Setting Goals

• I will create wildlife habitat on my property.

• I will improve the habitat for white-tailed deer on 40 acres of my property by attending an ACES Quality Deer Management Workshop in September 2022 and will implement two of the things I learn by March of 2023.  
   
• I will improve habitat for Eastern Wild Turkey in my 30-acre mature, upland yellow-poplar, mixed oak forest stand by conducting a shelterwood harvest in 2023, reducing tree canopy cover by approximately 60%, and will follow up with low-intensity late winter/early spring prescribed fire starting in 2024. I will then re-evaluate the need for future prescribed fires every 3-5 years.  

He has been drawn to this field since he was a young child. He was always very conservation and biology minded, and has maintained an interest in living things and maintaining our native habitats for the future. He enjoys the outdoors in almost every way one can, with a love of gardening, hunting, and fishing along with camping, hiking and birdwatching. He believes joining the extension team will grant him an excellent opportunity to spread that appreciation and knowledge to more people in our state and looks forward to meeting everyone!

Dylan Taylor
Regional Extension Agent
West Central SET
Forestry, Wildlife & Natural Resources Team
Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Green County Extension Office
720 Greensboro Street
Eutaw, AL  35462

Barlow Looks to Inspire and Empower Residents in New Alabama Extension Role

Barlow said she is honored to have been selected to serve in this position.

“As an Extension professional, my goal is to inspire and empower all Alabama residents so they can have a better life,” Barlow said. “This is an exciting opportunity because it allows me to work closely with the talented and dedicated professionals we have on the Alabama Extension, Auburn University and Alabama A&M University teams who are making a difference in a very real way.” READ MORE

Prescribed fire is a complex tool landowners and managers use to improve habitat, reduce hazard fuel loads, and restore forestland. The lack of training is a major barrier noted by landowners preventing them from conducting their own prescribed burns. One program developed to address this barrier are the Learn to Burn (LtB) workshops. During these workshops, attendees are paired with others more experienced in conducting prescribed burns, typically Certified Prescribed Burn Managers, who serve as mentors throughout the event. Landowners, natural resource professionals, students, and inquisitive citizens make up the majority of attendees. Some of the topics covered in the workshop include planning prior to the burn, creating a burn plan, weather, tools and techniques, roles and responsibilities, and safety woven into all aspects of the event. READ MORE

For more information, contact J. Ryan Mitchell, Regional Extension Agent.

Old Field Renovation & Early Successional Vegetation Management for Wildlife Enhancement

Are you looking to take that old pasture or hayfield and convert it to the turkey nesting/brooding area and deer cover/browse that your property is lacking? The Alabama Cooperative Extension System Old Field Renovation & Early Successional Vegetation Management for Wildlife Enhancement video series will help you do just that.

This four-part series outlines what it takes to replace non-native, undesirable, warm- and cool-season perennial grasses on your property. These grasses are replaced with early successional plant communities that are dominated by native beneficials that provide the food and cover for deer and turkey that so many properties lack. View the series playlist at www.aces.edu/go/oldfieldrenovation.

For more information, contact Norm Haley, Regional Extension Agent.

Forestry Site Preparation for Pine Plantations

Forestry Site Preparation Methods

Site preparation is important when establishing pine plantations as it will help improve seedling survival and growth. There are three methods of site preparation and these methods are often done in conjunction with each other:

1. Mechanical 
2. Chemical
3. Prescribed fire

Mechanical Site Prep

Mechanical site preparation uses machines such as tractors, dozers, and skidders to push/pile debris and/or preparing the soil for planting. Methods typically consist of shearing, piling, bedding, subsoiling/ripping, drum chopping, and mulching. Since mechanical site preparation can involve soil disturbance (subsoiling, shearing, and bedding), erosion control measures or best management practices (BMPs) need to be implemented to protect soils and water quality. One thing to note with mechanical site preparation is that it does not control competing vegetation well as hardwood tree species and invasive plants will still continue to grow. In order to control competing vegetation, chemical site preparation is often done. READ MORE

For more information, contact Richard Cristan, Extension Specialist.

Citizen Science Summers

Summer can be a great time for us to pick up new skills, contribute to community volunteer efforts, and spend time outside. With citizen science you can do all three! In short, citizen science is a volunteer effort to assist scientists with gathering data about a subject of study. It is a way for people who may not be professional researchers to participate in research projects or other programs that lead to increased scientific knowledge or discovery.

There are many opportunities one can be a citizen scientist at any age. Through Alabama Extension, Dr. Roosevelt Robinson leads a statewide program for seniors that guides them on how to build nesting boxes for native secondary cavity-nesting songbirds. The seniors learn how to monitor and collect data on what they observe. This project aims to aid in songbird population recovery and stimulate learning for aging adults. For more information about this program, visit https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/aamu/citizen-science-at-work/.

There are also many options to get involved through online platforms or apps. A favorite of many is the platform iNaturalist that allows anyone to upload observations of the living organisms around them. Everything from plants, animals, fungi and more can be uploaded here and potentially used by scientists. A few projects that are underway with support from Alabama Extension are “Is this a Joro spider?” and “Yardversity” but coming up this fall, there will be another great opportunity for citizen science in Alabama through the iNaturalist platform.  

