Resources for Conservationists & Land Managers

Holder Land Management curates the best available guidance for Southern landowners. Every resource below links to its original source — Alabama Extension, the Longleaf Alliance, Tall Timbers, the National Wild Turkey Federation, and the Alabama Department of Conservation.

Converting to Pine Savanna & Prescribed Fire

Restoring open, fire-maintained pine woodland is the foundation of healthy Southern land. These sources cover regeneration, groundcover, and how to safely get fire on the ground.

• Longleaf Regeneration — The Longleaf Alliance — Establishing longleaf on cutovers, old fields, and through underplanting.
• Prescribed Fire — The Longleaf Alliance — Why fire built this ecosystem and how it maintains it.
• Getting Started with Prescribed Fire on Private Land — The Longleaf Alliance — Georgia tree farmers share first-hand burning experience.
• Prescribed Burning in Southern Pine Forests — MSU Extension — Fire ecology, techniques, and wildlife uses.

Watch: Getting Started with Prescribed Fire on Private Land | Burning Young Longleaf

Wildlife & Habitat Management — Deer, Quail & Turkey

Managing habitat for game means managing the whole system: cover, food, and fire on the right rotation.

• Plantings for Wildlife — Alabama Extension (ANR-0485) — Species-by-species management for deer, turkey, quail, and more, with a full Alabama planting-rate table.
• Bobwhite Quail Management Handbook — Tall Timbers — The definitive quail reference, built on 25,000+ radio-tracked wild birds.
• Habitat for the Hatch — National Wild Turkey Federation — Southeast turkey initiative with a downloadable landowner assistance guide.
• White-tailed Deer Publications — Alabama Dept. of Conservation — State biologists on herd and habitat management.

Food Plot Creation & Management

Food plots work best as one tool inside a habitat plan — small, long, narrow, and adjacent to good cover.

• Plantings for Wildlife (PDF, ANR-0485) — Alabama Extension — Printable planting-rate table for every major food-plot crop.
• Cool Season Food Plots for Deer — Alabama Dept. of Conservation — Fall plot planning and species selection for Alabama.

Planting Native Species

Native warm-season grasses and forbs provide the nesting and brood cover quail and turkey depend on.

• Establishing Native Grass Forages in the Southeast (PB 1873) — Alabama Extension — Five-chapter guide to big bluestem, little bluestem, switchgrass, indiangrass, and eastern gamagrass.
• Native Grassland Establishment — Alabama Wildlife Federation — Technical assistance for establishing native grassland habitat statewide.

Have a question about applying any of this to your property? Request a free site evaluation.