Forest management in practice

Heading south on Governor Richardson Road out of the small town of Summerton, you wil pass a large cutover timber stand on both sides. The property might look rough and raggedy to an unaware passerby, but it is a wildlife and forestry Mecca. Just two years ago, Blue Streak Farms President Lionel Stukes replanted 109 acres with longleaf pine. The site had 20- to 25-year-old loblolly pine growing on it, and had finally reached the peak to be clear cut and sold for raw timber. The land was prepared for replanting by chemically treating the vegetation in the late summer and V-blading and planting containerized longleaf pine the following February. The longleaf have an 80 percent survival rate, and the majority of the young trees are already out of the grass stage in just two years. Today, the property has many different native weeds and wildlife-friendly grasses growing in abundance. Deer, turkey, dove and even quail are using this land for habitat. Since the trees are doing so well, Stukes offered the Clarendon Soil and Water Conservation District the opportunity to have a Forestry Management Workshop on his farm on June 10. Forestry professionals, landowners and Natural Resources Conservation Services employees gathered at Blue Streak Farms to gain more knowledge on forest management. The conversation district partnered with Clemson Extension, American Forest Management Inc. and NRCS to have the event. Topics included forest management, tax incentives for forest landowners and U.S. Department of Agriculture programs for forest landowners. Stukes has many great opportunities for this tract. He has firebreaks plowed around and through the property. He will burn this tract in the winter to help remove some of the fuel and competing vegetation. He also plants food plots and attends meetings to gain more knowledge on wildlife and forest activities. He has put all of his time and effort into his farm since he retired after 40 years in the public school system. Stukes has taken the time to make his property into something sustainable and wildlife friendly.   Brandon DuRant is a district conservationist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Resources Conservation Services in Manning.