I' ve had 2 foresters on 2 different properties, and they were marginally helpful to almost detrimental to my success. The first helped with some tree-planting methods, and the 2nd was a 3 hour tour waste of time. In fact the 2nd one told me food plots wouldn' t grow on my soil that now supports 9 plots totaling 5 5/8 Acres with soil ph' s of 6.5 to 7.3(after 28 tons of lime). The 2nd one also told me about a great place for a " free pond" from the government, that later turned out to be my best location on the property for preferred native vegitation, and even a food plot would have been a great waste of a natural resource, let alone a pond, when I already have a creek and a river flowing through the property.

I know there are exceptions, but in general foresters know 1 thing....trees. And remember, they are in the business of promoting future boards per foot, not wildlife improvement. You need to find someone that specialized in wildlife habitat improvement, with a strategic hunting edge, that is familiar with sustanable forestry practices that could be implemented on a limited basis, if appropriate, especially in non-deer people areas, on your property.

I live and breath in the great forest of the U.P. of Michigan, where 84% of the land is public, with extensive timber practices. I know of no forester in the area, (and I know several personally), that know a lick about habitat management for wildlife, let alone deer. In fact I was frustrated enough I hired Mark Thomas to basically let me know I was headed in the right direction. Mark is actually part forester, but he is a wildlife biologist, as well as a board member of the national QDMA, and recommended to me by Brian Murphy, so I felt quite certain I wouldn' t run into the same problems I had in the past with a general lack of knowledge for the area that was important to me....wildlife enhancement.

Hiring a consultant is NOT for everyone. But if you can afford to buy a $50,000 to $500,000 peice of property, and have the focus, and/or the time, and the effort, with a clear objective to make your property as attractive to a whitetailed deer as possible in the shortest amount of time, what' s another $1000 to do it right?

**I know I might offend a forester with these comments, and if I do, sorry about that, but in my opinion, with knowing a little about the industry, having foresters as friends, and knowing foresters that work for the state, the national forest, and private timber companies......foresters are very good at what the do, but that' s my point....they do timber, not wildlife, and the two can be extreme opposites at times, depending upon the individual property. You basically have a choice: Grow deer? or Boards per foot?. Often when you try to do both, you don' t do your best at either. For me, on my property, deer/wildlife come first, trees second. I guess it all depends on your goals, and level of commitment to long-term planning.

Jeff...U.P. of Michigan