Preliminary data points toward prescribed burning as the most effective method of improving chaparral. Placement of a burn near water can noticeably increase the benefits of that burn. During the first year after discing and brush raking, deer use declined, along with a significant drop in small mammal productivity on the disced site. Deer response to hand cutting of brush and water impoundment were both positive. This suggests that burning adjacent to natural or artificial water sources, with handcut control lines where possible, represents the best first step in a chaparral management program.
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