Last year was the year we needed to implement a management measure on our CRP/RIM land. These management measures are employed during the mid-point in your program contract (varies with contract length). You can either mow or burn your native grasses, forbs, and wildflowers (during non-nesting periods in the year). We decided to do a burn to reduce the littoral matter that had accumulated over the years to help re-integrate the stored nutrients back into the soil. Burning also helps to reduce competition from young cottonwoods and willows, which depending on your contract type may not be allowed in your program.
We contacted the local fire department and they burned these acres for a small fee (<$200) as it also provides them with a training opportunity. The warm season and bunch grasses rebounded awesome! The native forbs and wildflowers also rebounded well, however, this year they have taken off and really caught my attention on the way to check the cameras.
As much as I am into food plots, I am by no means an expert on native forbs and wildflowers; however, I think I am in the ball park with my guesses.
Pic #1 – one of the CRP/RIM pieces that provides great cover to all wildlife and bedding for whitetail. Big Blue Stem stalks, bunch grasses, little blue stem, forbs, etc.
Pic #2 – These are either Black Eyed Susans or Grayheaded Coneflowers
Pic #3 – Butterfly Milkweed
Pic #4 – Swamp Milkweed
Pic #5 – Purple Prairie Clover
Pic #6 – Purple Milkweed
Though they are nice to look at, they are also seed producing plants that provide food for game and non-game species alike. In a landscape that is ever homogenized in land cover, these CRP/RIM pieces provide beneficial uses for wildlife from pollinators to P&Y Whitetails.
