1

MANAGEMENT PLANFOR

ROCK CREEKPLANTATION

SUBMITTEDBY

BRAD MUELLERAMERICAN WILDLIFE ENTERPRISES

2

MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR ROCK CREEK PLANTATION

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................3

OBJECTIVES...........................................................................................................................6

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES .............................................................................................7

Quail Management ........................................................................................................7

Deer Management .......................................................................................................10

Turkey Management....................................................................................................14

HABITAT COMPONENTS AND MANAGEMENT PRCATICES........................................18

Soils and Site Limitations............................................................................................18

Woodland Modifications .............................................................................................19

Planted Pine (19-45 years old) .........................................................................19

Planted Pine (10 years old) and open corridors.................................................20

Misc. hardwoods and brush areas.....................................................................21

Hardwood drains and other moist-site forested areas………………………… 22

AGRICULTURAL OPENINGS AND FOOD PLOTS............................................................23

COVER MANAGEMENT AND CONTROLLED BURNING……………………………… 30

IMPACTS ON OTHER SPECIES……………………………………………..……………….32

BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS .....................................................................................33

CHRONOLOGICAL WORK PLAN ......................................................................................39

APPENDICES........................................................................................................................45

3

INTRODUCTION

Rock Creek Plantation encompasses approximately 1,865 acres in Baker County, Georgiaand is owned by the Rock Creek Investment Company. A wide array of habitat types arerepresented on this property, creating tremendous natural beauty, diversity and excellentopportunities for quality wildlife management (Table 1, Map 1). Prior to purchase in 2004, RockCreek Plantation was used as a combined timber production and recreation property. A timberthinning operation was being conducted on this property at the time of purchase by the currentowner.

The principal management goal is to convert this property into a premier quail huntingplantation with recreational opportunities available for other game as well. The large size anddiversity of habitat types represented on this property yield a tremendous opportunity for thedevelopment of a quality hunting operation. To achieve the goal of developing a premierhunting plantation requires five major ingredients; 1) a property with excellent wildlifepotential, 2) an aggressive, knowledgeable and hard working manager, 3) an owner willing tomake wildlife the first priority, 4) time and 5) cooperation from Mother Nature. I feel that RockCreek Plantation has been blessed with all of these necessary ingredients.

While wildlife management will be the principal goal on this property, strongconsideration will be given to integrating timber management concerns into the overalloperation. While it is not feasible to optimize quail and timber on the same property,commercially viable stands of timber can be integrated into a quail, deer and turkey managementprogram. The success of any wildlife management plan depends to a large degree on the effortsof the individual manager and the cooperation of Mother Nature. Walter Hatchett and his staffhave demonstrated a tremendous knowledge of applied wildlife management techniques and Ifeel their strong work ethic and willingness to do what ever it takes to succeed will be a majoringredient in the success of Rock Creek Plantation. Any management plan that involvesmanipulation of land needs to be flexible; therefore, the information contained within this plan isintended to be a guide to management activities and not as the absolute rule. An extremelyambitious management plan has been designed, which involves extensive habitat modifications.A summary of these proposed habitat modifications can be found in Table 2.

4

Table 1. 1Habitat breakdown for Rock Creek Plantation.

Habitat Type Acreage Percent of PropertyPlanted pines (19-45 years old) 941.0 50.5Planted pines (10 years old) 114.2 6.1Hardwood drains and other moist-site forested areas 475.6 25.6Misc. hardwood and brush areas 123.6 6.6New field systems and food plots 150.1 8.12Cleared corridors 60.0 3.1

Total 1,864.5 100 %

1 All acreages are approximate and were derived from information provided by Timberland Services and WalterHatchett2 Acreage was estimated for this plan. A more accurate determination can be made after completion of the corridors.

5

Table 2. 1 Proposed habitat modifications for Rock Creek Plantation.Proposed Habitat Modification Total

Number of quail hunting courses. 42Number of quail hunts. 28Number of new field systems. 37Acres of new field systems. 134.2Acres to stump (includes new fieldsystems, logging ramps, road edges andhunting trail). 172.7Approximate acres of new corridors. 60Percentage of upland habitat to removefor new field systems and corridors 183Number of deer feeding stations. 64Number / acreage of deer winter plots. 13/205Number / acreage of deer summer plots. 6/12Acres of pine to thin and root-rake. 9416Number / acreage of sorghum patches. 124/16Acreage of non-deer field wheat planting.Includes fallow portions of field systems,corridors, hunting trail and roadsides. 487Initial acreage of partridge pea to plant. 30Number/ac. of chufa patches. 6/68Approximate acreage to herbicide. 200Number of box traps to maintain. 1009Bushels of sorghum to feed. 3,90010Bushels of corn to feed in deer feeders. 558Bushels of soybeans for deer feeders. 390

1 Values are approximate and will most likely change when all habitat modifications have been implemented.2 Assumes wild quail shot on a 14day frequency.3 Assumes a feeder rate of 1/200 acres of upland habitat.4 Assumes a deer winter plot per 100 acres of upland habitat and an average field size of 1.5 acres.5 One deer summer plot per 200 acres and an average size of 2 acres.6 Assumes 1,300 acres of quail courses on Rock Creek with a .125-acre sorghum patch every 15 acres. Each newfield system will also have a sorghum patch.7 Thirty acres of partridge pea will be incorporated into hedgerows on new field systems on Rock Creek.8 This value may change drastically once all habitat modifications have been incorporated9 Assumes 1,300 acres of quail courses on Rock Creek. Yearly feeding rate is 3 bu. per acre. Sorghum feeding willalso benefit deer and turkeys.10 Deer feeding rate assumes an overall deer density of one deer per 15 ac. of non-wetland habitat (1,400 ac.).Feeders will have to be moved away from deer stands during the hunting season. Feeding rates assume a deer willeat 2 lbs. of corn per day for 5 months and 1 lb. of soybeans per day for 7 months. Actual feeding rates will varydramatically throughout the year based on availability of natural and planted feed.

6

OBJECTIVES OF MANAGEMENT PLAN

I. Increase the overall abundance of game and non-game wildlife, with a goal of producing aconsistently huntable quail population and a quality deer and turkey population within five years.

II. To increase the aesthetic beauty of the property through diversification of the existinghabitat

III. To enhance timber production in a manner compatible with wildlife management.

IV. To address management changes necessary to offset current habitat deficiencies.

V. To develop a chronologically based management plan with an approximate budget.

7

MANAGEMENT STATEGIES

Quail Management

The current density of wild quail on Rock Creek Plantation is fairly low. Basedupon some simplified fall call counts and personal observation, I would estimate the populationat less than one bird per ten acres. While this density is fairly low, I feel there is adequatestocking to realize some benefits from the extensive management that is proposed on thisproperty. However, if possible partial covey relocation (which will be discussed later in thissection) should be used to “jump start” the population growth on this area. A detailed coveycount census will be conducted each fall and a breeding season count will be done each spring tomonitor the success of our quail management program.

Until last year, the majority of the upland habitat on Rock Creek could be characterizedas a closed canopy planted pine stand. The combination of high timber stocking and virtually noquail management has created a situation whereby the current quail density is low. There arecurrently four principal limitations to the production of a consistently high quail population onRock Creek Plantation. These limitations are: 1) an overstocking of merchantable timberthroughout the property and a large acreage of pre-merchantable pines on the south end, 2) aninadequate distribution of agricultural openings throughout the property, 3) a poor year-roundfood supply, and 4) an unmanaged predator population. Management recommendations to offsetthese site limitations will be developed and discussed in the remaining portion of thismanagement plan.

An aggressive timber-harvesting program has been initiated on all merchantable standsthroughout Rock Creek Plantation to allow for the production of a more diverse and productiveground cover. While the current quality of timber stands vary considerably on the property, thequail management goal for all these areas is the same. The overall goal is to create an open standof pines that will be both productive and aesthetically pleasing and to develop a diverse andproductive understory. Over the next year, approximately 941 acres of woodlands will besystematically harvested for timber production and the creation of quality quail habitat.Additionally, corridors (100 yards wide) occupying approximately 30% of the area, will beopened up through the pre-merchantable stands. For further discussions of timber harveststrategies and management implications please refer to the Woodland Modification section ofthis plan.

A diverse, open-land management program is essential to the production of a consistentlyhigh wild quail population. Based upon my personal experience, and research conductedthroughout the southeast, an ideal quail course should contain between 10-30% open, fallow-managed land. These open fields should range between 2-6 acres in size and be managed toproduce a variety of habitat types. The diversity and structure of a food plot (or opening) is farmore important to the life history of a quail than any agricultural plant grown. A diverse foodplot should provide a year-round supply of planted and/or native feeds, excellent bugginggrounds, summer fruit supplies, nesting cover and mid-winter escape cover. The fact that veryfew openings occur on this property has created an excellent opportunity to create the ideal

8

distribution of fallow-field openings throughout the property. By using the property as a “blankchalkboard” we have been able to design an excellent, well-distributed fallow field program thatminimizes the amount of woodlands that must be removed. By having the opportunity to selectsites for all of the agricultural openings and corridors, we were able to reduce the percentage ofopen lands to 11% of the total land base and 15% of the quail courses (Map 1 and HabitatModification Sheets).

A year-round feeding program is a critically important component of a quail managementprogram. Fed birds have greater year-round survival and productivity. To accomplish thisfeeding, a grain bin will be established on Rock Creek Plantation to facilitate storage anddistribution of sorghum. Grain Sorghum (either blonde or red) is the feed of choice for a quail-feeding program. This high carbohydrate seed stores well and does not mildew when spread inthe woods. Additionally, sorghum blends in nicely to a wooded landscape, thereby reducingconsumption of this seed by deer and other wildlife. In the last year, many plantations haveswitched to blonde or white milo, due to the lower tannic acid content of the seed. This switch toa low tannin seed was predicated by the fact that domestic poultry growers feed a low tanninseed for maximum productivity. It has been my experience that the most importantconsideration in feeding is that a consistently high quality seed is maintained throughout theyear, with no gaps in the feeding program. Feeding rates vary widely throughout plantations inthe southeast; however, on average a quality wild quail operation will feed approximately 3-4bushels of sorghum per acre per year. This equates to a feeding rate of approximately one bushelper every ten acres every ten days. While feeding is a somewhat expensive and time-consumingoperation it is absolutely essential to a successful quail hunting operation.

