Natural Resources University Collaboration of land-grant universities

In this conversation, Bronson and Steve discuss various topics related to deer management during the summertime. They start by addressing recent concerns about hunters contracting CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) from consuming deer with CWD and emphasize the importance of following public health guidelines and not eating venison from CWD-positive deer. They then move on to discuss deer management tasks for the summer, including getting soil tests and adjusting pH for food plots, moving hunting blinds off food plots to reduce disturbance, controlling ryegrass in food plots, and using prescribed fire for habitat management. They highlight the benefits of burning during the growing season and the importance of providing high-quality forage for deer. Bronson and Steve emphasize the importance of analyzing harvest data and deer observations to make informed decisions about deer population and harvest strategies. Additionally, they discuss the benefits of forest management, improving road access, and diversifying food sources. The conversation concludes with a reminder to start planning larger-scale projects, such as timber harvest, well in advance.
Check out the MSU Deer Lab’s online seminar series (here) and choose the Natural Resources option from the Categories drop down menu.  You will have to create an account to view the seminars.  The seminars are free unless you are seeking professional educational credits.
Also, be sure to visit our YouTube channel (here)

Native warm season plant communities provide valuable food and cover for many wildlife species, and are often missing from properties that are managed for wildlife. Join us as we discuss the process of restoring native warm season grasses and forbs to your property.
Dr. Joe Gerken and Dr. Drew Ricketts are extension specialists and faculty members in the Wildlife and Outdoor Enterprise Management Program at Kansas State University. Find out more about the program at https://hnr.k-state.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/wildlife-outdoor-management.html

Dr. Bronson Strickland, co-director of the MSU Deer Lab and founder of the Deer University podcast, joins us to explain regenerative agriculture and break down their new experiment testing the differences in nutrient density and deer use between conventional and regenerative food plots. 
 
Deer University Podcast
Food plot experiment (Jacob Dykes)
Ryegrass is not good
 
Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund 
 
Dr. Bronson Strickland Website, Publications, @MSUDeerLab, @MSUDeerLabTV
Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications
Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications
Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow 
UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube
 
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This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org. 
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Music by Artlist.io
Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak
 

In Western Missouri there is a lake that doesn’t follow the standard private pond formula. Lake Deanna is a larger private lake with unique habitat, unusual depth, and an experimental fish community. The deep lake has been stocked with largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleye, and sunfish. Bluegill and Redear Sunfish are already pushing a pound, and bass have exceeded 8 pounds in just 4 years! However, the lake is not without its issues. In this episode, Wes discusses Lake Deanna with the Pond Boss, Bob Lusk, and the lake’s owner and visionary, Greg Graves. We’ll take you from inception and construction, through the development of the fishery, and even prescribe management for the future. So grab a beverage and join in, you don’t want to miss it!
Do you have questions or comments? Follow the Fish University Facebook community and chat with Wes or suggest future episodes!

This episode we are joined by Dr. Morgan Varner from the Tall Timbers Land Trust and Research Center. Dr. Varner discusses the benefits of fire on the landscape, a brief history of utilizing prescribed fire in the US south, and the consequences of using and not using prescribed fire to manage forests.
For questions or comments, email us at timberuniversity@gmail.com
For more, follow NRU on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

Dr. Ben Sikes, Associate Professor of Microbial Ecology at the University of Kansas, joins us to shed light on the fascinating relationships between fungi and fire. Learn of the interconnection between plants created by mycorrhizal networks (AKA the “wood wide web”), how fire regimes drive changes in fungal communities, the mechanisms of carrying out fungal research, and much more.
 
Bond, W. J., & Keeley, J. E. (2005). Fire as a global ‘herbivore’: the ecology and evolution of flammable ecosystems. Trends in ecology & evolution, 20(7), 387-394.
Hopkins, J. R., et al. (2021). Fungal community structure and seasonal trajectories respond similarly to fire across pyrophilic ecosystems. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 97(1), fiaa219.
Hopkins, J. R., et al. (2020). Frequent fire slows microbial decomposition of newly deposited fine fuels in a pyrophilic ecosystem. Oecologia, 193, 631-643.
Hansen, P. M., et al. (2019). Recurrent fires do not affect the abundance of soil fungi in a frequently burned pine savanna. Fungal ecology, 42, 100852.
Fox, S., et al. (2022). Fire as a driver of fungal diversity—A synthesis of current knowledge. Mycologia, 114(2), 215-241.
Dao, V. Q., et al. (2022). Substrate and low intensity fires influence bacterial communities in longleaf pine savanna. Scientific reports, 12(1), 20904.



Dr. Ben Sikes Contact/Website, Academic Profile
Dr. Carolina Baruzzi wildlandmgmt, Academic Profile
Dr. Marcus Lashley DrDisturbance, Academic Profile
 
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Music by Dr. David Mason and Artlist.io
Produced and edited by Charlotte Nowak