RGS Receives $10,000 Grant From Federal Cartridge

Ruffed Grouse Society Press Release

Gordon Gullion, University of Minnesota, was the universally acknowledged foremost expert on ruffed grouse and a former Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) national Board member.  His untimely death in 1991 ended what was the longest research study of grouse and northern forest habitats ever conducted.  It was at the Mille Lacs Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) during the late 1970’s and into the 1980’s where Gullion was able to directly manipulate habitat for the benefit of ruffed grouse. 
 
The Mille Lacs WMA, located in central Minnesota, just over an hour drive from the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, arguably receives the highest hunting pressure of any forested WMA in the state.  With the exception of the north unit, where no habitat management was practiced, a variety of habitat management practices and applications were completed throughout the 39,000 acres WMA.  However, it was on the Cranberry Unit located on the western edge of the WMA in close proximity to Hwy 169 and the area’s headquarters, where Gordon tested the shape and size of clearcut patches and prescribed burns to determine optimum habitat for ruffed grouse.  A team of both undergraduate and graduate researchers spent years measuring the results of these practices.
Hunter and research surveys showed that it was possible, with intensive habitat management, to increase grouse numbers substantially.  The Cranberry Unit soon became renown amongst grouse hunters and a model of habitat management for ruffed grouse.  Today this area remains extremely popular for Minnesota and out-of- state grouse hunters alike.  Unfortunately, little cutting has taken place in recent years to rejuvenate and maintain grouse habitat.  Much of the unit today is covered by forest stands of mature aspen in danger of converting to maple or other hardwoods, which are of little benefit to early successional species such as the ruffed grouse.
 
The Opportunity
The RGS, in cooperation with Federal Cartridge and the MNDNR, can return the Cranberry Unit to its former showcase status as a grouse management area.  Not only is this area a focal point for hunters, it also remains of high historical and scientific significance to wildlife managers.   In recognition of these values, we would like to strike a partnership which would, through timber harvest and prescribed burning, recreate optimal habitat conditions for ruffed grouse.  In addition, we would like to create a kiosk located at the parking lot of Cranberry Unit, which would provide an educational resource for hunters and the public.  We envision a three-portioned, wood sheltered educational kiosk with one segment dedicated to grouse habitat, another to grouse and woodcock biology, and the third to the historic research that took place on the unit.  
Recognition of Federal’s Partnership
 
The Kiosk
Federal’s name and logo will be prominently displayed atop the kiosk and routered into the kiosk masthead.  Additionally, Federal’s contribution to this effort would be noted on any educational material, i.e. brochures distributed at the kiosk. One brochure will be a walking tour map of habitat manipulations attributed to this effort.
 
Project Signage
Signs with Federal’s logo, which display the company’s involvement, will be located at each habitat manipulation area and be part of a self-guided walking educational tour.
 
RGS Magazine & Other Media
An article describing this project will be drafted and published in the “RGS” magazine.  In addition, RGS will seek publication in other appropriate venues, i.e. the Minnesota Volunteer and the Outdoor News and issue a press release on the project.
 
Other Publications
Federal’s contribution as a RGS corporate sponsor will be noted in annual reports, on the RGS web-site and in other appropriate publications
Budget
 
Federal Cartridge  is providing $10,000.00 to fund this significant and highly visible education and habitat management project. 
 

MN DNR News Releases
Upswing in ruffed grouse counts continues (2007-06-26)

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) spring ruffed grouse drumming count survey shows a 30 percent increase over last year and the highest level in seven years, confirming the population continues to grow.

Populations of ruffed grouse, one of the state's most popular game birds, rise and fall on a 10-year cycle. Counts had been at the low end of the cycle for four years before increasing slightly last year.

"It's encouraging to see ruffed grouse populations increasing again," said Dennis Simon, DNR Wildlife Section chief. "This is an important bird for Minnesota hunters as well as those who travel to our state to experience some of the best ruffed grouse hunting in the nation."

Drumming counts went up 40 percent in the northeast survey region, the core of grouse range in Minnesota, to 1.5 drums per stop. Grouse populations along the periphery were similar to last year with 0.9 drums per stop in the northwest, 0.8 drums per stop in the southwest and 0.5 drums per stop in the southeast.

"Much of the periphery is a transition from forests to more open landscapes, and the tree species are often different from those in the northeast," said Mike Larson, DNR wildlife research biologist. "Those are two reasons that surveys in the periphery result in lower counts that vary less from year-to-year."

Ruffed grouse populations are surveyed by counting the number of male ruffed grouse heard drumming on established routes throughout the state's ruffed grouse range. Throughout the year, but primarily during mating season, a male ruffed grouse stands on a downed "drumming log" and beat its wings in five- to eight-second intervals.

The drumming, which sounds like a muffled lawnmower, is meant to attract female grouse and warn other males away. This year, observers recorded 1.3 drums per stop statewide. Last year's average was one drum 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.

Minnesota is frequently 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 number one bird in the bag. During peak years, such as 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.

One reason for the state's status as a top grouse producer is an abundance of aspen and other ruffed grouse habitat, much of it located on county, state and national forests, where public hunting is allowed. Private lands, including large industrial forests, historically have provided good grouse habitat and hunter access.

As these large industrial landowners consider breaking up their holdings and selling small parcels to private individuals, public access and grouse habitat are likely to be affected. DNR is working strategically with its partners and large private landowners to secure large-scale, long-term conservation easements that would preclude development, preserve access and provide wildlife benefits. According to the DNR's ruffed grouse management plan, 11.5 million of the state's 16.3 million acres of forest are grouse habitat.

DNR officials are taking steps to prevent a decline in grouse populations. In 2004, the DNR established a goal of increasing the annual ruffed grouse harvest to 650,000 birds. To accomplish that goal, wildlife managers will continue to work closely with forest managers to find ways for timber harvest to benefit grouse habitat, according to Steve Merchant, DNR wildlife programs manager.

"You can improve grouse habitat by managing for the right mix of aspen age classes and the position of aspen stands in relation to stands of other tree types," Merchant said. Spruce and other conifers, for example, can provide important thermal cover for grouse in winter.

Starting in 2006, the DNR changed the boundaries by which drumming count results are reported. Drumming routes in the northeast, where the 10-year grouse population cycle is most evident, are now reported as a single group. Grouse populations along the periphery of the range - the northwest, southwest and southeast - do not cycle as dramatically.

For the past 57 years, DNR biologists have monitored ruffed grouse populations. This year, DNR staff and cooperators from 15 organizations surveyed 131 routes across the state.

SHARP-TAILED GROUSE AND PRAIRIE CHICKENS INCREASE

Sharp-tailed grouse counts in both the northwest and east-central survey regions increased between 2006 and 2007, Larson said. Observers look for male sharptails displaying on traditional mating areas, called leks or dancing grounds. This year's statewide mean of 11.7 grouse counted per dancing ground was as high as during any year since 1980 and well above last year's average of 9.2. During the last 25 years, the sharp-tailed grouse index has been as low as seven birds counted per dancing ground.

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 keeps trees from overtaking the open brush lands that sharp-tailed grouse need to thrive.

Counts of prairie chickens at their leks, or booming grounds, in western Minnesota were about 45 percent higher this year than they were in 2006. In survey blocks representing relatively good prairie chicken habitat observers counted 14.5 males per booming ground and one booming ground per 2.4 square miles. The population recently has been greater than during the 1980s and 1990s.

The DNR's grouse survey report, which contains information on all

three species is available online at www.dnr.state.mn.us/