A trail has been designed to facilitate feeding and hunting. This hunting/feeding trail willallow for the proper distribution of feed throughout the property and will greatly enhance huntingoperations. The trail is designed to fully cover the entire upland portion of the property in 150yard strips. One hundred and fifty yards is approximately the width that a good brace of dogswill cover during plantation style hunting. The hunting trail will be stumped and maintained as asecondary food plot.

Historically, populations of mid-size predators were controlled by larger mammalianpredators and/or by humans. However, over the past several hundred years humans haveeffectively wiped out the “top level” predators and in the last 2-3 decades have for all practicalpurposes stopped using mid-sized mammalian predators for a food and recreational source.These factors coupled together have created an explosion of these effective predators. Leftunchecked, these predators are highly effective hunters and can substantially reduce populationsof ground nesting birds. Research over the past several years has conclusively demonstrated thebenefits of initiation and maintenance of an aggressive predator control program. A three years,year-round trapping permit has been acquired for Rock Creek Plantation, which will allow us toaggressively manage the predator population (see Appendices). Approximately 100-125 boxtraps will be maintained on an annual basis on Rock Creek, with periodic leg-hold trappingmixed in throughout the year.

In addition to trapping predators, an annual predator-control census will be conducted.This census will be conducted in late-October to early-November and provide baseline data on

9

which to evaluate the effectiveness of our future predator control program. The type of censusused should be similar to the one conducted by Tall Timbers and Pineland Research Stations. Byusing similar census techniques we will be able to compare our data to hunting propertiesthroughout the southeast and to project future-breeding seasons based upon predator level. Theinitial predator census on Rock Creek indicated a very high density of mammalian predators,with a 76% visitation rate. Under ideal conditions, the visitation rate on a predator census shouldbe less than 20%. A data sheet and a narrative on conducting a predator census have beenincluded in the Appendices of this plan.

A quail-hunting course is an area of land designed to provide approximately 3 hours ofrecreational bird hunting. Course sizes vary dramatically, based primarily upon density of wildquail. With the tremendous bird densities that have occurred on many properties over the pastseveral years, course sizes have been reduced down to approximately 125-150 acres. However,the average course is between 200-250 acres. Under a normal, conservative quail hunting styleno course is hunted on a frequency greater than once every fourteen days. Therefore, each wildbird course on a hunting plantation can be shot approximately 7 times per year. Four courseshave been proposed for Rock Creek Plantation, providing up to 28 individual hunts (Map 1).This number of courses and hunting days should be considered as an upper limit and achievableonly after all habitat modifications have been incorporated and bird populations increased.

Given the current low density of quail on Rock Creek and the aggressive habitatalterations talking place it is easy to see that the quail habitat will develop quicker than the quailpopulation. Even with a 30-40% population increase per year, it would take several years toproduce a consistently huntable quail population. By a consistently, huntable population, I meana bird density that will generate 3+ covey finds per hour throughout the quail hunting season.Given the quality of the land at Rock Creek, and the commitment of the Rock Creek staff, I feelthat a goal of 3+ covey finds per hour is reasonable within 3-5 years. While it is always nice toset a hunting-related goal I caution you that the objective of any management plan is to createquail habitat and that the actual creation of quail populations is highly dependant upon the whimsof Mother Nature. One technique that should be used to speed up the development of a huntablequail population is the relocation of partial coveys. I have personally been involved in tworesearch projects and numerous, “low tech” projects that have relocated quail onto huntingproperties. It has been my experience that the relocation of wild quail (if done properly) cansubstantially speed up the development of a hunting property. The owners of Rock CreekPlantation are fortunate to have several other properties available to serve as capture sites for therelocation of wild quail. My recommendation would be to maintain forty to fifty quail feederson River Ridge Plantation throughout the fall and early winter time period to concentrate birds. Iwill assist Walter and his staff in obtaining the necessary permits to relocate quail onto RockCreek and will provide assistance in the trapping portion of this project. Our goal should be toaim for a relocation of approximately 100 wild quail in the late-February to early-March timeframe. This late-winter time frame allows the birds to spend approximately four weeks in therelative security of the covey, prior to covey breakup in early spring. Habitat conditions on RockCreek Plantation should be suitable for relocation of quail next winter. All major habitatmodifications will have been implemented and we will be in a position to derive maximumbenefits from our relocated quail.

10

Deer Management

The development of a Quality Deer Management program for Rock Creek Plantation isan important overall component of this plan. The development of a quality deer managementprogram can be broken into a series of six steps. These steps are as follows: 1) establishment ofa deer management objective, 2) analysis of the habitat to determine limiting factors to deerproduction, 3) development and initiation of a management plan to help off set these limitingfactors, 4) establishment of base-line population data from harvested deer and various censustechniques, 5) establishment of harvest guidelines to meet the management objectives, and 6)annual review of census information, harvest data and land management practices to determineany modifications required.

1. Establishment of a deer-management objective: Establishment of an objective is thecorner stone of a deer-management program. Based upon conversations that I have had with theowners, it is obvious that they are quite knowledgeable concerning deer management andbiology, and are interested in pursuing a “quality” deer management program. A qualitymanagement program attempts to hold the herd density below peak carrying capacity reducesharvest pressure on younger-age class bucks and harvests primarily mature (3.5 years and older)deer. By holding deer densities below peak carrying capacity you ensure a high productivitywithin your deer herd. Protection of younger bucks (1.5-2.5 years old) will help ensure arelatively larger percentage of mature (3.5 years and older) bucks in the hunting population.However, it is important to understand that it is very difficult to stock pile “mature” buckswithout establishing a perimeter fence around the entire property. Additionally, as the buck todoe ratio and age-structure improves the amount of fighting and deaths related to the “rut” and“post-rut trauma” will increase dramatically. Compounding this problem is the fact that oncebucks reach 3.5-4.5 years of age they become very difficult to hunt due to their wariness.Traditional hunting techniques (green fields, feeders, etc.) are not as effective in harvesting theseolder animals except during the peak of “rut”. Therefore, it is important to remember that thereis not always a one to one correlation between reducing harvest of young deer and increasingharvest of mature bucks. The easiest way to insure the harvest of a quality buck is to maintain ahealthy sex ratio on the property and to hunt extensively during the “rutting process”. Maturebucks are quite vulnerable during the rut when doe to buck ratios are kept in good balance.

In order to determine the success of the management program it is necessary to determinea “target deer” to base the program on. The selection of a “target deer” refers to not only the sizeof the antlers but also the age of the buck. Based upon what I have observed on the property andon conversations with individuals, a good “base line” deer would green score approximately 120to 130 B.C. at 3.5 years of age. Seventy to eighty percent of harvested bucks should be of this“quality”, or greater. If at the end of any hunting season we determine that less than 70% of our3.5 year old age-class deer are scoring in the 120 to 130 range, we will need to reduce our overallbuck harvest. Conversely, if the majority of harvested deer are within the “target range” then wemay slightly increase the buck harvest or set a higher target for harvested deer. Only bycollecting excellent information from all harvested deer can we make these important decisionsconcerning harvest regulations. I caution you that using antler width or point restrictions to setharvest regulations on your deer can very often lead to failure in a quality deer managementprogram. An eight point or 15 inch rule often ends up harvesting younger deer that are of greater

11

genetic potential and would under a “field scoring” program been left to form the basis of thebreeding population. With a limited amount of practice, I believe the hunters on Rock CreekPlantation can and should be encouraged to learn how to field score and field age a male deer. Ifdesired, laminated pictures of different age classes of bucks can be mounted in deer stands.Allowances must be made for the harvest of non-target bucks by inexperienced hunters. It isimportant to remember that the goal of quality deer management program is to provide a qualityrecreational experience. The concept of what a “trophy” is can be highly variable betweenindividuals. A true measure of a “trophy” is whether an individual is willing to mount anddisplay the animal for all to see. Very often, hunting properties can become so strict in theirbuck harvest parameters that the pure joy of hunting is removed from the experience.

Selection of a “target deer” to base the program on assumes that all habitat modificationsassociated with this plan have been implemented and that a year-round feeding program is inplace. It will take a few years for all of the benefits of habitat modification, supplemental foodplot plantings, year-round feedings and harvest regulations to show up in the deer population.However, without the combination of these four principal factors the Rock Creek Plantation deerherd will never be able to fulfill their potential.

2. Analysis of limiting factors to deer production: Currently, the deer density on RockCreek Plantation is of moderate density. As typical of most deer populations, the number of deervary throughout the property with higher densities occurring in the thicker habitat associatedwith drainage basins. A rough “windshield” density estimate would be one deer to 15 acres ofnon-flooded habitat.

