Longleaf Land and Wildlife Consulting Services, LLC.

Longleaf Land and Wildlife Consulting Services, LLC. Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Longleaf Land and Wildlife Consulting Services, LLC., Consulting Agency, Cuthbert, GA.

This post may or may not bother a few of the forestry guys. Early spring 2025 we clearcut this west facing slope that wa...
05/08/2026

This post may or may not bother a few of the forestry guys. Early spring 2025 we clearcut this west facing slope that was a first thinned pine stand which had a timber response i was not satisfied with. This spring (2026) we took advantage of a pretty extreme burn day with low humidity and high winds coupled with an aggressive firing technique and we got basically 100% fire coverage across this 20 acre unit. Now here is the controversial part: we are in no hurry to conduct any reforestation on this unit. Managing this clearcut will allow the landowner and myself to get a more clear picture of what the timber market is going to do in this region before we decide to replant. Sometime in the future we will likely go back with Longleaf Pine on this site. For now, we will continue to manage it as it sits which is essentially a mecca for game species.
A few things to note:
1. This 20 acre unit is immediately adjacent to 26 year old 2nd thinned pines on 2 sides, both of which were burned in 2025.
2. The landowner's nephew shot both a 5.5 and 7.5 year old buck out of this clearcut IN THE SAME SIT last year
3. The clearcut that we had on this site was EXCELLENT. Not all clearcut operations are equal. This logging crew took every product off the site that could go on the truck whether it was hardwood or pine, it did not matter. This allowed this management with fire to take place since we were not left with hardwood saplings and "skunky" fuels.

Finally, as I was evaluating this clearcut I noticed the hen pictured feeding through the clearcut, I snapped the picture as she eased across the road back toward what I would bet was her nest site in the adjacent pine stand with a 2 year rough.

What was historically accepted as normal land management techniques in the southeast should be modified to follow current trends and markets as well as landowner goals.

This 20 acres is habitat heaven and it was extremely intentional in its implementation.

I have always been a sucker for well managed fire maintained pine stands, but the more I work with mid-slope hardwood st...
04/16/2026

I have always been a sucker for well managed fire maintained pine stands, but the more I work with mid-slope hardwood stands (composed primarily of White Oak, Red Oak, and Hickory) the more I think I have found a new favorite habitat type. One of the rare times in wildlife and life where you can have your cake (acorns) and eat it too (summer forage in the understory). This stand had a fuelwood logging crew go through and remove most of the less desirable tree species and has had 3 prescribed fires applied on a 2-year return interval. You think there's a turkey or 2 in there?

A tale of 2 neighbors. These properties are directly across from each other in southwest Georgia. One property has been ...
02/19/2026

A tale of 2 neighbors. These properties are directly across from each other in southwest Georgia. One property has been managed diligently with regular logging, prescribed fire, and occasional herbicide applications. The other hasn't seen a timber harvest in decades and is experiencing heavy pine mortality with less desirable hardwoods becoming dominant as fire continues to be excluded. Guess which property consistently holds and harvests bigger bucks year in and year out.

I have read all of the research (as I am sure alot of you who read this post have) regarding nutrition levels of native ...
07/18/2024

I have read all of the research (as I am sure alot of you who read this post have) regarding nutrition levels of native forage compared to food plot species and supplemental feed. Still, when that research is questioned sometimes it pays to go pull your own samples and verify for yourself. These forage samples were collected in southwest GA from a property with relatively low soil quality/site index. I cannot count the number of times that I have been told "we just don't have good enough soil to produce quality forage, you have to use supplemental feed". See the results in these images and make your own mind up, but for me it is a no brainer that managing native systems is key and implementing solid food plot strategies is the cherry on top. Nothing else is needed to achieve deer management goals. Not to mention that these plant species are excellent for the game bird species we all love so much as well. Please note that exact location and property name was removed for confidentiality, otherwise these sample results are exactly as they were received.

This ragweed speaks for itself.
05/22/2024

This ragweed speaks for itself.

We have consistently seen this buck on this tract since the summer. We know from camera history with this deer, that he ...
01/16/2024

We have consistently seen this buck on this tract since the summer. We know from camera history with this deer, that he is likely at least a 4.5 year old buck. Couple the camera history with the body characteristics this deer displayed from the summer through the rut and they confirm a deer approaching full maturity. That is not the debate here, the amazing thing to watch is the weight loss progression he made from pre-rut, the peak of the rut, and finally post-rut. This deer likely lost 50-60 pounds through the course of the season and shows the importance of following deer year after year and being able to recognize them through different body condition for your deer management program to be successful.

