History of our ownership of Greenebriar

The 522 acre tract, which is bordered on the north by the Sipsey River, was purchased beginning in 1989. Prior to this time, most of this bottomland farm was planted in soybeans, cotton, and was grazed by cattle. Low agricultural prices in the mid 1980s made farming unprofitable leaving the land to go fallow. Upon our purchase, we made an attempt to make improvements to the land to enhance wildlife and timber production.

Initial inspections in 1989 indicated too much open land (very little deer cover). We planted pine plantations in most of the fallow fields. This was done to accomplish 3 goals: (1) to provide long-term income (2) to enhance and vary the wildlife habitat, and (3) to cut down on maintenance costs such as mowing the fields.

Beginning in 1989, several green fields were created on the property. The initial purpose of the plots was winter forage for deer. The number of whitetail deer increased with the additional cover created by the planting of pine plantations. Turkey populations seemed very good. Quail were plentiful on the property in the early succession stages of the pine forest, but eventually all but three quail coveys have disappeared.

Other species of game also were plentiful including rabbits, bobcat, squirrels, and ducks. The ducks are seasonal visitors, although wood ducks are permanent residents of the Sipsey Swamp area of the farm. Other wildlife observable on the farm are beavers, otters, fox, owls, hawks, mink, 2 sightings of a panther, and one sighting of a Bald Eagle in flight.

The initial focus on game management involved whitetail deer and keeping the deer population in good health. Beginning in 1991, we joined the State of Alabama Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) and decided to harvest a large number of does off the property and limit the taking of bucks to those 2 ½ years or older.

1994 was a very important year. Robert & Kathy attended a Whitetail Deer Short Course, in Wesson, MS and were introduced to many notable wildlife biologists including Dr. James Kroll & Dr. Harry Jacobsen. Another key event at this conference was meeting people from a deer management group called the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA). Robert & Kathy joined the group and became some of the first members from Alabama.