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News Releases
$3,740,000 awarded for conservation projects in Minnesota
(Released December 22, 2009)
Fish and wildlife habitat in Minnesota will receive a major shot in the arm with $3,740,000 in Conservation Partners Legacy (CPL) grants that have been awarded to fund 35 conservation projects around the state, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Funding comes from the Outdoor Heritage Fund, created when Minnesota voters approved the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment.
A total of 127 applications totaling $16.5 million were received during the first round of the CPL grant program for projects designed to restore, enhance or protect fish, game and wildlife habitat. The program is an initiative of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council (LSOHC).
“The volume of applications we received and the energy around these efforts has been impressive,” said DNR Commissioner Mark Holsten. “The scope of the projects we selected and the great partners we’ll be working with are as diverse as the state itself. These grant awards really kick off a new era of conservation work in Minnesota.”
Local, state and federal non-profit organizations, along with governmental entities, were eligible to apply for grants ranging from $5,000 to $400,000. Twenty-seven of the 35 projects funded are under $125,000, accounting for 49 percent of the total awarded funds, according to Leslie Tannahill, DNR Grant Program coordinator.
Tannahill called the task of selecting the grant recipients “a difficult but gratifying challenge. The high number of applications we received was a real testament to the deep appreciation Minnesota citizens have for our state’s natural resources.”
“The success of the program is very important to the Council and to the hunters and anglers of Minnesota,” said Bill Becker, LSOHC executive director. “This grant process provides a way for local hunters and anglers to participate in significant conservation projects around the state.”
A complete list of the successful grant applications can be found online.
Drumming Counts Released
2009 MN DNR Survey
News Releases
Ruffed grouse counts up significantly
(Released June 15, 2009)
Minnesota’s ruffed grouse spring drumming counts are significantly higher than last year across most of their range, according to a report released by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
“Counts have been increasing steadily since 2005 but this is the substantial annual increase we’ve been hoping for,” said Mike Larson, DNR research scientist and grouse biologist. “Drumming counts this year are as high as counts during recent peaks in the population cycle.”
Ruffed grouse populations, which tend to rise and fall on a 10-year cycle, are surveyed by counting the number of male ruffed grouse heard drumming on established routes throughout the state’s forested regions. This year observers recorded 2.0 drums per stop statewide. Last year’s average was 1.4 drums per stop. Counts vary from about 0.8 drums per stop during years of low grouse abundance to about 1.9 during years of high abundance.
Drumming counts increased 44 percent over those during 2008 in the northeast survey region, the core and bulk of grouse range in Minnesota, to 2.4 drums per stop. Grouse counts increased most in the northwest region, from 0.9 to 1.9 drums per stop. Counts of 1.1 drums per stop in the central hardwoods and 0.5 drums per stop in the southeast were similar to last year’s counts.
Minnesota frequently is the nation’s top ruffed grouse producer. On average, 115,000 hunters harvest 545,000 ruffed grouse in Minnesota each year, also making it the state’s most popular game bird. During the peak years of 1971 and 1989, hunters harvested more than 1 million ruffed grouse. Michigan and Wisconsin, which frequently field more hunters than Minnesota, round out the top three states in ruffed grouse harvest.
“Higher drumming counts are good news,” said Dennis Simon, DNR wildlife section chief. “Minnesota offers some of the best ruffed grouse hunting in the nation and we want to maintain and enhance those opportunities.”
One reason for Minnesota’s status as a top grouse producer is an abundance of young forest and other ruffed grouse habitat, much of it located on county, state and national forests, where public hunting is allowed. An estimated 11.5 million of the state’s 16.3 million acres of forest are grouse habitat.
For the past 60 years, DNR biologists have monitored ruffed grouse populations. This year, DNR staff and cooperators from 15 organizations surveyed 132 routes across the state.
SHARP-TAILED GROUSE COUNTS INCREASE IN NORTHWEST
Sharp-tailed grouse counts in the northwest survey region increased 15 percent between 2008 and 2009, Larson said. Counts in the east-central region declined slightly. Observers look for male sharptails displaying on traditional mating areas, called leks or dancing grounds. This year’s statewide mean of 13.6 grouse counted per dancing ground was as high as during any year since 1980 and above last year’s average of 12.4. During the last 25 years, the sharp-tailed grouse index has been as low as seven birds counted per dancing ground.
Overall, though, sharptail populations appear to have declined over the long term as a result of habitat deterioration. In recent years, the DNR has increased prescribed burning and shearing that keep trees from overtaking the open brush lands that sharp-tailed grouse need to thrive.
RGS News Releases
In November 2008, voters in Minnesota approved a constitutional amendment to increase the state sales tax by 0.375%. One third of the funds generated by this increase are dedicated to the restoration, protection, and enhancement of wetlands, prairies, forests, and habitat for fish, game and other wildlife. The Lessard Outdoor Heritage Council (Council) was subsequently established to make recommendations to the state legislature regarding the disbursement of the funds dedicated to conservation. The Council is a 12-member body consisting of four citizens appointed by the Governor, two by the Senate, two by the House of Representatives and 2 legislators from both the Senate and the House.
In March 2009, the Council recommended to the legislature that all $20 million available for forest wildlife related projects in fiscal year 2009 be dedicated to a single project – the Forests for the Future/Upper Mississippi River Project. The goal of the Upper Mississippi River Project is to acquire a permanent conservation easement for 187,000 acres of industrial forestland in Itasca, St Louis, Aitkin, Cass and Koochiching Counties. This land is currently owned by UPM-Kymmene (Blandin). Because the initial estimated total cost of this easement acquisition is $40 million, the Council currently plans to recommend that all funds available for forest wildlife related projects in FY 2010 also be dedicated to the Upper Mississippi River Project.
There is broad support within the conservation community in Minnesota for securing permanent public access for hunting, fishing and other forms of outdoor recreation on this vast tract of working forest – this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Indeed, Ruffed Grouse Society chapters from across the state urged their legislators in St. Paul to endorse the use of the Heritage Funds for the Upper Mississippi River Project.
For more information about ruffed grouse and woodcock news in Minnesota, please contact Dan Dessecker, Ruffed Grouse Society Minnesota biologist. Phone: 715-234-8302, e-mail: rgsdess@chibardun.coop.