Young aspens

[isu22andy]

I see onyx has a Young Aspens filter now along with other tree and crop filters . To preface this I’m a lazy whitetail tree stand hunter not an elk hunter . Trying to learn though. . Is this filter worth looking at like burns and timber cuts ? Or over analysis ? Wondering if they use this as a food source . Pms are welcome if you don’t want it on then www . Thanks

 

[Stone_Ice_1]

They do use them as a food source. They nip off the new shoots, especially the tops of very young shoots. If you've ever been to Yellowstone you may notice some areas in the park that are small 1/4 acre or so that is fenced. These areas are usually covered with Aspens partially because the elk can't get in there and nip off the new shoots. These fenced areas are study areas for all kinds of studies, but one of them being what happens when the elk can't eat all the aspens.

 

[hank4elk]

Elk eat anything plant wise from what I have seen, with a few exceptions. Depends on season.
Aspens are a favorite tree. They will even eat the bark in winter.
Filters? LOL

I'm trying to line up a welder to make cages to keep critters out and plant riparian tree/bush areas in my flooded bottom lands.
Steel filters.

 

[MarvB]

^^^ This! Plus around us (Central OR) it’s hard to get unprotected aspen to even get a good start as it’s Candy to the mule deer. We’ve got an OHA Aspen reestablishment project coming up in June because of it!

 

[hank4elk]

^^^ This! Plus around us (Central OR) it’s hard to get unprotected aspen to even get a good start as it’s Candy to the mule deer. We’ve got an OHA Aspen reestablishment project coming up in June because of it!

I went up to the Gila high country to glass for deer & elk after the regrowth from the huge fire a couple years back. You could not see a whole animal the aspens were so dense, the trees were crawling with elk feeding. Good luck getting a clean shot.

No young aspen,willow or narrow leaf cottonwoods growing at all here. What the cattle don't destroy the elk and deer will eat, rats next.

 

[MarvB]

I went up to the Gila high country to glass for deer & elk after the regrowth from the huge fire a couple years back. You could not see a whole animal the aspens were so dense, the trees were crawling with elk feeding. Good luck getting a clean shot.

No young aspen,willow or narrow leaf cottonwoods growing at all here. What the cattle don't destroy the elk and deer will eat, rats next.

EXCEPT if you have a lawn lol…you can damn sure guarantee that they will spread into your lawn and the roots will get into your sprinklers!
Always an exception to the rule

 

[hank4elk]

no lawns here

 

[MarvB]

Small one here, but it came with lawn mowers…

 

[JLS]

Or over analysis ?

Fo elk, yes. Grouse, no.

 

[WYelker]

Just be sure the patches are not too thick. I have seen some new growth aspen patches that were so thick you cant see 10 feet. In that case the elk tend to avoid em.

 

[Jason73]

Damn baby aspen caused me to miss the biggest bull I've had an opportunity for. I feel I can kinda judge the size of bulls in the herd by how high off the ground the apen bark has been eaten. My cousin is 6'4". He could barely reach to one chew mark. After some recon we found out a big 7x7 was in the group. He's still out there somewhere or on someone else's wall...lol.

 

[BRETTPSU]

My one and only time I paid to hunt a private ranch in Colorado the landowner and neighboring landowners would do small 10-30 acre clear cuts every few years to promote aspen regeneration. These thickets turned into the bomb for elk activity. Have no idea how the elk could even get through some of them but they managed to make a trail system and utilized these areas extensively.

 

[PikesPeakElkHunter]

Elk love aspen. At least they do at 9200 feet where I live. During archery in September I will often just sit quietly along a draw, saddle, and near the edge of an aspen grove to listen. Many, many times I can hear elk stripping the aspen leaves from the branches. As early fall approaches you'll see elk and deer eating the entire young aspen shoots the same way I ate those big pretzel sticks as a kid.

We have hundreds of young aspen shoots pop up around our home every summer. Not one survives the fall & winter. But, we do see a LOT of elk and deer every fall!

 

[GCox]

I agree with the guys above, and it is what I have witnessed with my time in the field