The principal limiting factors to the creation of a quality deer herd on Rock CreekPlantation is similar to many properties throughout the southeast. These limitations are the lackof a high quality, year-round food supply coupled with a poor buck to doe ratio. Deer require ahigh protein diet in spring and summer for maximum fawn production and optimum antlergrowth. . Native vegetation is the southeast is quite low in protein content. Currently, there arevery few high protein foods either planted or naturally occurring on Rock Creek Plantation.Therefore, we will attempt to develop a property-wide food plot system that will address thisneed for a high protein year-round diet

While the current deer density on this property is of moderate density , I feel quite certainthat the proposed habitat modifications will greatly increase productivity and use of this area bydeer. Woody browse makes up a full 70% of the year-round diet of southeastern deer. Theaggressive timber-harvesting program that has been initiated will greatly enhance the forage basefor whitetail deer. This enhanced forage base coupled with other techniques such as feeding,burning and development of a property wide year-round food plot system should act as astimulus to the overall deer population. Moderate deer densities on quail hunting plantationscause minimal problems with quail management and can actually be an added benefit to theoverall hunting experience. However, high deer densities can have devastating impacts on thecomposition of the understory vegetation. Deer are selective browsers and target many of thesame species that are beneficial to quail. Additionally, high deer densities will substantiallyincrease the amount of sorghum that we must feed to be able to insure that enough of the speciesis out there for quail. The problem with trying to keep deer numbers below peek carrying

12

capacity is that deer populations follow what is called a Sigmoid Growth Curve. The SigmoidGrowth Curve refers to the fact that low-density (below carrying capacity) deer populations aremore productive per animal than high-density areas. Therefore, as a deer population is reducedthrough hunting, the surviving deer counter this influence by becoming more productive per unitanimal. This phenomena necessitates that deer management not be a static process, but acontinuing dynamic part of the management Rock Creek Plantation.

Currently, the habitat on Rock Creek Plantation produces very little quality, year-round forage.Throughout the southeast, the majority of the diet of the white-tailed deer is composed of nativeforage and annual weeds. While acorns are certainly used throughout this range, they are toovariable in their production to serve as the cornerstone for any management program. In simplerterms, deer do not live on acorns, but deer may die on acorns. Mountainous habitat is anexcellent example of this situation. Large expanses of hardwoods occur on mountainous terrainthroughout the southeast; however, deer densities and deer quality are quite low in these areas.This is due to the sporadic nature of acorn production. Therefore, our management program willbe based on the development of an annual, high-quality native forage base. Protection of acornproducing areas and the encouragement of individual trees will certainly be considered in themanagement program, however the production of quality native forage, feeding stations andplanted food plots will be of greater importance.

3. Development and initiation of a management plan to help offset limiting factors:Several management techniques will be used to help offset the current limiting factors on thesetwo properties. These include; timber thinning, burning, herbiciding, direct feeding and thedevelopment of a year-round food plot system. Timber stands will be evaluated on a site-by-sitebasis throughout the property to determine the need for a thinning and herbiciding operation.Controlled burning will be used to sculpture the landscape into a mixed composition of low-growing, food producing areas and thicker areas for bedding and refuge cover.

The development of a year-round food plot system for Rock Creek Plantation will be animportant component of the deer management program. This food plot system will be designedto not only attract deer during the hunting season but also provide for the seasonal needs of theanimal throughout the year. Further information on the year-round food plot system can befound under the deer section of the Food Plots portion of the Management Plan.

For the deer herd on Rock Creek Plantation to achieve its full potential will require anaggressive, year-round feeding program. As mentioned earlier native forage in the southeast isvery low in protein. We will attempt to overcome this habitat deficiency by establishingpermanent deer feeding stations throughout the property. These stations will be established at adensity of approximately one per every 200 acres of quality upland habitat. A combination ofcorn, soybeans and/or protein pellets will be fed at these stations on a year-round basis. Duringthe cooler fall and winter months, corn will be fed as the primary food. As we transition fromwinter to early spring soybeans or deer pellets will be added to this corn to provide additionalprotein required for the fawning and antler growth season. The percentage of corn available inthis mix will be reduced throughout the summer until a point the deer are feeding exclusively ona high protein diet of either soybeans or commercial deer pellets. While the initial establishmentcosts for these permanent feeding stations are quite high, I feel that these areas will become

13

extremely important for maintaining a quality deer herd and attracting animals from surroundingproperties. It is important to remember that shooting over bait is illegal in Georgia and therefore,feeding stations should be moved from hunting areas during the hunting season, or feedingdiscontinued. A feeding cost rate of approximately $50.00 per deer per year has been used forbudgetary purposes. This value assumes a population of approximately one deer per everyfifteen acres of non-wetland habitat. This value may have to be modified based upon the actualconsumption rates of the deer on these two properties. I strongly encourage you to look at thechoice of the “Fiberfeeder” (see Appendices) as a potential choice for the permanent feedingstations. These are free choice units that minimize the loss of feed to other animals and arehighly efficient at preventing spoilage of corn, protein pellets and soybeans. I have seen thesesystems used throughout South Texas and in the high humidity areas of East Texas with greatsuccess.

4: Establishment of baseline population data from harvested deer and various censustechniques: In order to determine the success of the management program, it will be absolutelyimperative to develop some baseline population information. It is absolutely impossible toeffectively and efficiently manage a deer herd without information obtained from harvested deer.Deer data to be collected will include population composition information (from incidentalobservation cards) and data from the harvested deer. In addition to this information we willcollect lactation rates, weights, age, jawbones and antler measurements from all harvested deer.At the end of each year, this information will be summarized and related to the objectives of themanagement program. I have included a deer harvest data sheet in the Appendices of this plan.If desired, a spotlight count can be annually conducted to help refine harvest regulations. Whilea spotlight count will not be effective on the south end of the property, the remaining portions ofRock Creek are well suited to this type of census. A publication detailing techniques andproviding data sheets has been included in the Appendices of this plan.

5. Establishment of harvest guidelines: The establishment of future harvest guidelineswill be based upon information from individual deer harvested, incidental observation cards andany census techniques that are used. For the first year of the management plan, we will need toarbitrarily pick a number of does to harvest that will give us an adequate sample of their currentcondition. The major guidelines that we will select on an annual basis will be the number ofdoes and bucks to be harvested throughout the property. These harvest guidelines will more thanlikely change dramatically over the next five years as the carrying capacity and deer density ofthese two properties increase. If we assume an approximate deer density of 1 deer per 15 acresof non-wetland habitat (1,400 acres), and a buck to doe ratio of approximately 3 does for everybuck, then the theoretical Rock Creek Plantation deer herds contain approximately 23 bucks and70 does. While these numbers undoubtedly appear low to you, please keep in mind that deerhave extremely large home ranges and are free to move on and off the property at any giventime. These numbers refer to the actual number of animal units that may be on these twoproperties at any time. A legitimate harvest rate of does would be approximately 20% of thisnumber. Therefore, approximately 14 does could be removed from this property. This sample ofdoes will give us an excellent initial base line data set on which to formulate future harvestregulations. When harvesting large numbers of does, it is important to remember that a certainamount of button buck harvest will occur. A button buck harvest of approximately 10% of thetotal animals killed is completely acceptable and highly predictable. While I understand that

14

these initial population estimates are highly subjective, we need to start somewhere with ourharvest guidelines. Over the next five years, we will fine-tune these deer harvest guidelines anddevelop more specific harvest regulations.

Buck harvest should be strictly limited over the next 3 years. The easiest way to insurethat the majority of bucks reach 3.5 years of age is to severely limit their harvest over the nextthree to four seasons. This is not to say that true “trophy” bucks should not be harvested;however they MUST meet the minimum guidelines (120 BC). It is important to remember, thatthe hunter is the “final deer manager”.

6. Annual review of population, harvest and census information: At the end of eachhunting season, I will put together a report that summarizes the harvest and any other census dataand how it relates to our population estimates and overall deer management program. Asconditions change on the property, we will likely have to fine-tune our management activities toaccount for these needed changes.

Turkey Management

The overall turkey density on Rock Creek Plantation is fairly low and extremely mobile.The lack of quality “open land” areas and a high predator density has combined to hold thispopulation down. However, turkeys do exist throughout all areas of the property and shouldbenefit greatly from proposed habitat modifications. While we will attempt to increase densityand turkey usage of this area, it will never be a “high density” turkey population. The aggressivetrapping of mid-sized mammalian egg eating predators, coupled with development of a year-round food plot system and supplemental feeding should allow this species to increasedramatically.

In addition to the proposed deer and quail food plots a series of chufa patches will bedistributed throughout both of these properties. Chufas are undoubtedly the most preferred foodsource for wild turkeys from early winter through spring. Six chufa patches, occupying 6 acreshave been designed for these two properties.

During the spring and summer, hens and developing poults require a diet that is high inprotein. This protein is important for the production of eggs and the proper development of theyoung poults. To obtain this high protein diet, turkeys rely largely on insects. The winter deerplots, coupled with the sorghum and summer food plots should provide excellent bugginggrounds. The large areas of pre-merchantable pines on the south end of the property havenegatively affected the overall quality of the turkey habitat. However, the development of thecorridor system through this area will have tremendous benefits to the turkey population. Thekey to developing quality turkey-nesting sites, and summer brood habitat is to have thick nestingcover in close association with high-quality bugging grounds. Open corridors through the pre-merchantable pine stands will provide excellent spring through summer habitat for turkeys.Additionally, the corn and soybeans that will be fed on this area will play an important part in the

15

turkey management program. Corn is an excellent source of high energy in mid-winter wheresoybeans are an excellent source of protein during the summer. In addition to helping thenutritional condition of our resident turkeys, these permanent-feeding stations should also attractturkeys from surrounding properties.

Conclusion of Management Strategies

The management strategies designed for Rock Creek Plantation represent an aggressive,multi-species approach to wildlife management. I believe that if we stick to our managementprogram, that this property will serve as one of the finest examples of multi-species wildlifemanagement in the southeast.

