2002 Kansas Report

Family, Friends, Wildlife Benefit from Trees

In 1999, I began to pursue my objective to have a place where my family and friends could enjoy the wildlife, hunt and fish, a place to roam around," says Vaughn Juhnke, a McPherson County farmer. Behind the house where he and his family live with a pond nearby 5,000 trees were planted including eight acres of grass and a couple of annual food plots on over 18 acres that slope to a creek.

Juhnke says the tree planting has provided a habitat that ensures everyone the opportunity to see deer, turkey, coyotes, bobcat, pheasant, some quail, and other wildlife. He’s stocked the pond for fishing and geese regularly visit it too.

Juhnke joined the McPherson County Pheasants Forever (PF) Chapter thinking it was just going to be a cool club with guys who go pheasant hunting. Later he found out that the PF Chapter could provide financial assistance to help him accomplish the tree planting. This was the first tree planting PF Chapter did.

"Information seeker" is how Juhnke describes himself. That characteristic led him to PF and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for technical and financial assistance for the tree planting. Later he met with the Kansas Forest Service District Forester Dennis Carlson, who designed the tree planting and is assigned to the NRCS Hutchinson Area Office.

The PF Chapter members were scheduled to help plant the trees on a Saturday, but when rain was in the forecast for that day, Juhnke and a friend started planting the trees on Friday. As in rural communities, friends and neighbors help each other. When they saw the planting of the trees in full swing, friends and neighbors joined together getting all the trees planted before the rain started that evening.

"I enjoy planting trees," said Juhnke. "The hard part is maintaining them." According to Juhnke, the bottom ground where the trees are planted would flood at least once every three years. There was a lot of erosion.

"I planted a handful of fruit trees for the deer," said Juhnke. "So there are quite a few berries and escape routes for animals.

"The oak is my favorite tree, because it is so strong," said Juhnke. Oaks planted along the creek at the bottom of the planting where there always is moisture, stand 7 or 8 feet tall.

"The trees had over a 90 percent survival rate the first year," said NRCS District Conservationist Baron Shively, McPherson Field Office, McPherson, Kansas. "You don’t hear of that very often."

"Half the expense of the trees is mine. I put a lot of labor into it. But what I get for the duration of the contract will compensate. I’m real happy with it," concluded Juhnke.

Program Summary

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