An increasing number of Oklahoma landowners want to improve their wildlife habitat, but so often equipment is the limiting factor to their success. Without going to great expense to purchase several pieces of equipment, landowners are often left with few options to enhance wildlife habitat.
With help from the National Wild Turkey Federation, Quail Unlimited, Charles Blankenship (Big John Tree Spade Company) and private donations, the Department has acquired some specialized equipment for habitat enhancements. The Department has two tree spades with support equipment and one roller chopper that are available for landowners to use for wildlife habitat enhancement projects. The equipment can be rented for a small fee that will be used for annual maintenance costs.
The tree spade can be used on riparian habitat projects, establishing turkey roost sites, and to create shrub motts for quail and small game. Much faster than hand-planting individual tree seedlings, the tree spade is ideal for moving shrubs like sand plum or sumac and trees up to four inches in diameter. Landowners renting this equipment will be provided an operator to run the machine. The preferred time for transplanting is during winter months when shrubs and trees are dormant. Landowners can reserve rental dates for the tree spade between December 15 through March 1 annually.
A machine called a roller chopper, can be used for landowners wanting to set back rangeland succession and reduce the canopy of brush structure. Landowners wanting to rent the roller chopper must have access to a tractor with at least 80 hp that is required to pull the machine.
The rental process is a cooperative project between the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. One tree spade will be located at the Kingfisher County Conservation District office and the other tree spade and roller chopper will be located at the Woodward Conservation District office. An onsite visit by an ODWC wildlife biologist will be completed on your property prior to equipment rental. Landowners who may be interested in using this equipment and would like additional information can contact Mike Sams, private lands biologist at (405) 590-2584.
The roller chopper and the tree spade are available for landowner use from December 15 through March 1 of every year. The equipment is located at the Wildlife Department’s Northwest Regional Office in Woodward. Landowners interested in using this equipment and who would like additional information should contact that office at (580) 254-9173.