16

HABITAT MODIFICATION SHEET

Property: Rock Creek Course:

Field # / Type Ac. Ac Stump/Density Thunbergii Mgmt. Code NotesFFS1 3.4 3.4/H Timber already cutFFS2 5.6 5.6/HFFS3 2.7 2.7/HFFS4 2.5 2.5/HFFS5 2.2 2.2/HFFS6 2.6 2.6/HFFS7 5.0 5.0/HFFS8 3.3 3.3/HFFS9 2.0 2.9/HFFS10 2.90 2.9/HFFS11 3.0 3.0/HFFS12 2.6 2.6/HFFS13 4.0 4.0/H Includes rampFFS14 4.9 4.9/HFFS15 2.0 2.0/HFFS16 3.0 3.0/HFFS17 3.5 3.5/HFFS18 3.8 3.8/H Includes rampFFS19 3.0 3.0/H

FFS19A 2.7 2.7/HFFS20 2.2 2.2/HFFS21 3.0 3.0/HFFS22 5.9 5.9/HFFS23 6.1 6.1/HFFS24 3.0 3.0/HFFS25 2.5 2.5/HFFS26 3.8 3.8/H Existing rampFFS27 1.6 1.6/HFFS28 3.9 3.9/HFFS29 3.2 3.2/HFFS30 3.9 3.9/H

LegendFFS: Fallow field system TL: Existing lespedeza N: New FieldC: Chufa patch NL: New lespedeza E: Existing FieldDW: Deer Winter DS: Deer Summer A: Addition to existingL: Low stump density M: Medium stump density H: High stump density

Field Notes

17

HABITAT MODIFICATION SHEET

Property: Rock Creek Course:

Field # / Type Ac. Ac Stump/Density Thunbergii Mgmt. Code NotesFFS31 2.2 2.2/HFFS32 6.6 6.6/HFFS33 4.7 4.7/HFFS34 3.5 3.5/H Timber already cutFFS35 6.0 6.0/HFFS36 3.5 3.5/HFFS37 3.9 3.9/H

LegendFFS: Fallow field system TL: Existing lespedeza N: New FieldC: Chufa patch NL: New lespedeza E: Existing FieldDW: Deer Winter DS: Deer Summer A: Addition to existingL: Low stump density M: Medium stump density H: High stump density

Field Notes

18

HABITAT COMPONENTS AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

Soils and Site Limitations

A variety of soils occur on Rock Creek Plantation and add to the complexity of themanagement plan. With the exception of the Cypress and the Tupelo areas, the majority of thesoils on this property would be considered fair to excellent for quail, deer and turkeymanagement. Several areas of “wet flatwoods” are scattered throughout the property. We havepurposefully avoided these areas for the development of any of our food plot systems. Whileseveral areas of flatwoods occur on the property. Their distribution will not limit our overallability to produce or hunt quail throughout Rock Creek. I encourage the owners of this propertyto rework any existing drainage ditches that occur on the property to facilitate water removalfrom these wet-flatwood areas.

As a general rule, the majority of soils in the deep southeast are acidic by nature.Therefore, I strongly recommend liming of newly established agricultural openings and all foodplots that have not been limed within five to seven years. In addition to liming, a broad-spectrum fertilizer should be applied to these openings the first year after stumping. If desired, aseries of soil samples can be taken throughout the property to determine an average liming andfertilization rate. However, these soil samples often add to the overall confusion more than theyprovide useful information. Instead of trying to determine specific field-by-field fertilizationregimes, I recommend you develop general fertilizer recommendations for the different cropsslated to be grown on this property.

Overall, there are no site limitations (other than periodic inundation of a portion of theflatwood stands) on this property that cannot be overcome with increased management effort.The large size and geographic location of this property makes an excellent candidate to developinto a premier multi-game hunting property.

19

Woodland Modifications

Considerable timber resources occur on Rock Creek Plantation. Overall, this propertyhas an excellent potential for timber growth with high site indices for both pine and hardwood.Modification of the woodland portion of this property will have a substantial impact on thefuture wildlife productivity of this area.

Timber resources on Rock Creek Plantation can be broken into four major categories; 1)planted pines from 19 to 45 years of age, 2) planted pines 10 years of age, 3) miscellaneoushardwood and brush areas and 4) hardwood drains and other moist site forested areas. Thesebroad categories will be discussed separately so that specific management recommendations canbe made for each timber type.

Planted Pines (19 to 45 years old)

Merchantable-planted pine stands represent approximately 50% of Rock CreekPlantation. These planted stands range from 19 to 45 year old. The productivity and currentcondition of these stands varies dramatically throughout the property, based on a variety offactors. Soil quality and site preparation techniques appear to have had the most impact on thecurrent quality of the stands. Varying degrees of pre-merchantable hardwood occur throughoutthese stands from extremely thick to almost non-existent. While these stands vary dramaticallyin their current composition, they all are suitable candidates for a quality wildlife managementoperation. Basal areas within stands currently range from a low of 30-40 BA to a high of 80 –90 BA.

The current quail density within these planted pine stands is extremely low due to avariety of factors. Shade suppression caused by an over story of pines, (and in some areas a mid-story of hardwoods) has created a situation in which very little productive ground-levelvegetation exists. Additionally, these types of soils characteristically do not produce atremendous amount of high quality quail foods.

The overall management strategy for the 941 acres of merchantable-planted pine standsthroughout Rock Creek Plantation is to initiate an aggressive timber thinning that is designed toopen these stands up and “sunlight” the forest floor. This aggressive thinning will allow for amore productive and diverse vegetation on the forest floor. We will attempt to leave a residualbasal area of 30 to 40 square feet per acre, composed of high quality trees. There are numerouspockets scattered throughout Rock Creek Plantation of planted pine with a high incidence offusiform rust. In these areas, it will be difficult to leave an adequate number of healthy stems tocreate the 30 – 40 basal area pine stand that we desire. In these sites, we will either have to leavea lower density of timber or leave poor-quality trees to achieve our residual forest.

During the process of thinning, agricultural openings and food plots will be createdthroughout the entire property. While certain habitat types do not require agricultural openingsfor the development of a quality quail population, Rock Creek Plantation is not one of theseareas. The development of a well-distributed food plot system coupled with a fallow-land

20

management program will be absolutely essential to properly develop the planted pine stands onthis property.

After pine thinning on these areas, we will evaluate the stands on a site-by-site basis todetermine if a “fuel wood” operation is required. Large portions of these planted pine blockswill require no more than controlled burning and chopping to renovate the understory into aproductive condition; however, other areas scattered throughout Rock Creek will require anaggressive fuel wooding operation to properly set back mid-story hardwood competition.Richard Schwab (Rigoni & Sons) has been contacted concerning this fuel wooding operation andwill begin as soon moisture conditions allow.

A certain amount of broadcast herbiciding will be required following fuel woodingoperations. This herbiciding is necessary to control resprouted hardwoods after the fuel woodoperation. I have taken an educated guess at approximately 200 acres of broad-spectrumherbiciding for this property; however, this number may change up or down once timberharvesting operations are completed. Garlon 4 will be used as our post-timber harvest herbicidetreatment. We will have to wait one year for adequate regrowth of hardwood stumps prior toapplication of this herbicide. Garlon is an excellent herbicide for quail hunting plantationsbecause it is not soil active, it is highly effective on resprouting hardwoods but does not killgrasses.

Approximately 50% of the planted pine stands are bedded. These beds range from verylow to moderate in height. An increased woodland harrowing effort will need to be directed atthese bedded stands to facilitate hunting of these areas. Travel lanes should be harrowedperpendicular to the hunting trail throughout these bedded stands. An excellent time forharrowing (or chopping to stimulate stump rotting) within these bedded areas would beimmediately following annual burning. The residual stumps will be visible at this time and theharrow will more effectively penetrate the ground. Additionally, the post-harrowing vegetationthat will follow soil disturbance at this time of year is very productive for quail and otherwildlife. I encourage you to discontinue woodland harrowing after the first of April so that wewill not perpetuate a distribution of noxious grasses and other broadleaf plants (sicklepod,crotalaria, ect….).

All areas of thinned planted pine will require some degree of post harvest cleanupfollowing timbering. A root raking cost of $60.00 per acre has been used in the budgetaryportion of this plan (Table 5); however, root raking cost will be highly variable from one stand tothe next. Root raking is essential to clean up an area after harvesting and this raking also helpscreate the “new ground” effect that encourages rapid expansion of a quail population. Failure toroot rake following harvest will delay the development of a quality quail population.

Planted Pines (10 years old)

Approximately 174 acres of 10-year-old slash pine exist on the southern end of theproperty. Numerous, large live oak trees were also left on this area following timber harvesting.A poor job of site preparation on this area has resulted in a suppressed, pre-merchantable pinestand with an extremely high density of hardwood saplings. An aerial application of herbicide in

21

this area is out of the question due to the distribution of large and attractive live oaks that arescattered throughout this stand. Therefore, treatment of the sapling hardwoods will occur afterthe first timber harvesting. Very little understory vegetation exist within this stand and currentlythe density of quail, deer and turkey within this area is quite low. While the stand undoubtedlyproduces excellent bedding cover for deer, there is very little forage produced within this stand.

The management strategy within this stand will be to develop a series of open corridorsranging in size from 75 to 100 yards wide throughout this area. These corridors will generallyrun in an east/west direction and be slightly winding to improve aesthetics. The combination ofshearing, root raking and piling, burning and harrowing is the most efficient and effectivetechnique to remove pre-merchantable pines. Three corridors were established throughout thisarea that are intended to remove approximately 1/3 (sixty acres) of the planted pines. The widthof these corridors was selected to allow for a quail hunt to be easily conducted along the lengthof these open areas. A quail-feeding trail should be developed that runs generally through themiddle of this corridor after establishment. I have had the pleasure of creating corridors onnumerous properties throughout the southeast and have been extremely pleased with the highproductivity of these areas. The corridor will rapidly develop into fairly high quality habitatrelative to the surrounding planted pine stands. Therefore, any available quail in the area will bequickly drawn to these corridors and be available during the hunt. However, you will quicklyrealize that corridor hunting is a “covey rise” situation only. Even the dumbest quail learns to flyto the thicker cover represented by the planted pines.

