Land Management Tool?

[Upstate Nerdneck]

I'm looking to get a long term plan together for my properties.  What does everybody use, does anybody know of a good tool or app to use?

I want to map out what I want everything to look like long term.  Where am I going to do bedding, where am I going to do plots?  

Right now all I'm doing is spitballing by taking screenshots of Onx and scribbling a bit.  Any suggestions appreciated!  Looking at you @G-man

[Bucksnbows]

12 minutes ago, Upstate Nerdneck said:

I'm looking to get a long term plan together for my properties.  What does everybody use, does anybody know of a good tool or app to use?

I want to map out what I want everything to look like long term.  Where am I going to do bedding, where am I going to do plots?  

Right now all I'm doing is spitballing by taking screenshots of Onx and scribbling a bit.  Any suggestions appreciated!  Looking at you @G-man

As you know, no two properties are alike. Here in NJ, I work with my forester on a 107 acre oak/hickory forest with goals of increasing wildlife habitat for deer, turkey, bear, grouse, and woodcock as well as non game animals. On my buddies’ two farms in Otsego, we know enough to create our own plans on what are both crop farms with large wood lots and ample water resources.  I’m not sure how an app could help. Write down your goals and then back in the various practices that will achieve each one. Be realistic with timelines. 

[Robhuntandfish]

Don't know of an app either but I keep a running working list on the document file on my phone.  And I break it out by year and under that the tasks I would like to get done for that year.   It works well for us.  Plus we add to it often while out in the field and I can log it down before I forget it.  

[ZAG]

31 minutes ago, Upstate Nerdneck said:

I'm looking to get a long term plan together for my properties.  What does everybody use, does anybody know of a good tool or app to use?

I want to map out what I want everything to look like long term.  Where am I going to do bedding, where am I going to do plots?  

Right now all I'm doing is spitballing by taking screenshots of Onx and scribbling a bit.  Any suggestions appreciated!  Looking at you @G-man

I know mylandplan.gov or com had it. 

[dbHunterNY]

all i've used is the "Tools" and OnX maps. Helps to sign in on a PC with a bigger screen to screen shot and print stuff if you want something in the field. Use area tool with color coded lines and notes.

[dbHunterNY]

way back in the day i used to use microsoft bing maps birds eye view and over lay images together with MS Paint on windows and then mark that up. That was pretty time consuming but gave me a big aerial to use scouting new property or public ground.

[Bucksnbows]

2 hours ago, dbHunterNY said:

way back in the day i used to use microsoft bing maps birds eye view and over lay images together with MS Paint on windows and then mark that up. That was pretty time consuming but gave me a big aerial to use scouting new property or public ground.

For things like that today, I use Google Earth Pro. I have all our NY farm projects laid out in GE. 

[Upstate Nerdneck]

Yeah I used to use Google Earth pro extensively before Onx, just to keep track of my stands.  Sounds like making some scribbles on Onx screenshots is the way to go.  I do use it on my PC in my browser.

I'm sure this has come up before, but are there any good podcasts?   Other resources to create travel funnels/corridors?  Thinking of widening the hedge rows between fields another 30 yards long each side.  Big hard woods for stands & acorns, thick scrubby stuff for them to bed and travel in to either side.  Once the ag lease is over I want to get 3 acres of corn and leave it standing all year, and another 3 of beans?

I've got 90 acres on a hilltop that is 75% open field, with mature hardwood & pine.  There's about 3 acres of food plots scattered about.  The primary problem is, to my mind, bedding.  Deer hit the property to feed constantly and in large #s.  But since the land got divvied up, and the central piece of property is now just going back to nature, they don't bed on the top property much any more.  So, my thoughts are along the lines of "where so I want bedding, and  what / where to I want to plant saplings to make better travel corridors?"

This is all going to be the work of many many years, but the easiest part of where so we stop cutting can be started now!

My other piece is about 130 acres of 100% mature hardwood and hemlock on a steep hillside with benches.  That piece I've already clearcut 2 1 acre spots in flat areas.  Now I need to get the stumps ground down and fertilize the crap out of them.  Also trying to get it logged and roughly 3500 trees taken off it.  I've also planted and fenced in a dozen apple trees on the edges of those.

[Robhuntandfish]

1 hour ago, Upstate Nerdneck said:

Yeah I used to use Google Earth pro extensively before Onx, just to keep track of my stands.  Sounds like making some scribbles on Onx screenshots is the way to go.  I do use it on my PC in my browser.

I'm sure this has come up before, but are there any good podcasts?   Other resources to create travel funnels/corridors?  Thinking of widening the hedge rows between fields another 30 yards long each side.  Big hard woods for stands & acorns, thick scrubby stuff for them to bed and travel in to either side.  Once the ag lease is over I want to get 3 acres of corn and leave it standing all year, and another 3 of beans?

I've got 90 acres on a hilltop that is 75% open field, with mature hardwood & pine.  There's about 3 acres of food plots scattered about.  The primary problem is, to my mind, bedding.  Deer hit the property to feed constantly and in large #s.  But since the land got divvied up, and the central piece of property is now just going back to nature, they don't bed on the top property much any more.  So, my thoughts are along the lines of "where so I want bedding, and  what / where to I want to plant saplings to make better travel corridors?"

This is all going to be the work of many many years, but the easiest part of where so we stop cutting can be started now!

My other piece is about 130 acres of 100% mature hardwood and hemlock on a steep hillside with benches.  That piece I've already clearcut 2 1 acre spots in flat areas.  Now I need to get the stumps ground down and fertilize the crap out of them.  Also trying to get it logged and roughly 3500 trees taken off it.  I've also planted and fenced in a dozen apple trees on the edges of those.

Mossy oak gamekeepers has some good podcasts 

[phade]

6 hours ago, dbHunterNY said:

way back in the day i used to use microsoft bing maps birds eye view and over lay images together with MS Paint on windows and then mark that up. That was pretty time consuming but gave me a big aerial to use scouting new property or public ground.

Them doing away with that was such a huge loss. Years later I still don’t think anyone has topped the detail from bird’s eye when it was a recent leaf off image. 

[dbHunterNY]

15 hours ago, phade said:

Them doing away with that was such a huge loss. Years later I still don’t think anyone has topped the detail from bird’s eye when it was a recent leaf off image. 

you can still find edges and what not with others like google earth but with birds eye i could basically get detail at the level i  could tell what canopy and understory were like. easier to wrap your head around topo/terrain too. 2D vs 3D in say google earth gets distorted and IMO is basically useless compared to an actual topo map.

[LET EM GROW]

Set up access on your property, and then build cover around that. OR vice versa, which ever is easier. Keep your predominant winds in mind when setting up bedding/holding cover. Make as much of your available space is in  cover  as possible, then place food sources(plots, or tree plots or both) based off your stand locations or where you can set up good stand blind locations that utilize good access to not alarm deer entering and exiting.

I like using Onx Hunstand and Spartan forge.. Spartan forge has very recent low resolution aerial photos. 

For our lease I ay out ours with huntstand since we all share it and can modify it. But Onx and Spartan Forge are better imo for laying out properties. 

Also, pick or make a sanctuary for each piece, that you ll never go in to or let your scent go in unless you have to. Low pressure means all season deer movement..  

[G-man]

Well im cheap so I use fieldmargin free edition.  Don't need to mark stands and such . More accurate imo  as it uses true gis. Vs the tax maps  hunt stand and onyx uses..  also us globe explorer and County gis services . Being able to use Ariel from different seasons  let's you find trails and such  from high rez photos.  Over lay with County soil maps will show you your better soil areas for plots and how soil cha get in each field if your doing  larger plots acreage.