It is a myth that hinge cut trees last only a couple of years. If a hinge cut tree has plenty of light it will last indefinitely. Here you see a 20 year old hinge cut tree on the property of deer habitat pioneer Mike Hartges in Hillsdale County MI. Mike was responsible, in my opinion, for popularizing hinge cutting for deer habitat in Michigan. He learned about it from a guy named Bill Snyder from Wisconsin when he subscribed to Bill’s newsletter and video series produced by the company Radical Land Management. Bill taught hinge cutting for steering deer and for improving habitat in bedding areas. Mike tried Bill’s techniques starting in 1995, and this is an example of one of those first hinge cut trees 20 years later. Mike freely shared his habitat techniques with many visitors to his property over the years, who began to practice it, and some of them began to teach it to others. But from my research, I believe it is Mike Hartges who first popularized this killer method in Michigan.
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