We at the Ruffed Grouse Society are looking forward to another exciting and productive year in 2004.  But before we move on, we thought it would be appropriate to review some of our achievements in Minnesota over the past year with our many friends and supporters. There are over 600 people currently on this email list, and many of you have significantly helped the Society in its fight to produce and improve ruffed grouse and woodcock habitat.  Thank you!  Your letters, calls and emails to resource managers and policy makers help them realize the importance of forest management for wildlife and the key roles sportsmen play in our society.  We encourage you all to become more involved in the issues and help us keep Minnesota one of the premier places in the country for ruffed grouse and woodcock hunting.  Make your voice heard in the legislature, the Department of Natural Resources and the USDA Forest Service!  Send FAN postings to friends!  Recruit hunting buddies into the Ruffed Grouse Society!  Take a kid grouse hunting!  But most important of all, take the time to get out in the woods and enjoy what this state has to offer.

WILDLIFE CONSERVATION LEADERS MEET WITH PRESIDENT BUSH

Conservation leaders from across America recently met with President Bush in the White House.  At the December 12th meeting, the President thanked the wildlife conservation community for its support of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, which was signed into law by President Bush on December 3rd.  Conservation organizations in attendance included the Ruffed Grouse Society (represented by Senior Biologist Dan Dessecker), National Wild Turkey Federation, Boone & Crockett Club, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, and the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, among others.
 
"It's only common sense to manage our forests for the American people and for the protection of the forests themselves," said President Bush.  The President expressed disappointment that some organizations appear unwilling to compromise or accommodate the interests of others.  He commended conservationists for their willingness to look beyond their own special interests and to see the big picture.
 
The conservation leaders invited to the White House thanked the President for his Administration's open-door policy toward the wildlife community, and they urged him to continue to protect America's wildlife and its hunting heritage.

2003 MANAGEMENT AREA & EDUCATION PROJECTS

Following is a list of habitat projects funded by the Society in Minnesota in 2003.

• Beklin Farm Acquisition - Isanti County.  RGS and 26 other organizations contributed towards the acquisition of the Beklin Farm west of Cambridge by Isanti County.  It will be a county park managed as a Wildlife Management Area.
• Deer Lake Trail - Itasca County.  RGS and the MN Deer Hunters Association teamed up with Boise Paper Solutions of International Falls to create a hunter walking trail/forestry demonstration area in northern Itasca County.
• Cass County Openings and GPS - Cass County.  RGS helped the Cass County Land Department fund the maintenance of several wildlife openings though out the county.  We also purchased a backpack GPS unit that would help them identify these openings, mark timber sales and outline aspen inclusions in other timber types before timber harvest.
• Chatfield Oak Regeneration - Olmsted County.  RGS purchased oak seedlings to reforest and area after salvage harvest.
• Gordy Gullion #1 & #2 - St. Louis County.  RGS helped the Minnesota DNR provide parking, signage and trail work on two new ruffed grouse management areas.
• Kooch Shearing - Koochiching County.  RGS funded the shearing of 86 acres of old brush to create new grouse and woodcock habitat and helped reopen the Johnson Lake Forest Road.
• Morph Meadows Access - Itasca County.  RGS provided funding for a new culvert and fill to reopen a forest road on the Morph Meadows WMA.
• Louis Peloqin Trail - St. Louis County.  RGS helped the DNR connect two dead-end trails on the Peloquin WMA.
• Poor Farm Woodcock Demo Area - Crow Wing County.  RGS, in conjunction with Crow Wing County, the DNR, UMN-Extension Service and others created a woodcock management demonstration area on the Poor Farm WMA southeast of Brainerd.  Landowners and educators alike will benefit from the area.
• Scrub Oak Trail - Crow Wing County.  RGS helped Crow Wing County connect two dead end trails and clear some wildlife openings.
• Solana Road - Aitkin County.  RGS helped the DNR create new access for timber management in the Solana Ruffed Grouse Management Area.
• Itasca Trails - Itasca County.  RGS and the MN Deer Hunters Association funded the maintenance of several miles of hunter walking trails.

Following is a list of educational projects sponsored by the Society in 2003:

• Becoming an Outdoors Woman - RGS provided funding for the BOW program to train women in the shooting sports and upland hunting in 2004.
• Brushland Brochure - RGS, the Minnesota Deer Hunters association, the Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society and the DNR teamed up to produce a brochure detailing the benefits and methods of maintaining brushland habitat.
• Managing Your Land For Ruffed grouse Brochure - RGS and the DNR funded the reprinting of this popular brochure.
• Deep Portage Shotguns - RGS purchased 4 over-and-under shotguns and 4 semi-automatic shotguns for Deep Portage Conservation Reserve to use in their youth camps, including Upland Bird Camp.
• Upland Birds Camp - Every year RGS sponsors several youth to attend the 6-day Upland Bird Camp at Deep Portage.  The RGS Regional Biologist attends for 2 day, training on bird biology and forest management.
• Youth Events - RGS Chapters in Cambridge, Warroad, St. Cloud, Twin Cities and International Falls held youth days this summer, training hundreds of kids on how to be safe and effective sportsmen and women.