Approximately 30% of the pre-merchantable pines on Rock Creek Plantation aredesigned to be removed for the creation of corridors. The theoretical design of this area is tohave a 100-yard wide corridor separated by 200 yards of planted pines. For the next 8 to 10years, quail hunting will occur within the corridor and the pre-merchantable pines will beallowed to grow to merchantability. After the pines reach merchantability, an extremelyaggressive timber harvesting should take place within these stands. The quail population that hasdeveloped with the corridors can then quickly expand into the newly thinned planted pine stands.Once a huntable understory has developed within the thinned pine stands, the corridor will betreated as a long agricultural field and a portion of the area will be harrowed up prior to thehunting season each year. The future design of this area will be a heavily thinned planted pinestand occupying 200 to 250 yards in width, separated by long, narrow agricultural fields to helpfacilitate the hunting and produce brood habitat for quail and turkeys. The width of the residualpine strip was selected so that a hunt could proceed in both directions (east and west) along thesepine stands once timber has been thinned. My personal feeling is that this corridor type system isan excellent, multi-game management program and a good trade-off between timber and wildlifeproduction. One additional multi-game benefit of the corridor program is that it creates a largeacreage of relatively stump-free ground to be used for food plots. I anticipate these corridorswill be used extensively for deer winter, deer summer and turkey plots. Additionally, one of thecorridors can be selected for the establishment of a dove field if desired by the owners.

Miscellaneous Hardwood and Brush Areas

Approximately 123 acres of hardwood and brush areas occur throughout Rock CreekPlantation. These areas range in size from less than 5 acres to 15 acres or more. The majority of

22

these hardwood brush areas are in upland habitat suitable for development of quality wildlifemanagement practices. Therefore, these areas will be modified to develop a diverse andproductive understory by using herbiciding, chopping, or using a variety of chemical andmechanical techniques. Clusters of mature hardwoods will be protected within these areas fordevelopment of mast producing areas. Pre-merchantable hardwoods will be removed associatedwith fuel wood cutting operations. Several of these brush areas are in moist site depressions andtherefore no management activities (other than maintenance of brush) will be directed at thesesites.

Hardwood Drains and Other Moist-Site Forested Areas

Approximately 25% (475 acres) of Rock Creek Plantation is composed of cypress andtupelo bottoms and other moist-site hardwood areas. These areas occur as depressionsthroughout the property and not as linear drains. The water level within these depressions ishighly variable depending upon rainfall. The current high water table on this property has thesedepressions filled to maximum capacity. Understory vegetation within these depressions islimited because of the periodic flooding associated with heavy rainfall events.

No management activities are scheduled within these depressions and they will be left asreservoirs for deer and other game. However, we will be initiating an aggressive fuel woodingoperation along the perimeter of these moist-site depressions when soil moisture conditionsallow. Over time, upland hardwoods have developed along the interface of the plantedpine/moist depression interface. Through the use of a fuel wooding operation combined with apost-harvest herbiciding, we will attempt to develop a grass interface between the planted pinestands and the moist depressions. A more aggressive burning regime will be developedfollowing this fuel wooding that will reduce the probability of re-infestation of these areas withsapling hardwoods. Our long-term management strategy for the interface of these areas is todevelop them into a fire-maintained habitat and to not allow them to be recolonized withaggressive upland hardwoods. Due to the current high water table on this area (July 2005), wemay have to delay our fuel wooding operation until the fall of this year. We should not rush tofuel wood these areas until soil moisture conditions have improved dramatically.

23

AGRICULTURAL OPENINGS AND FOOD PLOTS

Quail Food Plots

A diverse food plot program is essential to the production of a consistently high wildquail population. The diversity and structure of a food plot is far more important in the lifehistory of a quail than the actual agricultural plant grown. A diverse food plot should provide ayear-round supply of both planted and native feeds, excellent bugging grounds, summer fruitsupplies, nesting cover and mid-winter escape cover.

The quail plot design on Rock Creek uses a minimum of annually planted food, and relieson native vegetation and seasonal soil disturbance to provide year-round food and cover for wildbirds. The Rock Creek Plantation quail food plots will use a variety of “natural managementtechniques”, with minimal plantings to create a diverse complex of vegetative communitieswithin a small area. We will attempt to match the array of habitat types created to the diverseseasonal needs of quail from brood habitat to mid-winter cover. Seasonal harrowing, (primarilyfall and winter) and “wheat planting” will be used within a portion of all quail plots. By usingfallow ground coupled with annual plantings, a diverse array of native feeds and cover typesshould colonize the field systems (Table 3). Figure 1 represents a simplified version of fallowfield management whereby the hedgerows are maintained by either chopping, mowing ordiscing, and the middle of the field is maintained with annual cool season harrowing and/orharrowing and wheat planting. Grain sorghum (such as NK300) can be used along the edge ofthe hedgerow to provide additional mid-winter cover, if needed. While the basic design of thesefields is to provide hard cover along the edges and open brood habitat within the middle, thevariability in size and shape of these fields will probably dictate a field-by-field design, overtime. This simple design of hard cover hedgerows and bare ground, coupled with limited wheatand sorghum planting will not only be productive for quail, but is also a highly efficient huntingdesign and also provides several needs of deer and turkey.

Of all the agricultural species that are commonly grown on multi-game huntingplantations, winter wheat is by far the most economically efficient, easiest to plant andproductive for quail, deer and turkey. The greenery provided by wheat is feed on by deer, quailand turkey throughout the late-winter and early-spring and the insects that are produced withinthese areas provide an important component to the diet of laying turkey and quail hens anddeveloping poults and chicks. For this reason, a considerable acreage of wheat will be annuallyplanted. These plantings will be a combination of wheat planted in association with the middleof agricultural field systems and block plantings of wheat throughout the property in one to twoacre patches. These “block plantings” of wheat are designed to provide supplemental winterdeer food and produce excellent brood habitat conditions for quail and turkeys in the summer.Approximately 48 acres of low-intensity wheat planting are designed for Rock Creek Plantation.Low-intensity wheat planting involves using a relatively low amount of wheat (approximately 50lbs/acre) mixed in a spreader truck with a light fertilizer (150 to 200 lbs. of 10-10-10) and simply“spin spread” upon recently harrowed dirt. If desired, this wheat can be lightly “cut in” for a

24

more productive stand. Using these low-intensity methods, large amounts of this highlyproductive wildlife food can be quickly established on a property.

Deer Plots

Two food plots designs will be used to provide highly nutritious forage throughout theyear as well as attracting deer during the hunting season. As most deer hunters realize, themajority of “trophy bucks” are not harvested in planted food plots; however, these areas areessential to the production of these magnificent animals. Winter/Spring food plots contain anassortment of reseeding annuals; however, they have been designed to be planted on an annualbasis. Annual planting of these food plots insures the consistent production of a quality deerfield

Winter Deer Plots: Winter food plots have two primary functions. 1) to attract and holddeer throughout the hunting season, and 2) to nutritionally prepare does and bucks for thebreeding, fawning, and post-rut season. Deer normally enter the hunting season in their peakphysical condition of the year. Hard mast (acorns, etc....) are abundant at this time of the yearand there are very few nutritional stress factors (fawning, lactation, post-rut stress, weatheretc....) prevalent during this season. However, as fall turns to late-winter, native food suppliesdwindle at a time of the year that does require a high-energy source (for proper development oftheir fetus) and bucks are recovering from a long rutting season. Additionally, bucks begin todevelop their antlers at this time of the year and require a highly nutritious food source formaximum development of the “horns” that we so feverishly pursue. Therefore, a proper winterfood plot should provide for the deer long after the guns have been cleaned and stored.

A variety of cool season food plots can be used. The plot that I commonly use is amixture of wheat, crimson and arrow leaf clover and Austrian winter pea. The wheat andAustrian winter pea will produce early in the deer season, followed by the crimson clover in latewinter and arrow leaf clover in early-to late spring. This mixture of plants is not only verypalatable, but also highly nutritious. The Austrian winter pea and clovers are legumes andprovide an excellent high protein food source. Two different types of clovers are used (crimsonand arrow leaf) to provide several months of this important forage. While these plants willcertainly be used during the deer season, they will be even more heavily browsed in early to latespring as the nutritional demands of fawning and antler growth begin. This particular suite ofplants has been used on a variety of soils from East Texas to Southern Virginia, with greatsuccess. However, we may have to experiment with several varieties of clovers until we find theproper species for Rock Creek Plantation. Twenty acres of deer winter food plots will beannually planted on Rock Creek Plantation

Summer Deer Plot: Summer food plots are designed to be planted in early to mid-Mayand to provide a continual, highly nutritious food source when combined with the winter patches.On the vast majority of properties managed for deer there is very little consideration given todeer at this time of the year. It is a sad testimonial to the current state of deer management thatthe bulk of most landowner efforts are directed towards concentrating deer during the “huntingseason” and not growing deer during the “production season”. Late spring to mid-summer is adifficult time for South Georgia whitetails. Does are under tremendous nutritional stress due to

25

the demands of their fawns and bucks are beginning to develop antlers. Compounding thissituation is the fact that native vegetation is coarse and low in protein levels at this time of year.This nutritional stress manifests itself not only in the mother but also in the survival and growthof the yearlings. The bottom line is that it is hard to grow a trophy buck from a scrawny fawn.The summer patches are designed to be a high protein food source from approximately the end ofMay until early fall. At this time, the deer can switch to our winter food plot mix, for a continualsource of quality forage.

