Our TSI Project

Timber Stand Improvement....a project that my dad, Jason, and I have been working on over the past 3-4 years.  The main objective has been to provide some excellent waterfowl habitat, but it has also greatly benefited our deer and turkey population as well...not to mention other small critters and birds.  Back in 2008 we completed what we called Phase IV of our waterfowl development...we had a levee built around a large tract of our timber comprised mainly of pin oaks, ash, and cottonwood, along with some other hardwood species such as burr oak, elm, sycamore, hackberry, locust etc.

We had the help of the MDC to get us started and help us come up with a plan.  Since then, it's nothing but a lot of chainsawing and burning during the winter months.  I wish we would have documented the progress from the beginning because the changes we have made is astounding.  We are essentially thinning out the timber by dropping most of the non-desired species and leaving the oaks...freeing them to allow better acorn production.  The open canopy allows sunlight in and we now have lots of grassy vegetation growing where it once was nothing but a packed layer of leaves.  This provides browse and cover for the deer and turkey in the spring/summer, and food for the ducks when flooded in the late fall.  The open canopy also helps to show more water to ducks passing over and allows them easy access to the cover and food in our green tree reservoir.  

It is a bittersweet moment for me when we start flooding the timber in late October...as we are taking out some excellent deer hunting but at the same time providing some excellent duck hunting.  Here's a few pictures of some of the progress we've made in the area over the years.  This was once nothing but some real dense timber with no understory....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A timelapse to see a glimpse of what a typical day of TSI cutting looks like...we started in a new area here that we haven't touched before.  Take the small stuff out first and then we will come back through later and take out the larger non-desirable trees to really open the canopy.