Setting the Table

Featured in Habitat University is "Site Prep Secrets: Setting the Table for Success." The message of the course is simple: Proper site preparation is critical to the success of a habitat project.

Developed by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever staff, this 20-minute course focuses on the importance of good site preparation. Site preparation refers to the modification of the seedbed to ensure good seed-to-soil contact and reduce weed competition. How this is achieved can look very different on every site.

A handful of techniques are discussed in the course, such as mowing, tillage, solarization, herbicide treatments, cover crops, and fire. This is a small selection of the numerous methods that can be used to tackle your project, but a good sampling to get started. Many of these techniques will have follow-up courses in future Habitat University semesters allowing for a deeper understanding of each topic.

Once techniques are discussed, the course will move forward to explore what good site preparation looks like, considerations for removing vegetation and reducing competition, and understanding your seedbed targets. This ultimately results in an awareness of your site and soil conditions on your project area.

A key concept of this course is that good site preparation will take time. This step carries significant weight in the success of a project, and patience will be necessary as a land manager. Starting site preparation the same season as the seeding may not be realistic. When assessing the factors discussed in this course, site preparation could take months or years before you are ready to successfully implementation your habitat project.

If you want your next habitat project to succeed, don't rush the starting line.

Take the Course
Site Prep Secrets: Setting the Table for Success is available now at Habitat University. Habitat University expands conservation knowledge and practical habitat management skills among landowners, contractors, and land managers working to establish and manage wildlife habitat across working landscapes.

Look for the Habitat University column in future issues of Pheasants Forever's and Quail Forever's Journal of Upland Conversation. Spring, summer, fall and winter, we will share specific course insights from Habitat University for all to enjoy, learn from, and make a difference for pheasants, quail, and all the other wonderful creatures that rely on robust and healthy upland wildlife habitat.