question for D H or BSK(moved for ct)

[caretaker]

mass failure. or no acorns. This is becoming a concern to me. Season before last we experienced the first true acorn failure I can remember. We had a few acorns but they were no bigger than a pea. We saw and killed only a couple of deer. This past season there were no acorns to be found. Not even small ones. The area is around 30 acres of wood land with a power line running through it. Farm land is on either side of us with areas of wood land. As far as I know no hunting is allowed on either side. I know the deer are transit and travel the entire ridge line. there is another area of land around 6 acres that I have access to on this ridge line. It is about 11/2 to 2 miles away. it is wooded. No acorns or deer there either. I also noticed there was no evidence of turkey the last two seasons and none now. Also treerats are scarce. The few deer I have seen were at dusk or early morning in mowed fields between the creek and the road. or traveling the edge of the power line. they were only in pairs or no more than four in a group. I believe the lack of food has forced them to scatter in search of food. My question is how long can a acorn failure last. I only saw two deer on the property all season and they were traveling the power line. Hopefully we will get back to a good crop of acorns this season but who knows. My question is will the acorns ever produce again and when.

[BSK]

Acorn production is very much an annual event. A terrible acorn crop one year has little effect on the next year (with the exception of the two-year maturation process of the red oak species--a hard late freeze that kills pollinated blooms one year means no red oak acorns the following year).

As for hunting, while monitoring buck rubbing activity over a decade period, I noticed that rubbing locations would flip-flop depending on acorn production. In essence, where bucks were most active in a good acorn year was completely opposite of where they were active during a poor acorn year. Although this "rule" is oversimplifying things, in a poor acorn year, look for deer where deer WERE NOT in the last good acorn year. In addition, in a poor acorn year, look for areas with the most diverse habitat--the most different types of habitat packed together in little patches. In a long-term research project, I tracked deer observation rates by hunters and compared those to habitat diversity values for each hunting location. Over many years, I found a very close association between high deer observation rates and localized habitat diversity. And this relationship was strongest during poor acorn years.

[caretaker]

as stated I only have access to 30 acres and a smaller area maybe a mile and a half away. The fact that there are and have not been any acorns on either property leads me to believe that the entire ridge line and horse shoe has been affected. I conclude this after talking to a few property owners and locals. they are saying no acorns, no birds, and no deer. Now , I have access to 10 acres about 12 miles away. this area has deer on it inspite of high people traffic and contact. There are at least three new houses being built and other projects going on . But there are plenty of acorns plus fruit trees and other food sources.

1. Do I need to dig up every oak tree on that 30 acres and replace it with a new sapling and hope they produce in the next 10 to 15 years or do I keep what I got and hope they produce in the next 10 to 15 years.

2. do I put in feeders and maybe a plot and mineral blocks as attractants. i have refrained from this as I much prefer to let nature handle things. But desperate times may call for desperate measures.

[BSK]

1. Do I need to dig up every oak tree on that 30 acres and replace it with a new sapling and hope they produce in the next 10 to 15 years or do I keep what I got and hope they produce in the next 10 to 15 years.

There is no such thing as oak trees that have stopped producing. Now individual trees are good or poor producers over their lifetime, but an entire areas ANNUAL acorn crop is a product of that year's weather conditions (which can be HIGHLY localized). And I have seen poor weather conditions produce poor acorn crops for several years in a row on a given property. Once the right weather conditions occur in the right sequence, those trees will be as productive as ever.

2. do I put in feeders and maybe a plot and mineral blocks as attractants. i have refrained from this as I much prefer to let nature handle things. But desperate times may call for desperate measures.

I'm the first to warn hunters that much of what they read and see on TV about food plots is just hype and marketing. That said, for hardwood properties with little in the way of quality winter browse, food plots can be an extremely effective technique for drawing deer during the hunting season in a poor acorn year. However, I'm surprised the deer are not finding more in the power-line right-of-ways to attract them. Power-line ROWs are usually major draws on hardwood properties both for their cover and browse production.