Listed below are some very good but complex questions posed by Tara friends and customers. Most of the questions have multiple conditional answers. Some questions, unfortunately do not, have definitive answers. That is not a criticism of a particular question, merely a fact based upon the uncertainties of the variables associated with species biology, environmental influence, and issues associated with circumstantial longevity and extent inherent to high water events. I will respond to the questions which have been posed, in the order in which they have been sent. Once you have reviewed the responses, please feel free to call for clarification or additional information.

Tara owns and actively manages approximately 17,000 acres of land in the historic alluvial flood plain of the Mississippi River. Over 60% of the property is occupied by mature indigenous southern bottomland hardwood forests with interspersions of bald cypress. Approximately 34% of the property is comprised of oxbow lakes, emergent shrub/scrub wetlands, forest roads, permanent wildlife openings, and historic interior levees. Selected properties lie adjacent to the Mainline Mississippi River Levee (Brunswick Levee Extension) for a distance of approximately 6 miles. Commercial agriculture is practiced on only about 6% of the total Tara acreage.

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• What are you seeing at Tara in relation to wildlife reactions to the rising waters?
  Birdlife appears to fare pretty well during extended flood periods. I am certain that, with a flooded understory, the remaining canopy is a smorgasbord for insect eaters and arboreal nesters. Nevertheless insects that depend upon ground contact to complete their life cycle are obviously challenged, and thus long term food supplies could be affected. Wild Turkeys likewise find a variety of animal and vegetative matter to their liking. Paradoxically, turkeys may remain in backwater areas for weeks, and may not seek high ground for relief. Omnivorous animals such as opossums and raccoons find plenty of available food, but raccoons are much better swimmers. Opossums often drift into a catatonic stupor during extended flood periods. Squirrels eat a variety of foods, from buds to bark. All are food for bobcats, great horned owls and mink. Coyotes and deer usually "get out of Dodge" before they get trapped. Armadillos and rabbits really take a beating...they are not great endurance swimmers and find slim pickings on floating logs and drift piles. This also happens to be a favorite location for floating fire ant colonies, which can live for weeks, and/or months floating the flooded habitats and dealing misery and death to anything unlucky enough to share a resting spot. White-tailed deer are generally fairly intuitive about high water events and head for higher and/or protected unflooded habitats. Nevertheless, a few unfortunate animals may find themselves stranded on small islands or "high ground isolates" that have been safe havens in past high waters, only to realize too late, that the current high water event does not fit the template. With severely depleted energy levels, these deer often do not live to see another summer. During 1992 - 1997, high water was as common as fire ants. Turkey populations declined precipitously, as flood water remained until July and August. Nevertheless, deer populations' fared pretty well. My hope is that the water will retreat before mid-May. We really don't need to have it hanging around during June, July and August.



• How soon, after the water goes down, will the deer return?
  Ironically, after the water begins to recede...even a few inches...deer tracks will begin to appear along the mud/silt line. They are anxious to get back to familiar territory and will do it quickly. These animals want to be home worse than a 100 year old hermit…..and they will get there if they possibly can.
  



• How much of your land (acreage or percentage) is under water?
  As we pass the Mississippi River crest at Vicksburg (50.8 feet on April 19, 2008 as of this writing) approximately 90% of the total acreage will be affected by water of varying depths. That figure could change with more rainfall in the Ohio Basin coupled with local rain events.
  



• Do wildlife have a place to go (high ground, etc.) on Tara now and if the water keeps rising?
  How high will the water have to get to inundate Tara completely? Because of the juxtaposition of Tara to the Mainline Mississippi River Levee System, the unprotected river side or Batture area is designed to be subjected to annual or less often high water events. The area on the protected side of the levee system is hopefully protected from direct flooding by the river; otherwise a catastrophic event will occur due to any mainline levee breach. Paradoxically, though, due to the relationship of Tara Properties to the Steele Bayou/Yazoo Backwater Drainage area, Tara can experience backwater flooding if significant rainfall occurs in that basin. The very gates on Steele Bayou that keep floodwater out of the basin trap any rainfall that occurs therein. A significant backwater flood event coupled with a Mississippi River flood event could be catastrophic for wildlife and for human life alike.
  



• Have you been through this before at Tara?
  The core Tara Property has been in the Bryant family for over 100 years. It has seen many great floods events, including 1927, 1973 and now 2008. Besides 2008, 1997 was perhaps the highest water experienced by the current management. No significant declines in deer quality or harvest were noted during the subsequent 1997- 98 hunting season.
  



• How soon will you know the full affect on the deer herd for the upcoming season?
  As soon as the flood water has made a significant retreat and a terrestrial assessment can be made relative to browse response, browse pressure and population density...hopefully late May/early June. Subsequent information relative to habitat conditions and population response will be the subject of later updates.
  