One commonly used summer deer food plot is a mixture of iron and clay pea, joint vetch,and browntop millet. Browntop is used in this mix more as a cover crop than a high-quality deerfood. The iron and clay pea, and joint vetch are legumes and therefore are highly nutritious andstrongly selected by deer. The browntop is used to provide a short-term protective buffer tothese “ice cream” plants. Additionally, the browntop will be strongly utilized by turkey hens andtheir developing poults. Given the moderate to high deer densities on Rock Creek Plantation. Irecommend that plots be a minimum of 2 acres in size to insure success. Sites for summer foodplots will include areas within hunting corridors, middles of fallow fields and some deer winterfood plots that will be harrowed in May. While the permanent feeding stations provide a high-protein summer diet for deer, a properly planted food plot can provide a greater costeffectiveness in producing this critical summer protein need. A variety of high protein warmseason deer food plots are available and I encourage experimentation with several varieties. It isessential that we maintain our permanent deer feeding stations in combination with thesesummer plantings to ensure a consistent, year-to-year source of protein for the deer. As you arewell aware Mother Nature can make spring and summer growing conditions quite difficult. Sixwarm season deer food plots have been allocated representing 12 acres. (Table 2).

Turkey Plots: The winter and summer deer food plots will also have a tremendous,positive impact on the resident turkey population. Turkeys use wheat and clovers extensively inthe early spring, whereas the browntop millet and peas will be very attractive during the earlyand mid-summer period. Laying hens and developing poults require a diet rich in protein andcalcium. Insects are the primary food source used to obtain this highly nutritious mix. Not onlymust a spring-summer food plot produce large amounts of insects but these insects must beproduced in a way that they are available to the developing poults.

The second component of our turkey food plot system will be the development of qualitychufa patches. This plant is a premiere food source for wild turkeys and is as close as you cancome to legal baiting. Chufa patches are used extensively by turkeys from the late fall throughthe early spring. Six of these patches have been allocated for planting on Rock Creek Plantation.Not only are chufa patches a high-quality food for turkeys but also they are very effective atholding birds on your property throughout the hunting season. During the first year of operationall available chufa patches will be planted. After this time, these patches will be put on a two-year planting frequency. Very often, chufas can be encouraged to reseed simply by discing andfertilizing at the proper time. By using this type of a discing and planting program we cut ourchufa patch maintenance cost approximately in half.

26

Chufas should be planted at 50 pounds per acre with a grain drill. The soil should bedisced prior to planting and a pre-emergent herbicide (such as Sonalan, at one quart per acre)applied. At this time you should also fertilize with approximately 350 pounds of 13-13-13 (orequivalent) per acre. Once the chufas reach 8-10 inches in height, you can apply 100-200pounds of ammonium nitrate per acre, if needed. The optimum time for chufa planting is mid-June to mid-July. Planting at this time assure availability for the following turkey season.

Overall, a variety of species will be planted in various food plots on Rock CreekPlantation on an annual basis. Additionally, natural management techniques will be used tofurther create cover, brood habitat and additional food supplies. A wide variety of managementtechniques will be employed to ensure that a continuous stream of high quality food and cover isproduced. Table 4 summarizes food plot ordering information for the Rock Creek Plantation.

27

Hedgerows will be maintained with staggered mowing and/or chopping on a 3-5year frequency, and represent approximately two-thirds of the total field system.Hedgerows will be initially strip planted to partridge pea.

First-year sorghum strip (20 feet wide)

The middle one-third of the field system will be annually harrowed in November.One-half of the harrowed area will be planted to wheat.

Second-year sorghum strip.

Hedgerow

Figure 1. Overview of proposed field system for Rock Creek Plantation.

28

TABLE 3: Quail food plants encouraged by discing at Tall Timbers ResearchStation (numerals are the peak monthly percent plant coverage asmeasured in the growing season after plowing time).

PLOWING TIME

PLANTS DEC. FEB. APRIL JUNE AUG. OCT.

Ragweed 30 25 1 -- 7 --

Dove weed &other spurges

16 5 9 6 9 13

Partridge peas 11 8 -- 2 4 6

Grasses (large-seeded)

19 28 30 17 24 4

Florida pussley 6 11 44 51 40 3

Floridabeggarweed

3 3 17 19 1 3

Pokeweed 1 2 2 13 8 --

Cranesbillgeranium

2 3 -- 11 4 1

Blackberries* 26 11 15 29 21 22

* Blackberry, and most other soft mast species, fruit most abundantly whendisturbed on a three-year cycle.

29

Table 4. 11Food plot ordering information for Rock Creek Plantation.

Plant Year 1 MaintenanceSorghum - 350Brown top 4,300 570Buck wheat 4,300 25012Crimson clover 500 5002Arrowleaf clover 200 2002Austrian winter pea 200 200Wheat 8,600 2,4002Iron and clay peas - 7202Joint vetch - 120Chufas - 3002Partridge pea 300 -Corn - 180

11 Values are in pounds per ac. unless otherwise noted.12 Seeds require inoculation.

30

COVER MANAGEMENT ANDCONTROLLED BURNING

The proper distribution of quality upland cover is an important part of the Rock CreekPlantation quail management plan. Bobwhites suffer high natural mortality (approximately 80%annually) and require all the assistance that man can provide. A well-designed cover program isthe least expensive component of a quail management plan, but often the first neglected. Birdhunters have a propensity to equate quail habitat with the wide-open vistas of piney woodsimmortalized in wildlife art. While this type of habitat may be pleasing to ride through, itseldom offers the opportunities to dismount for a wild covey rise.

Cover is important for several reasons other than the obvious protection from predators.Shrubby cover offers much needed bare ground for loafing and dusting, excellent nestingvegetation, areas for fruit production (most fruits produce best on a 2-3 year disturbance cycleand produce very little if they are annually burned) and serve as sites for production of climbinglegumes such as milk pea and butterfly pea. When I speak of cover, what I am referring to is anupland shrubby thicket, from 3-5 years of age and not hardwood drains or other bottomlandcover. Usually the best “hard cover” is vegetation that colonizes multi-year fallowed fields.This cover tends to be composed primarily of blackberry, volunteer pines and vine-type specieswith lesser amounts of deciduous hardwoods. Even when the leaves are lost from theses species,they tend to produce adequate cover due to their growth form. This is the principal reason that alarge portion of the agricultural openings will be maintained in a rotational, multi-year fallowsystem.

While agricultural fields cover is critically important, it is just as important to maintainproper vegetative composition throughout the woodlands. Several management techniques willbe utilized on Rock Creek Plantation to produce a diverse and productive understory, theseinclude, burning, chopping, mowing and herbiciding. A properly designed burning program isthe most efficient way to develop a productive understory for quail. The bottom line of acontrolled burning program is that approximately 20-40% of the upland cover should be leftunburned on an annual basis. How this unburned vegetation is designed and distributed is wherethe art meets the science of quail management. If post-fire cover blocks are too large they can bedifficult to maintain and to hunt whereas if they are too small (less than 1-2 acres in size) theycan become nesting traps for quail. Quail have a strong tendency to nest in areas of unburnedvegetation (due to the pine straw and dry grasses available) and can be vulnerable to predators ifpost-fire cover blocks are too small. I will work together with the management of Rock Creek todevelop a series of post-fire cover blocks that are well distributed throughout the property and ofadequate size and shape. The goal within these post-fire cover blocks is to develop slightlythicker vegetation than the surrounding areas, thereby providing critical mid-winter and summercover areas. One of the drawbacks to leaving post-fire cover is that these areas have a tendencyto be quickly colonized with hardwood vegetation. A certain percentage of hardwood re-sprouting within these cover blocks is to be expected and accepted. However, certain sitesthroughout the southeast have excessive production of deciduous hardwood species (primarilysweet gum, and water oak) that can quickly colonize an entire cover block. The rich soils ofRock Creek Plantation are very productive for growing hardwoods. Therefore, throughout most

31

of the property it will be extremely difficult to develop a 2-3 year post-fire cover block withoutfirst controlling hardwood species within the blocks. One technique that I have used onnumerous properties is to establish permanent, hardwood-free cover blocks. This is done in amanner similar to the establishment of the agricultural fields. By this I mean that the woodlandsare basically considered a “blank sheet of paper” and that cover blocks are arranged anddistributed in a manner that will be most productive for quail. After delineating the perimeter ofthese permanent cover blocks with a firelines, the sites will be Arsenal treated in the fall.Sweetgum is highly susceptible to moderate levels of Arsenal. While this chemical treatmentwill not remove all hardwoods from the cover blocks, it will allow us to develop cover blocksthat can be burned on a frequency of every 2-3 years without being colonized by deciduoushardwood species. Arsenal is a highly effective species for the control of hardwoods due to itsresidual soil activity. However, it is also this residual soil activity that delays the re-vegetationof Arsenal treated areas. Therefore, good quail cover does not normally re-grow on Arsenaltreated sited for minimum of 2 years, post-spraying. Therefore I recommend a staggeredapproach to development of hardwood-free cover blocks throughout the property. A staggeredapproach will minimize the removal of large amounts of cover in any one season. Afterchemical treatment and burning, a portion of the cover block can be harrowed to speed upcolonization by old-field plants.

Controlled burning will become an increasingly important management practice on theRock Creek Plantation. A series of firelines will need to be established around the perimeter ofthe property, around all cover blocks and separating principal hardwood drainage systemsthroughout the entire property. The capital cost associated with the construction of thesefirelines is not covered in the budgetary section of this plan.

Chopping and/or mowing will also be used to maintain proper understory conditions.Cross-hatching of the quail courses will be conducted each fall prior to the hunting season. Notonly does cross hatching make hunting more effective but it also provides habitat benefits bycontrolling vegetative growth and through soil disturbance. Flat chopping of unproductive areaswill also occur in the fall and following burning in the spring. Post-fire chopping is anunderutilized and very beneficial management technique that can be incorporated to alter thevegetative composition of the understory. Overall a variety of management techniques includingburning and mechanical and chemical control of vegetation will be used to maintain the “allimportant” productive and diverse understory cover.

32

IMPACTS ON OTHER SPECIES

Quail hunting areas throughout the southeast are coveted by organizations seekingconservation easements. This is because to produce consistently high populations of wild quailrequires a tremendous amount of “micro-site” diversity. Bobwhites require a variety of habitattypes throughout the year and this interspersion of vegetation complexes is paramount toproducing non-game species as well. To the best of my knowledge, there should be no detrimentto habitat quality for any rare plant or animal species indigenous to Rock Creek Plantation.Overall, the habitat quality for a variety of species should be improved with the development ofthis plan.

