Why do the wildlife folks cut every tree

Bob Peters said:
I found a secret new public land spot today. Looks juicy as can be. I talked to a guy that works the land near it, told me it's got more pheasants on it than San Francisco has bums. I noticed a tree row on it, or at least one that was removed. Last year I had a spot and forever pheasants came and cut all the trees off the terraces in the field. Usually there were lots of birds in those tree lines! I talked to a buddy today, and he told me two of his favorite spots used to have tree lines/ shelter belts, but they were removed by dnr. I realize owls 🦉 perch there and look for a pheasant dinner. But doesn't it help to leave some trees in a shelter belt for heavy winter snows?
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Iowa is cutting out all the black locust and elm trees on the public lands, this might be what you saw. They are leaving them as deadfall for habitat.
 
KEOutdoors said:
Iowa is cutting out all the black locust and elm trees on the public lands, this might be what you saw. They are leaving them as deadfall for habitat.
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This area I saw was in MN. The dnr had just acquired it and nobody knew about it. Me and a buddy got a limit on opener and saw a pile of birds. But secrets like that don't last long! Anyway there was a nice thin strip of mature trees in the field on the aerial maps. It had been removed as soon as the dnr got the deed. I did see some work in iowa on a wma where a really good willow thicket had been mowed down. I'll have to call the wildlife manager down there and ask about it sometime. I got a hunting buddy and he hates when paths are mowed on public hunting land. He thinks it benefits all the lazy hunters!
 
Bob Peters said:
This area I saw was in MN. The dnr had just acquired it and nobody knew about it. Me and a buddy got a limit on opener and saw a pile of birds. But secrets like that don't last long! Anyway there was a nice thin strip of mature trees in the field on the aerial maps. It had been removed as soon as the dnr got the deed. I did see some work in iowa on a wma where a really good willow thicket had been mowed down. I'll have to call the wildlife manager down there and ask about it sometime. I got a hunting buddy and he hates when paths are mowed on public hunting land. He thinks it benefits all the lazy hunters!
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I like the paths on public land.. gives me a good idea of where everyone else is hunting and where to avoid!
 
HS Strut said:
I'm nowhere near an expert? I know nothing. But I do know that a certain landowner we hunt on in SD has an owl living in her wooded area by her house along with about 200 pheasants....ALL THE TIME. If that owl was that much of a threat, why do those pheasants stay there?
Before someone asks, she found the owl injured, nursed it back to health, named it and released it. It stays around her farm lot....otherwise....
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Imo owls kill lots of pheasants. They are excellent hunters.
 
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