Dead ash

[1STRANGEWILDERNESS]

Anybody notice large stands of dead ash becoming productive ground? Somewhat like a clear cut or select cut opening up the canopy?

I’ve had the thought for a while but some areas I know of are just choked out with grass now. I found several spots today that were seas of red.. dogwood everywhere. Seems the extra sunlight really jump started it. Lots of buck sign.
Pretty excited about it. I struggle to find them honing in on things up here. The forest service doesn’t log ever in the area. Ain’t no oaks round these parts, ya hear? perhaps these large groves of dead ash are what I’m seeking.

[greenhorndave]

Anybody notice large stands of dead ash becoming productive ground? Somewhat like a clear cut or select cut opening up the canopy?

I’ve had the thought for a while but some areas I know of are just choked out with grass now. I found several spots today that were seas of red.. dogwood everywhere. Seems the extra sunlight really jump started it. Lots of buck sign.
Pretty excited about it. I struggle to find them honing in on things up here. The forest service doesn’t log ever in the area. Ain’t no oaks round these parts, ya hear? perhaps these large groves of dead ash are what I’m seeking.

Hmm... if cover and a food source takes its place, could be really good.

[Dewey]

I’m just finding a lot of dead ash everywhere I am scouting. A lot of good trees for stands that are likely not safe anymore. Really surprised how much is around even in the marshes. Bark falling off is easy to notice from a long distance. In Iowa I noticed some areas they hinge cut a bunch of them.

[Jackson Marsh]

I marked a couple of stand trees that were dying ash last week

[Dewey]

I marked a couple of stand trees that were dying ash last week

One tip......don’t hunt them in a windstorm.

[Jackson Marsh]

I marked a couple of stand trees that were dying ash last week

One tip......don’t hunt them in a windstorm.

Yeah I try to pick the ones that look the best when possible but it's hard to say for sure until leaves pop.

[Hawthorne]

They been dying or dead along time now in southern mi. I know a farmer that had a big stand of them that died. He said they start growing back but the deer just mow the new growth down. It did get really thick. He has shot some nice bucks out of that swamp

[brancher147]

I have seen it with oak death due to gypsy moth and hemlocks dying from wooly adelgid. It can make for really good thickets and young forest which is great deer (and turkey nesting) habitat. We don’t have enough ash to make much habitat when it dies-but it is all dying.

[1STRANGEWILDERNESS]

I suppose where it’s real abundant it doesn’t offer as much bang for the buck. No pun intended..

I did notice a lot of the ash had shoots 2-5 ft from their stumps. Like Hawthorne mentioned. The deer seem to love the ash shoots. They were all chomped off.

This area is Mostly black spruce with some mixed cedar and tamarack. I found a nice funnel which is a drainage that connects two large tracts of timber. Man is it tore up. This is right at a road crossing. The buck are bedding deeper but seems they must’ve been moving through there well before light last season to get to the point where I had been seeing them. So in short I’m hoping to stick one right by the road. I’ll shoot em anywhere but if I can get one 120 yds from the road and stick em when he’s facing the truck I’d be good with that.

[Bio1]

Emerald ash borer most likely. They are winking out all across its range. You’ll see them putting out the shoots when they are dying.

[1STRANGEWILDERNESS]

For sure the ash borer. Took awhile to get up this way but it’s just about ran it’s course now.