33

BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

Monetary figures contained within this section are intended to acquaint the owners ofRock Creek Plantation with the approximate costs for specific management operations. Thefigures presented in this outline do not include in-house labor, equipment, cost of equipmentoperation, repairs or any of the other standard operational costs of this property. The costs statedfor specific management items are approximate and may vary for your operation. The annualbudget will coincide with the chronological work plan and begin March, 2005.

Costs are broken into two major categories: (capital and operational). Capital costs areone-time outlays and include: stumping, root-raking, corridor construction, initial woodlandherbiciding, permanent deer feeders, initial trapping supplies, contract predator control, plantingof reseeding or perennial wildlife plants and liming and fertilization required for successfulestablishment of these species and grain storage bins. Operational costs are annual outlays andinclude feed, annual food plot planting and fertilization, “spot’ control of hardwoods, and annualtrapping supplies and contract trapping. Table 4 offers a detailed description of capital costs.Annual operational costs are detailed in Table 6 and presented visually in Figure 2.

34

Table 5. Approximate capital costs for proposed habitat modifications on Rock Creek Plantation.

TotalStumping:

Areas to be stumped include new fields (134.2 ac.), logging ramps (18.5 ac.), hunting trail (10 ac.) and principal road-sides (10 ac.).172.7 ac. of stumping at $1,000.00/ac. $172,700.00

Final field preparation:Final field preparation involves hand clean up of small roots and debris.Only new fields and logging ramps will require hand clean up.152.7 ac. at $100.00/ac. $15,270.00

Contract harrowing:Deep harrow 172ac. with contract equipment and labor.172 ac. at $35.00/ac. $6,020.00

Corridor construction:Construct approximately 60 ac. of corridors at $300.00/ac. Corridorswill be “V” bladed, root-raked and piled, smoothed, burned andharrowed for this price. $18,000.00

Liming:Lime 172.7 ac. of new field systems and ramps with 1.5 tonsof lime per ac. 1.5 tons of lime/ac. delivered and spreadat $40.00/ac. $6,908.00

Post-timber harvest clean up:941 ac. of root-raking, piling and burning at an average of $60.00/ac. $56,460.00

Herbicides:Hire Mark Attwater (229-220-9333) to Garlon treat problem areas. Themost likely application will be one gallon of Garlon 4 per ac. 200 ac.at $90.00/ac. This value is approximate and will likely change. $18,000.00

Grain storage bin:A storage bin will be required for quail feed. A ‘turn key” 1,000 bu.bin will cost approximately $8,000.00-$10,000.00. The bin will need to berefilled 3-4 times per year. $10,000.00

Trapping:Purchase 100, model 1081 Hav-a Hart box traps at $52.00/trap. Trapsare available from one of my clients (Lister Harrell, 478-374-5097). $5,200.00Hire Sam Lemmon (229-378-4630) for 12 weeks of intensive trappingat $750.00/week. $9,000.00

35

New field systems:Plant 30 ac. of partridge pea in hedgerows of large field systems.Planting rate is 10 lbs. per ac. and the seed cost is $6.00/lb. $1,800.00

Capital costs, page 2Plant entire stumped area to a mix of 25lbs each of browntop millet andbuckwheat as soon as they are stumped. 172.7 ac. at $60.00/ac. $10,362.00Plant entire stumped acreage to wheat in the fall. This will start thefallow-field vegetation management program off with the propersoil-disturbance and fertilization. $6,908.00

Deer Feeders:Six free-choice deer feeders will be established for a year-rounddeer feeding program. Six, free-choice deer feeders at $700.00/unit.See Appendices for potential feeder. $4,200.00

Approximate Capital Costs: $340,828.00

36

Table 6. Approximate annual costs for Rock Creek Plantations, after year two.

TotalFeed:

“Trail feed 1bu. of sorghum/10ac./10days. This will equate to about 3bu./ac./year. Assume 1,300 ac. of quail courses and a delivered sorghumcost of $3.50/bu. $13,650.00Corn for free-choice deer feeders. Corn will be available 5 months of theyear (fall and winter). Assume 1 deer/15ac. and 2 lbs. of cornconsumption/deer/day. 1,400 ac. of non-seasonally flooded habitat yields aconservative deer density of 93 animals. Remember that deer have verylarge ranges and while this number may appear low,it refers to the number of deer on your property at any given time.We will refine this density estimate over time. Corn is priced at $3.50/bu. $1,953.00Soybeans will be fed free-choice for 7 months of the year. Soybeanconsumption is assumed to be 1 lb/deer/day. Cost of soybeans are calculated at $7.00/bu. $2,730.00One bags (25lbs) of minerals (“Horns a Plenty”-see Appendices,)or equivalent, will be placed at each deer feeding station in mid-winterand early summer. 12 bags at $12/bag. $144.00

Plantings:Sorghum patches:

Use NK 300 or other suitable tall sorghum.124 patches equal 16 ac. at $60/ac. for seed and fertilizer. $960.00Hunting trail:Plant hunting trail to a combination of browntop and buckwheat.10 ac. at $60.00/ac. for seed and fertilizer. $600.00Wheat planting:Wheat is one of the most versatile and beneficialwildlife food plants available and will be used in several situations One-half of the middle of all large field systems will be planted to wheat (approximately 22 ac.) Plant 6 ac. of approximately 1 ac.wheat patches in corridors. Plant 10 ac. of wheat strips forfeeding/hunting trail. Plant 10 ac. of wheat on principal road-sides.48 ac. of low-intensity wheat plantings at $40/ac. $1,920.00Deer winter plots:Plant 20 ac. of deer winter plots on Rock Creek.I encourage you to experiment with various mixtures ofgrasses and legumes. One combination that I have had greatsuccess with is 50 lbs of wheat, 25lbs of crimson clover and 10 lbs.each of yuchi arrow leaf clover and Austrian winter pea/ac. I cautionyou that arrow leaf clover, crimson clover and Austrian winter peaall require specific inoculants. 20 ac. at $110.00 for seed and fertilizer. $2,200.00Deer summer plots:Plant 12 ac. of summer high protein food plots. Several planting

37

options exist. Two of the most popular are “Roundup Ready” soybeansor a combination of 60 lbs. of “iron and clay” peas, and 10 lbs each ofjointvetch and browntop millet. Remember to inoculate the jointvetch.

Annual costs, page 212 ac. at $100/ac. for seed and fertilizer. $1,200.00

Chufa patches:Initially 6 ac. of chufas will be planted on Rock Creek Plantation.We will attempt to naturally regenerate a portion of these plots each year.If successful at regeneration, only 3 acres will be annually planted.6 ac. of chufas at $140/ac. for seed and fertilizer. $840.00Dove field:A dove field should be maintained in one of the corridors.10 ac. of dove field plantings at $150/ac. $1,500.00200 lbs of wheat will be fed for 10 weeks prior to the dove season.2,000lbs of wheat at $10/100lbs. $200.00

Herbicides:Approximately 40 ac. of “spot” hardwood controlAnd cover block creation will be doneeach year with in-house equipment and labor.40 ac. at $60/ac. for chemical. $2,400.00

Trapping Supplies:Trapping will occur on a year-round basis using in-house labor.Trapping supplies. $1,000.00Hire Sam Lemmon for 6 weeks each spring for intensivetrapping prior to the start of the breeding season.Six weeks at $750.00/week. $4,500.00

APPROXIMATE ANNUAL COSTS: $35,797.00

38

38%

15%

7%

26%

14%

Quail feed

Predator control

Herbicide

Plantings

Deer feed

Figure 2. Breakdown of approximate annual costs on Rock Creek Plantation.

39

CHRONOLOGICAL WORK PLAN WITH BUDGETARY APPROXIMATIONS

The work plan outlined on the following pages is intended as a general schedule of yearlyevents. The precise timing for many of these management techniques will vary depending uponon-site conditions and environmental factors. This work plan is intended as a guideline tomanagement and as an aid in the decision making process.

A series of blank lines have been left unused at the end of each month. These are intendedfor the owners of Rock Creek to fill in specific tasks not covered in this management plan.

40

CHRONOLOGICAL WORK PLAN

Date # Management Item CostMarch-October,2005

1. Monitor timber harvesting operations. Try to complete by theend of summer.

2. Contract with Richard Schwab to fuel wood chip needed areas.3. Hire Sam Lemmon for contract predator removal. $9,000.004. Mark and create hunting trail that will fully cover courses.5. Begin stumping operations. Areas to be stumped include new

fields, logging ramps, hunting trail, and principal road sides.172.2 ac. at $1,000.00/ac. $172,000.00

6. Use hand crew to remove small roots and debris from newfield systems and logging ramps. 152.7 ac. at $100.00/ac. $15,270.00

7. Mark corridor through pre-merchantable pines and beginconstruction. Approximately 60 ac. at $300.00/ac. $18,000.00

8. After fields are stumped, spread 1.5 tons of lime per ac.Harrow lime in after spreading. 172.7 ac. at $40.00/ac. $6,908.00

9. Begin post-harvest clean up on all thinned areas. 941 ac. at$60.00/ac. for root-raking, piling and burning. $56,460.00

10. Purchase 100 box traps and begin year-round trappingprogram. 100 box traps at $52.00/trap. $5,200.00

11. Purchase and install 1,000 bu. grain bin for quail feed. $10,000.0012. Purchase 6, free-choice deer feeders. $4,200.0013. Start year-round quail feeding as soon as possible. $13,650.0014. Start deer feeding and mineral program. $4,827.0015. If desired, conduct deer spotlight count in September.16. Order 300 lbs of partridge pea for mid-winter planting.

