Grouse Information Update
July 8, 2003
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society


RGS provided comments on the Sand Plain and Boy River projects on the Blackduck and Walker Districts of the Chippewa National Forest (see attached).  The Blackduck District issued a decision on the Cass Lake project and for the first time in 3 years they selected the Alternative supported by RGS.  Biologist Rick Horton and RGS member Dennis Neilson met with Blackduck District Ranger Tracy Beck to inspect 4 hunter walking trails in his District and offer advice and cooperation on their future management during the development of the upcoming Rambling Woods Project (see attached).  We also met with Walker District Ranger Tom Somrak to discuss the Boy River project and offer cooperation on grouse and woodcock projects in the future.  We have scheduled a meeting with the new Forest Supervisor for August 14.
 
Forest plan revision continues as the public comment period closes August 11.  We have read the Chippewa Plan and the Environmental Impact Statement, but have not made it through the Superior Plan yet.  The Society will be providing their full comments before the comment period ends, but to date we have noticed several disturbing trends:

• The Chippewa Plan is largely based upon moving the forest condition towards that which existed at the time of European settlement.  That means more conifers and older forests, to the detriment of aspen habitats favored by game animals.
• Within 10 years 17,000 acres of aspen habitat on the Chippewa will be converted to other forest types.  The 100 year plan is to reduce aspen by 35% (79,000 acres).
• The Chippewa Plan does not address the impacts of these changes upon populations of deer, grouse and woodcock, nor what those population changes will mean to the state's sportsmen and women.  Hunting is the Forest's main form of back-country recreation and the Service's own data show that more and more hunters are turning to National Forests to pursue their sport.
• As further evidence of the lack of concern for hunters, wildlife openings (important habitat for deer, bear and woodcock) and wood duck boxes will no longer be created or maintained. Impoundments will also be de-emphasized.

We encourage all interested sportsmen to get involved in this process and make your voice heard.  Attend public meetings.  Review the Plan.  Go online to http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/chippewa//plan/revision/draft/index.shtml.  Read the executive summary to get the gist of what they are trying to do.  You can send electronic comments to it as a good way to make your voice heard. 
 


The Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) and Boise Paper Solutions are in the initial stage of creating a cooperative hunter walking trail system on 500 acres of Boise fee lands in northeast Itasca County in the Bear River Demonstration Forest.  The initial project  work will entail gating the area from off-highway truck traffic, stabilizing  the roadsystem,  seeding clover on bare soil, mowing several spur trails, and installing interpretive trail signs.  "Our intention is to educate trail system users on the benefits of active forest management for many species of forest wildlife", says RGS biologist Rick Horton.


The DNR Division of Wildlife formed a formal Grouse Committee to "develop, implement and report conservation strategies for Minnesota's native grouse and woodcock".  The Committee had its first meeting June 12th at Camp Ripley.  It is made up of 2 researchers, two wildlife managers from each region and is chaired by Steve Merchant.  RGS is welcome to attend and participate in all meetings.  Together we discussed several potential tasks for the group and rated their priority.  In no particular order these included:

• Revise and update the 1991 draft Ruffed Grouse Management Plan - This has been set as a high priority item by the DNR as the 1991 plan was never finalized and is very out-of-date at this time.  The group agreed the document needs to be based on sound science and existing knowledge.
• Develop management plans for spruce grouse, prairie chickens, sharp-tailed grouse and American woodcock.
• Review DNR grouse publications - RGS and the DNR cooperatively funded reprinting 5,000 copies of the "Managing Your Woodland For Ruffed Grouse" brochure this month.  However, we agreed that it needs to be revised before the next printing to reflect all management techniques for grouse management.  Similar sharp-tailed grouse and woodcock brochures need review too.  We also discussed a handout on forest management on Ruffed Grouse Management Areas.
• Develop habitat and population models and assessment tools to assist in Division of Forestry's Subsection Management Planning efforts.
• Develop funding strategies and recommendations for grouse and woodcock management and research efforts.
• Support creating a DNR grouse research position.
• Survey hunter satisfaction and attitudes and review hunting regulations.
• Provide input on grouse research projects.

These are all worthy tasks and RGS is very please with the group's make-up and tentative agenda.


We are entering the third 2-year funding cycle for the Minnesota Ruffed Grouse Society biologist position, so the budget for the upcoming biennium has been devised, submitted and approved by the LCMR.  The habitat and education budget has nearly doubled for the next biennium, so we encourage Chapter members to talk with local resource managers about habitat projects in their areas and get back to me.  We have found over the years that active volunteers that approach local wildlife managers often get work done in their areas.  Remember though, this money cannot be used for acquisitions or research, just habitat enhancement and education.  Examples include brush and tree shearing for grouse and woodcock, access improvement (roads, culverts, bridges, etc.) for timber management, planting, wildlife opening and trail maintenance.  The most recent projects submitted are:

• Peloquin Trail Connection - $1,000 - Funds are to create a loop trail in the Peloquin RGMA in St. Louis County for hunter and timber management access.
• Scrub Oak Trail - $1,800 - Funds are for creating a connection between two dead-end trails and two wildlife openings on tax-forfeited lands administered by Crow Wing County.
• Becoming an Outdoors Woman Shoot - $500 - Funds are for underwriting the costs associated with the Becoming an Outdoors Woman program taking 10 women on their first small game hunt at Le Blanc's Shooting Preserve in Little Falls, MN. Funding will cover clay target shooting, lunch and 3 pheasants per participant. 



Cass County has released its Draft Forest Management Plan for public comment, with the review period closing July 31, 2003.  Copies of the Plan may be obtained by calling the Cass County land Department at 218-947-3338 or viewed online at www.co.cass.mn.us.