• If so, what were the affects on deer, turkey, squirrel and rabbit (and any other wildlife you might think of) at that time?
  Because several high water events occurred during the 5 year period of 1992 through 1997 and because the duration of flooding lasted, at times, well into late July/early August, the impact of such frequent flooding coupled with extended flood duration was devastating to populations of ground nesting birds. Turkey populations were decimated because of poor or non-existent nesting opportunities. Turkey hunting at Tara was subsequently closed indefinitely. It was also during this period that forest management operations at Tara were shifted away from harvest in depressional/slackwater flats, to timber harvest operations on the higher ridges. Predictably, turkey hens and other ground nesting birds gravitated toward the ridges for nesting, thus enhancing nesting success as vulnerability to flooding were lessened. Turkey season was re-established circa 2001.
  



• What long-term affects did you notice last time?
  (how did it affect subsequent year populations, individual size and hunting season) - Answered Above
  



• How long does it take for deer to make what you would consider a "full recovery"?
  Deer populations can geometrically double every two years. They are hard to keep up with. Worse case scenario, post flood, is that our initial deer density is down but our overall individual animal quality is up (more favorable habitat: population density ratio). Best case scenario is that our overall population may be somewhat diminished but not so much as to be a serious distraction. While we have fawns born during practically every month of the year, our peak fawning date in this area of the Mississippi Delta is around July 4. That is the good news. The bad news is that extremely high water periods, such as we are now experiencing, create stress for bucks, does and fawns alike. The stress may be from displacement, compromised food supply, exhaustion, predation, poaching pressure, harassment, nutritional deficiencies, etc. Furthermore, pregnant females can abort their fetuses, adsorb the fetuses if their own nutritional survival will be jeopardized by carrying the fetus to term or they may actually kill or abandon the newborn fawn. If a doe is displaced by high water but does successfully carry a fawn to term (and the high water event has not yet abated) the fawn is forever imprinted that the place of its birth is a part of his/her home range. Deer displaced by high water and/or with extremely large home ranges are obviously more vulnerable to a number of terminal events, including automobile collisions and other ills as previously referenced. A few unfortunate animals will be stranded by the high water and will die as a result.
  



• Are you taking any action- closing areas to access, sandbagging, supplemental feeding, etc., - to attempt to ameliorate some of the affects of flooding on the wildlife at Tara?
  Gilbert Rose and I spent all day Wednesday April 16, boating the flooded timber, fields and river. We found one small pocket of deer (4-5 animals) stranded on a small isolated ridge near the river in Warren County. These animals will not likely survive the term of the current flood event. With the exception of numerous dead armadillos, no other dead animals were seen in the floodwaters. Of primary concern is to allow refugee animals the opportunity for quiet escape habitat unencumbered by excessive human intervention/interference. Minimizing entrance into these escape habitats is crucial to the health, well being and subsequent return of these animals to their original home base. Our best hope now is that the floodwaters will soon begin to quickly recede and that rainfall for the next month will return to "normal". Having flood stages at Vicksburg falling below 43 feet, should allow the opening of the gates at Steele Bayou further easing pressure on associated flooded Yazoo backwater habitats. A favorable water situation on May 20 would be a blessing...high river/backwater levels into July and August would be reminiscent of the 1992-1997 high water events...a situation we would like to avoid if at all possible.
  



• Should supplemental feeding of deer be considered a viable option, if the 2008 flood is prolonged?
  There is currently no plan to provide supplemental feed to the Tara deer herd. Since the natural microbial balance present in the rumen (digestive system) of whitetails is so specialized, drastic changes in dietary habits can deal unintended misery to the very animals for which our "good will" is intended. Microbes in the stomach of whitetails evolve naturally into a specialized complex geared for digestion of the common naturally occurring foods which are eaten on a daily basis. Since supplemental feeding is not a current management practice at Tara, introduction of high protein feeds/hay/range cubes, etc. could upset the current digestive balance and cause more physiological stress than is currently present due to flooding. In extreme cases, some introduced foods may not be digestible at all, leading to possible rumen impaction and death.
  



• Is there any positive outcome from a flood of the current magnitude?
  The 2008 flood will provide a tremendous boost to natural soil fertility via nutrient cycling, facilitate eutrophic processes and restock oxbows and borrow pits. This natural phenomenon is basically what the river system has done over the ages……with or without man's intervention. The flood will also facilitate a tremendous mosquito hatch, drop silt, sand and debris on our roads and food plots and, in general, make walking a challenge until a rain or two settles the newly deposited silt.