Alabama Extension’s very own Dr. Wesley Anderson came up with the idea to challenge Auburn and University of Alabama fans even further through a project called The Marble Bowl (marble is Alabama’s state rock). This project invites competing AU and UA fans to get outside and document their observations on iNaturalist. Each university will have a place to upload observations onto the platform between the day of opening college kickoff through the weekend of the Iron Bowl. The teams will be evaluated on several factors to determine the winner.

For those looking for something different, there are many other options. For example, NASA has an app, the Globe Observer, where you can be a citizen scientist by recording the clouds you see each day. For bird lovers, eBird is one of the most popular platforms where you can record birds you see or birds you identify by song. The platform EDDMapS allows you to document invasive plants or animals so that scientists can track and better manage spread. These are just a few examples of citizen science projects, and all these options take the invaluable data provided by volunteers and use it to identify trends. Knowing these trends let us know when things are out of the ordinary or need better management.

Your local nature center, state park, or other natural resources agency may also have citizen science projects. Whatever interest you have, there is likely to be a project that could use your help. 

For more information, contact Kerry Steedley, Regional Extension Agent.

Rainscaping Your Yard to Protect Water Quality

Rainscaping your landscape can reduce polluted runoff that endangers vulnerable water bodies that are downstream from your property. Learning measures you can help to enhance your landscape and protect critical water supplies.

Rain that falls on your yard does not necessarily stay in your yard. Some water infiltrates into the ground, while some is taken up through plant roots and released back into the air via transpiration. Other water, however, can run off the landscape and flow into a roadside ditch or storm sewer, where it is redirected into local creeks and streams. This runoff can pick up soil particles, motor oil, fertilizers, nutrients, or other pollutants on your property and carry them downstream, where they can cause water-quality problems. READ MORE

For more information, contact Laura Bell, Outreach Programs Administrator.

Control Options for Chinese Privet

We treated the Chinese Privet at this small demonstration site on the ACES - Graham Farm & Nature Center in 2017 with three different herbicide application techniques. Five years later, the privet is still well-controlled, and a field edge of native plants have taken its place.

Imagine the wildlife benefit and productivity that your privet choked field borders could produce with just a bit of herbicide and sweat equity. These areas can provide deer browse, fawning cover, turkey and quail nesting cover, escape cover and food for MANY types of game and non-game wildlife! Here is a video showing the current state of the treated site.

Here's the video describing exactly how we treated the site.

For more information, contact Norm Haley, Regional Extension Agent.

It’s Important to Plant Native Species

Whether you are planting in a garden, a meadow, or a woodland, selecting native species is an important component. Alabama’s biodiversity depends on native plants. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines biodiversity as “The variation among living organisms and the ecological complexes of which they are a part.” Simply stated, this means the number and variety of living things in a specific region. Native plants support pollinators such as bees and butterflies as well as beneficial insects and songbirds. The insects that birds depend on evolved with the native plants that were commonly found throughout the state. However, due to expanding development and the selection of non-native ornamental species, many of our native plants have been replaced with non-native and often-times invasive species. While many of the ornamental plants are beautiful, they create a biological desert for Alabama’s wildlife. READ MORE

For more information, contact Lynn Dickinson, Regional Extension Agent.

Protecting Your Watershed

Have you ever noticed the large puddles of water that form on the ground’s surface when it rains? When you look later, the puddles have drained away. So, where did that water go? The answer to that question depends on the watershed you live in.

A watershed is an area of land that drains or “sheds” water into a specific body of water, such as a river, lake, wetland, or estuary. Many times, communities use this water for drinking and household purposes. Knowing your watershed is important because what you do on your property can directly impact your watershed’s water quality.

Water Pollutants

Many pollutants that end up in waterways come from someone’s property. Pollutants are picked up in heavy rains or from solid surfaces, such as parking lots. This water then flows from properties into waterways and can cause problems for wildlife and affect water quality. We can create healthier watersheds if each citizen helps to prevent pollutants from getting captured in runoff water.

Common Household Pollutants

Let’s look at some major watershed pollutants, their impact on the environment, and ways to reduce them in runoff water. READ MORE

For more information, contact Allyson Shabel, Urban Regional Extension Agent.

Summer/Early Fall Checklist for Landowners

July

Now is the time to site prep timber harvested areas and to order tree seedlings for winter planting.
Take a soil sample and have your soil tested for more productive forests and wildlife habitat.
Take up a new hobby like nature photography, hiking, beekeeping, or astronomy! Learn how to manage a legal dove field.  Active management will make for a better fall dove season.

August

Forest landowners owning 10 acres or more can apply to have their property considered for certification as an Alabama Treasured Forest. If the summer has been dry with limited or sporadic rainfall, check your forests for signs of drought stress.

September

Brush up on your chainsaw safety. As you get ready for deer season, learn the signs and symptoms of Chronic Wasting Disease in Deer. Make sure tree stands are safe and secure prior to deer season. Get outside and get active while improving your property!

• Walk roads or boundary lines
• Check game cameras
• Plant fields and roadsides
• Put up bird houses
• Take a soil sample