to manage for wildlife with the finished product.

Craig Harper talking about annual food plots as he holds up some cowpeas.

Referred to as the most important wildlife plant in the Southeast by Chris Moorman, blackberry vines were heavily browsed throughout the property and were regenerating well along the clear-cut/food plot borders.

The group making its way along a winter wheat/soybean food plot.  Edges of the food plots were sprayed with a selective hardwood herbicide to prevent shading and allow maximum sunlight to stimulate plant growth.

Lightly disking in this crop of winter wheat provides enough seed to regenerate a nice winter wheat stand without worrying to re-seed an “annual” food plot.

One of several apple orchards that are 3 years old on the property.  As with all plantings, making sure your lime and fertilizer dose are appropriate for your specific site will make growing great deer forage much easier than ignoring and neglecting to get your soil tested…people, IT’S FREE in North Carolina!!

Another ‘annual’ food plot of winter wheat/crimson clover/arrowleaf clover.  This plot is in it’s second year and you can see the regeneration that is coming in behind a mature stand of clover.  Properly managing annual food plots can stretch them into semi-perennial plots - sometimes without even re-seeding!

Chris Moorman holding up leaves and nuts of a chinkapin (Castanea pumila) - great native wildlife forage!

Everyone standing out in another great food plot - this time a perennial food plot located on a logging deck.

A small food plot of forage soybeans located on an exposed ridgetop.  This food plot is border on 2 sides by apple trees and provides several awesome ground-blind hunting opportunities. 

I’m telling this property was beautiful.  Although it may be difficult to manage for white-tailed deer in the mountains, this property is a testament that releasing early-succession vegetation with carefully thought-out silvicultural practices can create a wildlife utopia!  Great job guys.