2012 Volunteer Game Lands Work Day – Elk County

 
Once again this year Chapter 630 of Pheasants Forever will be partnering with the Game Commission to host a volunteer habitat workday on SGL# 44. This is an effort to build and maintain better small game habitats that has been paying huge dividends in habitat that holds pheasants and rabbit populations into and throughout the hunting seasons.
 
This year we plan use chainsaw teams (for those that have a saw, chaps and other safety gear) to cut some pines that are getting too tall. Others, not running saws, will drag some of the tops to make brush piles. We also plan to have a crew or two, depending on manpower, putting up small fences where we will later plant crab apples and perhaps some spruce trees. If we have enough volunteers and the weather is suitable we hope to have people transplanting some common cattail to a few areas where they would provide good winter habitat and escape cover.
 
Food and drinks will be provided at lunchtime.
 
Volunteers can come whenever they want during the morning but we will be meeting and starting to work at about 8:00 am on Saturday March 31st. We will meet at the top of the hill past the first gate of the Meade Run tract off of the Shawmut Road in Horton Township, Elk County. Depending on the number of volunteers and amount of work accomplished in the morning we hope to also have crews working during the afternoon to accommodate those that can’t make it in the morning.
 
There will be signs at the entrance off of the Meade Run Road off of Shawmut Road. Shawmut Road goes off of Route 219 in Brockport and loops around so that the northern end of the Shawmut Road then again intersects with Route 219 north of Brandy Camp. You can access Shawmut Road at ether entrance off of Route 219 to find the work party location.
 
I hope to see a good turn out again this year. In the past we have workers driving from some long distances such as Harrisburg and Bradford, Luzerne, Allegheny and Washington Counties. It is a great way to make some new friends or meet some old ones while doing something that both benefits wildlife and the future of hunting.
 R.S. Bodenhorn   

Bing with a chainsaw near RSB and doc Pout, not a recipe for a pleasant day...

ORIGINAL: DarDys

Serious question -- In the habitat project, are any food sources for the pheasants included in the upgrade or is it mostly a cover project?

It will be a combination of several projects that include various habitat and food projects if we have enough help to work all of our plans.
 
If we have enough help we will break into at least three groups. One group will be working with the Game Commission food and cover crews and others that have chainsaws, adequate safety equipment and experience topping some pines. Others who do not have chainsaws will pull some of the tops together to make brush piles while some trees will just be cut part way through and hinged so they hopefully continue to grow close to the ground for a few more years. The dragging tops and making brush piles is usually a great hit with some of the youth that show up.
 
We also plan to have a crew putting up some small woven wire fences on some of the more fertile soils near the best pheasant wintering grounds areas of the habitat project areas. The fences will then be planted with crab apple and perhaps other food producing shrubs while outside the fences there will be some spruce planted to provide escape cover near the food.
 
We also plan to have a crew digging and transplanting some common cattail into a few of the lowland wintering areas where there is some poor water. Since cattails both clean mine drainage waters and provide great winter escape cover for pheasants it should provide a double benefit to the pheasant habitat and water quality.
 
Later into the spring the local Pheasants Forever Chapter in partnership with the Game Commission will also be planting about twenty acres of various food producing row crops on that section of the game lands that provides both food and cover. In the past few years there has been several hundred acres planted into warm season grasses. Other areas have annually mowed strips to maintain some in good insect production that is important to many species including pheasant and turkey poults as well as deer.
 
You should come up and get involved. You would also get to see some of the best pheasant hunting areas in this part of the state. Our habitat work is helping. I checked a pheasant hunter hunting the area the last day of the late season who told me he had had season pheasants up. That isnt bad for the last day of the season. But I will warn you that if you get involved with this group you will never again have trouble finding kids wanting an opportunity to hunt over your dogs.
 
R.S. Bodenhorn