Extension agent enjoys being outdoors, helping people learn

Alabama weather can be confusing. Just recently it was snowing at the beginning of the week, spring-like at the end of the week and pouring down rain two days later. But as January comes to a close and spring follows not too long from now, people are already starting to think about their outdoor care – whether that’s wildlife or forestry. People interested in those topics have a resource through the Alabama Extension System: Spenser Bradley.

Bradley is a Forestry, Wildlife and Natural Resource Management agent who serves seven counties, including Franklin. He has been with Alabama Extension since July 2012.

“I enjoy what I do. I’ve always liked being outside hunting, fishing and camping,” Bradley said.

He earned his undergraduate degree in wildlife and fishing science with a minor in forestry from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He is working toward his master’s degree in natural resources from Auburn University. He is on track to graduate in May 2018.

“My final project will be a silvopasture demonstration site, which involves forest timber and forages,” Bradley said.

He said natural resources is kind of a catch-all phrase, but he has taken a lot of classes in forestry for his master’s degree to try and broaden his scope of knowledge.

Bradley’s three main focuses are wildlife management, forestry –mostly with large tracts of land rather than urban – and recreational fishing ponds.

“My main background is probably with the wildlife work. Pretty much any animal you can think of in Alabama, I’ve gotten a call about,” he said.

Bradley works with hunters and their food plots and habitat management; backyard wildlife like bird feeders; and damaging wildlife like raccoons, squirrels and armadillos.

While working in forestry, he has dealt with harvesting timber, planting trees and how to manage it all between plantings.

When it comes to fishpond management, Bradley helps people get rid of weeds and take preventative measures against them as well as makes herbicide recommendations. He also helps people learn how to manage the fish in the pond, which includes stocking the pond and keeping it from getting overstocked.

“I grew up camping and fishing with my family and picked up hunting a little bit later. They’re things I’ve always been interested in, and now I get to help people with it,” he said. “People love to show off their land, and I love to look at it. It’s rewarding when they actually listen to what I have to say and want to learn, especially when they call back later and are excited about something that worked for them.”

Bradley also conducts workshops and classes through the Extension. He holds landowner meetings, fishpond meetings, deer and turkey habitat management workshops and predator management workshops, just to name a few. He also uses PowerPoints and Q&A segments to help the community.

One new service the Extension is offering is ForestHER, which Bradley said was developed to teach landowners who are women about managing forests of their own. The two-day workshop is spent partially in a classroom setting and partially in the field, where participants can apply what they have been learning. It will be held in March in the Shoals area.

Bradley said his time is pretty evenly divided over the seven counties he works in, and he is always willing to talk to the community and make himself accessible to help people. He can be reached at seb0043@aces.edu or his office number 256-773-2549.