OutdoorNebraska

70 TABLE B14. PHEASANT & QUAIL HABITAT MANAGEMENT - NORTH RIVER WMA WMA Grassland Early Seral Stage Grassland Mid Seral Stage Grassland Late Seral Stage/Winter Cover Food Plots/ Crops Early Succession Rota on Woodland Wetland Misc. North River WMA - 681 acres - Future Desired Condi on 95 ac. (50%) 95 ac. (50%) 20 25 450 15 - Current Condi on 55 ac. (28%) 145 ac. (72%) 25 15 450 15 DEFINITIONS Early Seral Stage: The disturbance year and 1-3 years following disturbance i.e. burning, spraying, disking, lling. Cover is also provided by second year idle crop ground, forb/legume interseeding. Dominated by early successional forbs/ legumes. Mid Seral Stage: 4-6 years following major disturbance. Not dominated by one vegeta on type. Reduced early successional forbs/legumes in the stand. Half of the area is grazed 2 out of 3 years. Grazed only sites are considered mid-seral stage. Late Seral Stage/Winter Cover: > 6 years following disturbance. Dominated by grass or later successional plants. Few forbs/legumes in the stand. Wetlands and shrub plan ngs func on as winter cover on North River. FUTURE DESIRED CONDITION Currently, due to grazing rota on there is no late seral stage (winter cover) grassland, however there are 15 acres of wetland and 5 acres of shrub plan ngs serving as winter cover. Increase the winter cover by 25% via shrub plan ngs (5 acres over the next 5 years). The amount of mid seral stage (nes ng cover) grassland will be reduced 30% by about 50 acres, however given the current haying and grazing prac ces on surrounding lands there will s ll be adequate nes ng cover. Those acres lost to mid seral stage will be transi oned to early seral and food plots (brood rearing cover), increasing the early seral stage 70% by 40 acres. Most grassland will be treated with fire, disking or spraying over the next 5 years ensuring that half of our grassland acres are early seral stage (brood rearing cover) at any point in me. Food plots will increase by 67% from 15 to 25 acres. Current levels of deer use limit the amount of food that remains through winter. This increase should mediate that. Increases/changes in treatments should provide that at least ¼ of the WMA will be in early successional habitat, doubling (or tripling) the current level. Increased burning of the woodland will cause some co onwood mortality, but it will also allow for co onwood regenera on. Effects of grazing on regenera on will be evaluated and corrected with fencing if needed. Fire will be primary tool for ERC and ROL control in both grasslands and mber. Woodland acres won't change, however composi on and structure will change to a younger, more open riparian forest. ANNUAL WORK PLAN Vegeta on Control – Currently spraying and disking 20+ acres annually, and will increase that maintenance work to 30+, an increase of 50% (increase of 10 acres). Plan for a variety of habitats in successive stages of treatment and maintain the goal of 90+ acres in the early seral stage. Burn – The west half of the area was last burned in 2008 and the east half in 1988. The east half will be burned in the next 5 years. The west half may not be burned in the next 5 years, but will be in the next 10, keeping that rota on under

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