Lastly, we lost a good ally this week when MN Deer Hunters Association Biologist/Operations Manager Corey Class took a position with the Idaho Fish and Game Department.  Corey was very helpful in getting MDHA members' voices heard in forest planning processes.  However, MDHA has decided to replace him with a full-time biologist, so RGS will continue to have a strong ally in dealing with resource agencies.  I recently attended the MDHA Board of Directors meeting and expressed our desire to continue to work cooperatively with MDHA in many endeavors.

Woodcock Study Released
For Immediate Release:
 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has released its annual American Woodcock Population Status report.  Male woodcock are counted as they perform their amazing courtship ritual every spring.  This year's Singing Ground Survey showed no significant change in the number of displaying woodcock from last year in either the Eastern or Central Regions.  However, this survey is designed to detect long-term trends, not short-term changes.  The 10-year trend (1993-2003) shows 1.3% per year population reductions in the Eastern woodcock population and 1.6% per year reductions in the Central populations.  Long-term (1968-2003) reductions are 2.3% per year in the Eastern Region and 1.8% per year in the Central Region.  In other words, since 1968 the American Woodcock has declined 55% in the Eastern U.S. and 45% in the Central U.S.
 
Some may feel that if the population is declining, why are we still hunting woodcock?  In fact many hunters are advocating "voluntary restraint" on harvesting them.  However, research on the East Coast has shown that sport hunting does not negatively effect woodcock population survival rates.  Indeed, shorter hunting seasons and reduced bag limits imposed in 1997 have not altered the rate of woodcock population decline.  Research into the effects of hunting on woodcock survival are also on-going in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.  The root of the problem, as is so often the case with declining wildlife numbers, lies in the amount and quality of their habitat.  The report states, "The major causes of these declines are thought to be degradation and loss of suitable habitat on both the breeding and wintering grounds, resulting from forest succession and various human uses." 
 
One effect of habitat loss and degradation is that the birds don't reproduce well.  The USFWS tracks trends in reproduction by collecting woodcock wings sent to them by sportsmen.  Biologists can determine the sex and age (adult vs. juvenile) of a woodcock by looking at wing feather design and coloration patterns.  They can then develop an index to reproduction by determining the number of young per adult female in the sample.  The long-term average recruitment is about 1.7 young per adult female.  However, the Eastern Region has been below the long-term average since 1992 and the Central Region since 1987. 
 
The report goes on to state, "If current trends in land use practices persist, continued long-term population declines are likely."  The International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies has created a Woodcock Task Force to develop a woodcock conservation plan in an effort to halt these declines.  The Ruffed Grouse Society is actively engaged in the Woodcock Task Force and works diligently to create and enhance woodcock habitat across the nation.  For more information on the Ruffed Grouse Society, call 1-888-JOIN RGS or visit http://www.ruffedgrousesociety.org
 
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society
218-697-2820

WI Call For Action
MN Grouse Enthusiasts -
 
It seems that they are having the same problems on Wisconsin's National Forests as we are having here in Minnesota - anti-aspen attitudes and little concern for the impacts to game populations and sport hunters.  If you hunt in Wisconsin, or are simply concerned about the way our lands under federal jurisdiction are being managed, you should make your voice heard through this public comment process.
 
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society

 
FAN MEMBER - CALL FOR ACTION
 
 
Your Help Is Needed to insure habitat managment actions for ruffed grouse and woodcock on the Chequamegon/Nicolet National Forest in Northern Wisconsin.  The deadline for public comments for the Managment Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement has been extended to August 11th.  It is crucial that the voices of as many hunters be heard as the potential exists for long term losses of habitat for ruffed grouse and woodcock if the current preferred alternative (Alternative 5) is accepted as is.
 
Written comments can be sent to:

Chequamegon-Nicolet Forest Plan Revision DEIS, P.O. Box 221090, Salt Lake City, UT 84122-1090 or by email at chequamegonnicolet@fs.fed.us .  I would appreciate receiving copies of the letters or emails that you send, as I will be preparing a package of comments for federal legislators whose districts include portions of these forests.  My contact information is listed at the end of this message.  Copies of your comments can also be sent to your federal senators or representatives.  An easy source to get contact information for your local legislators is www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ ... 

Some things you might focus on in a letter or email include:

• State why the Forest is important to you (ie. I hunt grouse in the Forest and decisions that reduce grouse habitat would reduce your use of these public lands).
• Note that the Preferred Alternative (Alternative 5) will decrease aspen management by 242,000 acres, the key habitat for ruffed grouse, woodcock and many non-game species.
• Note that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement gives no estimate of the impacts of any of the alternatives on game species such as ruffed grouse and that hunters are major users of these public forests.  (Note: my initial analysis showed a reduction of nearly 20,000 ruffed grouse per year in the future once the Preferred Alternative is implemented due to the loss of important young forest habitat).
• Explain that young forest habitat is crucial to many wildlife species besides ruffed grouse and woodcock, directly providing essential habitat for declining songbirds such as golden-winged warblers, chestnut-sided warblers, and Eastern towhee and indirectly providing important habitat for snowshoe hare and ruffed grouse that are important prey species of Northern goshawk and bobcat.

I have received word that the Forest will soon be announcing public hearings in southern Wisconsin in addition to the two held in late June in Northern Wisconsin, that RGS participated in.  I'd encourage anyone that would like to provide oral comments to the Forest Service at one of these hearings.   They are another effective way to get your concerns across.  Comments are limited to three minutes at these events and I would be glad to help anyone prepare a presentation at one of these.
 
Thanks to all those members who have already provided written comments.  You are having an effect and the appropriate folks are starting to listen.
 
Gary Zimmer
Regional Wildlife Biologist
The Ruffed Grouse Society
P.O. Box 116
Laona, WI  54541
Phone: (715) 674-7505
email: rgszimm@newnorth.net