300lbs. at $6.00/lb. Johnny Capps (334-474-3315) usually hasthe lowest price pea. Be sure and get “pea” innoculant. $1,800.00

17. Plant all possible new fields, ramps, hunting trail and roadsides to a mix of 25 lbs. each of browntop millet andbuckwheat. 172.7 ac. at $60.00/ac. $10,362.00

18. After root-raking flat chop needed thickets with new chopper.1920.21.

October-December,2005

1. Begin needed cross hatching.

2. Conduct fall covey count in late-October to early November.3. Conduct predator survey at same time as covey count.4. Harrow perimeter firelines in November.

41

5. Plant 20 ac. of deer winter food plots. 20 ac. at $110.00/ac. $2,200.006. Plant 30 ac. of partridge pea in hedgerows on large fields in

December. Use small seed hopper on drill.7. Thoroughly harrow all new field systems, ramps, hunting trail

and road sites after November 15th and plant with wheat. Thisinitial fall harrowing and wheat planting will aid in thedevelopment of proper fallow-field vegetation. 172.7 ac. ofwheat planting at $40.00/ac. for seed and fertilizer. Use a“tag-a long” to spread a mix of 50 lbs of wheat and 200 lbs. 0f10-101-01 per ac. Lightly cut in after spreading. Be sure touse certified wheat seed to prevent the introduction of non-native, invasive annual ryegrass. 6,908.00

8. Order new “geo-referenced “ aerial photograph to be flown inApril.

9.10.

December,2005-February,2006

1. Cool burn any needed hardwood drains.

2. Select areas for upland, post-fire cover blocks.3. Harrow interior firelines and around cover blocks in February.4. Begin general woodland burning operations in late-February.5. Place one bag of minerals at each deer feeding station.6.7.8.

Approximate first year costs: Many of the budgetary itemspresented above will not be completed in the first year ofoperation due to an unknown time frame for completion oftimber harvesting, stumping, etc. However, for purposesof this plan they will all be allocated as first year costs.Total approximate costs $334,585.00

March-May, 2006

1. End burning operations by mid- to late-March, if possible.

2. Flat chop areas that burned poorly and sites that will be Garlontreated in June.

3. Plant corn strips in dove field. Brown top will be planted laterin the spring. 10 a. of dove field plantings at $150.00/ac. $1,500.00

4. Plant summer deer patches. $1,200.005. Plant hunting trail to browntop and buckwheat. $600.006. Conduct spring call counts in late-May to early-June.7. Select areas for woodland sorghum patches and harrow after

burning. Aim for one, 1/8 ac. patch per 15 ac. of uplandhabitat. These patches will be rotated to diversify thewoodland understory vegetation.

42

woodland understory vegetation.8. Begin mowing roads for “bugging” habitat.9. Do first cutting on all sorghum patches. Refer to Figure ? for

allocation of sorghum strips in large field systems.10. Continue deer and mineral feeding. $4,827.0011. Continue year-round quail feeding. $13,650.0012. Place one bag of minerals at each deer feeding station in April.13 Hire Sam Lemmon for 6 weeks of intensive trapping starting

in April. $4,500.0014. Continue in-house trapping. $1,000.0015.16.17.

June-September,2006

1. Plant sorghum patches in June. $960.00

2. Hire Mark Attwater to Garlon treat areas that were fuel woodcut the previous summer. This herbicide treatment is designedto kill resprouted hardwoods and help create a “grassinterface” along the edge of wetland areas. Approximately200 ac. at $90.00/ac. $18,000.00

3. Plant browntop strips in dove field. Approximately 6 ac. ofcorn and 4 ac. of browntop will be used in a 10ac. dove fielddesign.

4. Plant chufa patches. $840.005. Begin dove feeding on harrowed ground in August. 200 lbs.

per week for 10 weeks. $200.006. Do “chemical burn down” in dove field and begin silage

chopping in mid-September.7. Conduct deer spotlight count in September.8.9.10.

October-November,2006

1. Begin cross hatching in mid-October.

2. Conduct predator survey and fall covey count in late-Octoberto early-November.

3. Harrow perimeter firelines.4. Plant non-deer field wheat patches. 48 ac. at $40.00/ac. $1,920.005. Plant deer winter plots. $2,200.006. Harrow middle one-third of all large field systems (Figure ?).7. Maintain dove field as needed.

43

8. Prepare for hunting season as needed.9.10.11.

December,2006-February,2007

1. Cool burn any needed drains or young pine stands (south end).

2. Harrow interior firelines and around all cover blocks.3. Begin general woodland burning operations in late-February.4. Place one bag of minerals at each deer feeding station.5.6.7.

Annual costs should remain fairly stable after year 2.Approximate second year costs. $46,557.00

March-May, 2007

1. End burning operations by mid- to late-March, if possible.

2. Flat chop areas that burned poorly and sites that will be Garlontreated in June.

3. Plant corn strips in dove field. Browntop will be planted laterin the spring. $1,500.00

4. Plant summer deer patches. $1,200.005. Plant hunting trail to browntop and buckwheat. $600.006. Conduct spring call counts in late-May to early-June.7. Select areas for woodland sorghum patches and harrow after

burning. Aim for one 1/8 ac. patch per 15 ac. of uplandhabitat. These patches will be rotated to diversify thewoodland understory vegetation.

8. Begin mowing roads for “bugging” habitat.9. Do first cutting on all sorghum patches. Refer to Figure ? for

allocation of sorghum strips in large field systems.10. Continue deer and mineral feeding. $4,827.0011. Continue year-round quail feeding. $13,650.0012. Place one bag of minerals at each deer feeding station in April.13 Hire Sam Lemmon for 6 weeks of intensive trapping starting

in April. $4,500.0014. Continue in-house trapping. $1,000.0015.16.17.

June-September,2006

1. Plant sorghum patches in June. $960.00

44

20062. Spot control of problem hardwood areas. $2,400.003. Plant browntop strips in dove field. Approximately 6 ac. of

corn and 4 ac. of browntop will be used in a 10ac. dove fielddesign.

4. Plant chufa patches. $840.005. Begin dove feeding on harrowed ground in August. 200 lbs.

per week for 10 weeks. $200.006 Do “chemical burn down” in dove field and begin silage

chopping in mid-September.7. Conduct deer spotlight count in September.8.9.10.

October-November,2006

1. Begin cross hatching in mid-October.

2. Conduct predator survey and fall covey count in late-Octoberto early-November.

3. Harrow perimeter firelines.4. Plant non-deer field wheat patches. 48 ac. at $40.00/ac. $1,920.005. Plant deer winter plots. $2,200.006. Harrow middle one-third of all large field systems (Figure ?).7. Maintain dove field as needed.8. Prepare for hunting season as needed.9.10.11.

December,2006-February,2007

1. Cool burn any needed drains or young pine stands (south end).

2. Harrow interior firelines and around all cover blocks.3. Begin general woodland burning operations in late-February.4. Place one bag of minerals at each deer feeding station.5.6.7.

Approximate maintenance budget. $35,797.00

45

APPENDICIES• Deer spotlight census information

• Reprint on conducting a predator census and blank data sheet• Summary of 2004 predator census

• Reprint on conducting a fall covey count and blank data sheet• Instructions for conducting a stimulated quail call count and data sheet

• Brochure for deer minerals• Fiber feeder brochure

• Deer harvest data sheets for Rock Creek• Vicon spreader information

46

TRAPPING SUMMARY

Predator Survey Data SheetProperty: Rock Creek Summary Date: January, 2005Observers:__________________ Weather:_________________________

Site # Hits Coyote Fox Bobcat Raccoon Opossum Armadillo Other123456789

101112131415161718192021222324252627282930

TOTAL 64 10 6 23 16 5 4Comp. 15 9 35 25 7 6% Visit 90

NotesCoyotes are subtracted to determine the effective visitation rate. Therefore, the effectivevisitation rate is 76%. A total of 71 scent station nights were used in the calculations.

47

DEER HARVEST DATA SHEET FOR ROCK CREEK PLANTATION

YEAR : _________________

Deer # Date Sex(M/F)

Jaw(Y/N)

Age Weight Doe inmilk (Y/N)

RoughB.C. score

Hunter Notes

NOTES: Only record "green" B.C. scores for mature bucks. Please check carefully forlactation. All jaws should be tagged with the deer number. There is no need to remove fawnjaws. Record fawns as .5 in age column. We will fill in the remaining ages at the end of theseason. Be neat and complete.

48

July 25, 2005

Walter HatchettRock Creek Plantation9802 North Meridian RoadTallahassee, FL 32312

Dear Walter,

I hope this letter finds you and yours doing well. Enclosed are two copies of the RockCreek Management Plan for your review. An additional copy has been given to Ray Jay. I wasvery pleased with how this plan turned out and I feel that the habitat changes scheduled for RockCreek will result in excellent multi-game hunting and beautiful habitat in the future. I will giveyou a little time to look this document over and then we can all get together to discuss the finepoints.

I have enclosed an invoice for the balance of the Management Plan and an annualretainer. I have set up similar retainer programs for all of my Management Plan Clientsthroughout the Southeast. This form of retainer will provide you with 5-6 days of "on theground" consulting at Rock Creek, unlimited phone consultation, and assistance in acquiring anyneeded planting materials. If needed, additional days can be added at my standard day rate. Iwill cover all travel-related expenses: therefore, you will receive only one annual invoice. I willwork closely with you over the next few years to insure that all habitat modifications areproperly initiated and will try to arrange my visits to correspond with important managementactivities and to suit your schedule. The annual retainer will decrease over the next few years ashabitat modifications are completed.

I have enjoyed working with you over the past several months and look forward towatching Rock Creek Plantation grow into a premier hunting plantation. Please look over theenclosed plan and call me with "your thoughts". Take care, and I look forward to seeing youagain soon.

Sincerely,

Brad Mueller

49