This property has worked for the last 7 years to reduce the deer density while simultaneously dramatically increasing ha...
12/20/2023

This property has worked for the last 7 years to reduce the deer density while simultaneously dramatically increasing habitat quality. 7 years of intensive (and I mean intensive) doe harvest, timber harvests, prescribed fire, rotational disking, and an excellent food plot program have finally culminated in there being a surplus of forage in relation to deer on the landscape. The deer data collected at the skinning shed is telling the story of a deer herd that is functioning at a much higher level than almost any property in the area. It is very rare to truly see a property that is managing wildlife, and deer in particular, from all angles- herd, habitat, and hunter. We see people every year who "want big deer" but are not willing to do the hard work that is associated with consistently having those deer. When a property and the hunters on it are willing to do those things, the results are shocking

Ok, I lied...I have one more post that is somewhat summer habitat related, though it does have fall, winter, and spring ...
09/30/2023

Ok, I lied...I have one more post that is somewhat summer habitat related, though it does have fall, winter, and spring implications. This landowner had the forethought to create wide roads after purchasing this property. However, these wide road shoulders were mowed religiously. Every fall I watch hunters flock to their hunting property for work days and without fail, one member of the group hops on the mower (we all know a "mower guy") and mows the roads out as wide as possible to "clean it up". The suggestion here was to stop "cleaning it up",instead leaving the road system in a state where it could always be recovered if road work was needed. Shown here is the result of winter disking (for firebreak installation) every few years and simply not mowing more than 1.5 truck widths of the road. This is good-excellent structure for turkey and quail and excellent (free) forage and cover for deer. Some species I observed were: ragweed, goldenrod, partridge pea, false foxglove, and beautyberry among others. Remember: clean, green, and even are often the enemy of wildlife.

I'm going to end summertime habitat posts with one that is probably going to step on some toes. We are going to talk abo...
08/08/2023

I'm going to end summertime habitat posts with one that is probably going to step on some toes. We are going to talk about the love affair that landowners and land managers have with grass. Both native and non-native grasses have their disadvantages. Non-native grasses and their shortcomings have been well documented and are not the focus of this post, but rather I want to stress how native warm season grasses can be hindering your wildlife goals, not just for deer and turkey but even quail. We are seeing more and more properties every year that have achieved a "quail plantation" aesthetic through well timed timber harvests, prescribed fire, and herbicide treatments. Most landowners and managers have educated themselves to the point that there is an understanding that sunlight to the forest floor is beneficial, but what that solar energy is being consumed by in the understory and managing for a particular suite of species is crucial. If big bodied and big antlered deer are your goal there is very little difference in a understory comprised of Big Bluestem and Indiangrass than if that same understory was Bahiagrass and Bermudagrass from a nutritional standpoint. The same can be said for insect and seed production and brooding structure for turkeys and quail. The "quail plantation" aesthetic has essentially taken sound habitat enhancement practices and turned them on their head. When maximizing wildlife productivity it is hard to think of a scenario when managing for forbs (broadleaf herbaceous plants) should not be the priority while allowing grasses to fill in the gaps. If the understory that you manage is dominated by grass, game species productivity is being limited. There are management techniques that promote broadleaf plants more readily than grasses. Promoting forbs will yield more protein availability (and more forage overall), better structure, and much greater insect and seed production. Native grasses have their benefits, that is not the argument, but giving grasses the competitive advantage to where they are the dominant species in both forested and field settings is not going to produce the desired results. Grasses are promoted by things such as broadcast herbicide applications of certain herbicides that are gentle on grasses but target almost all broadleaf species and frequent winter/early spring fire but there are almost always alternatives! Are open pine systems with an abundance of grasses swaying in the understory nice to look at? Yes, but I would argue that it's even nicer to look at large bucks, a productive turkey population, and an abundance of wild quail that have been fed by forbs every summer! Pictured below are two different stands on two different properties in GA, both have been thinned and burned, but one has an abundance of grass while the other has a much stronger broadleaf component. Admittedly, one picture is middle of the summer while the other is early spring, but the stark contrast in composition is still obvious.

Who wouldn't want to be sitting here on a cool November morning. This upland hardwood stand has received a commercial fu...
08/04/2023

Who wouldn't want to be sitting here on a cool November morning. This upland hardwood stand has received a commercial fuel wood treatment followed by a tree length timber harvest. We have since followed up with some light herbicide work and two prescribed fires. The result is the fire tolerant oak dominated woodland pictured. This hardwood stand is providing summer nutrition with a well developed understory, excellent cover for game species, all while increasing mast production by reducing crown competition. Traditional pine stand management is not the only way to manage timber for wildlife in the south. Talk about having your cake and eating it too!

Address

Cuthbert, GA

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Longleaf Land and Wildlife Consulting Services, LLC. posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category