Other Habitats

[Prairie Drifter]

Yeah, they wanted us to catch up on our LE training. I've watched the first part of the same video about 5 times and our internet is too slow with all the additional use that it dies mid video and I've wasted another half hour. I guess I will have to get up at 4 a.m. to get the video to run.

I do guess it would be appropriate to show what I am protecting by my beaver removal. Here is what we just built and just what it can attract at times.

 

[3car]

Yeah, they wanted us to catch up on our LE training. I've watched the first part of the same video about 5 times and our internet is too slow with all the additional use that it dies mid video and I've wasted another half hour. I guess I will have to get up at 4 a.m. to get the video to run.

I do guess it would be appropriate to show what I am protecting by my beaver removal. Here is what we just built and just what it can attract at times.

Well our burn season was the worst we have had in 10 years. Not the end of the world but a set back on the less. The only rx fire I was on was the Mt. Rushmore burn which was kinda neat. We did get 250 acres planted tho which is a big deal. These latest rains will help immensely.

 

[Prairie Drifter]

Yeah, I didn't light a bic all spring, 0 acres. I have gotten a lot of fire breaks mowed for summer burns and hope to get them disked now that we have finally gotten some rain. Was too hard to get a disk in the ground. I did get most of the marshes disked. Now it's time to get millet planted in them. Of course the rain has pushed that back. If I don't have to redisk them, getting over them with the drill should be fairly quick. You didn't mention what you planted. That is a fairly sizeable chunk no matter what you planted.

 

[3car]

Well when I say "we" I mean the heros that actually sat on the tractor. Those days are unfortunately over for me. Once in a while I get that opportunity but for the most part its our seasonals that do that work now. I can get you the actual mix but its usually 15 grass species and 15 forbs. Half was planted on Sand Lake NWR and the other half was planted on a WPA in McPherson County that I manage. Its been kinda a struggle the last 5 years but shes finally planted. It was a WPA that was planted to brome years ago and was only managed by haying every once in a while. I found a producer and he was willing to graze it really hard one spring. I used those grazing funds to construct a good fence around it and then figured we should just farm it. He farmed it for 3 years and kinda gave up on it. He was struggling to make ends meet on his end and we went our separate ways but we left on good terms. I found another guy to farm it for a few years and get it back into shape ,it looked great last year. Nice firm seed bed with soybean stubble. And to top it off we are getting rain in SD. Should be great for pheasant hunters this fall. Really looking forward to seeing guys shooting birds out of it in October!!

 

[Prairie Drifter]

All I needed to know was that it was NWSG. I thought it could have been trees. Not that there is anything wrong with that!

 

[3car]

It has the staple NWSGs like big blue, Indian and switch but we really go heavy on the native forbs to out compete the Canada thistle and wormwoood. Lots of maximillian, and false sunflower, bergomot, milkvetch, prairie rose, cone flowers, prairie clovers and the like.

 

[Prairie Drifter]

That sounds really bird friendly! Man, I hate Canada Thistle!

 

[Prairie Drifter]

Here is my permanent cure for beaver and muskrats poking holes in my pond dams and marsh dikes.