REGIONAL BIOLOGIST ACTIVITIES
 
The Minnesota Regional Biologist is involved in many different activities in the course of a year, not including all of the MAP project work listed above.  Following is a sample of his efforts and involvement:

• Analyzed and commented on eight forest plans for the DNR and the US Forest Service, including the USFS Forest Plan Revisions.  The latter took considerable time and energy.  In the process we held many meetings with Forest Service officials to discuss details of these plans.
• Had over 20 press contacts, including press releases, interviews, radio spots and filming video shoots.  Participated in the Institute of Journalism and Natural Resources field tour.
• Developed a presentation on forest management and wildlife and presented it to over 700 professional loggers at 12 Minnesota Loggers Education Program workshops across the state.
• Testified before the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee and the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources.  Gave the keynote address at the Minnesota Forestry Association annual meeting.  Invited Speaker at the Northern Turkey Workshop.  Taught at Upland Bird Camp, Forkhorn Camp seminars and youth days.  Manned booths at 5 sport shows, including Game Fair and Grand Marais' Fisherman's Picnic.
• Met with Governor Pawlenty, Senator Norm Coleman, DNR Commissioner Gene Merriam, and USFS Forest Supervisors Jim Sanders and Norm Wagoner to discuss forest management issues.  Attended the DNR Wildlife Roundtable, the MOHA Sportsmen's Summit, many Forest Resources Council meetings and other meetings to provide the views of the Society's membership to decision-makers.
• Attended 12 RGS banquets and many other events to keep our membership aware of the issues.  Produced over 38 postings on the email network.
• On the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance Board, the MN Bird Conservation Initiative steering committee, Chair the DNR Wildlife Operations Oversight Committee, the DNR Budgetary Oversight Committee, the DNR Grouse Committee, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative State Implementation Committee, the Forest Resources Council's North-Central Landscape Committee and am a second on the Forest Resources Council.

AWCP MEETING IN ELY

The Society hosted the American Wildlife Conservation Partners' (AWCP) annual business meeting this summer at Grand Ely Lodge in Ely, MN.  The AWCP is a consortium of national hunting and fishing organizations that share information on national conservation issues and cooperate to promote intelligent natural resources legislation and policy.  RGS Senior Biologist Dan Dessecker, current chair of the AWCP, selected ELY for the Summer meeting.  "Ely provides a wonderful natural background for this important meeting, as well as an opportunity for conservation leaders to experience a wilderness canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area after the meeting", said Dessecker.  Several attendees took advantage of that opportunity.  Highlight of the meeting included discussions on hunter recruitment and retention, legislative updates, a presentation by Bill Meadows of the Wilderness Society on how the environmental and conservation communities could work together to address issues of mutual interest, and  finally a presentation by Jim Sanders, Forest Supervisor of the Superior National Forest on the 1999 Blowdown.  A walleye dinner at Burntside Lodge gave attendees a real taste of Minnesota's Natural Resources!

U.S. FOREST SERVICE NEWS

• As mentioned previously, the Forest Service released its draft Forest Management Plans for the Chippewa and Superior National Forests this year, after almost 5 years of work.  The public was given 90 days to provide comments on these plans and the attendant Environmental Impact Statement.  RGS provided 23 pages of detailed comments.  We also provided overview information to our members, the public, other conservation organizations and the press to help inform everyone on the content and ramifications of the preferred alternative.  As a result, 13 state and national conservation organizations crafted a letter to the forest supervisors, pointing out that the proposed forest changes would greatly impact game numbers and thereby hunter satisfaction and participation.  The Forest Service failed to analyze these impacts.  A final version of the plans is expected in the spring of 2004.
• Forest Service projects seem to be improving in some areas.  The RGS Regional Biologist met with the Chippewa's Blackduck District Ranger this summer to discuss declining quality and quantity of game habitat in the region.  As a result, the subsequently released Rambling Woods Project proposes to clearcut 1,800 acres of old aspen and maintain over 100 wildlife openings, mainly along 4 area hunter walking trails.  We support this project and hope the Ranger can keep it together in its final form.
• But some things never change...  The long-awaited Upper Bowstring River Project in the Deer River Ranger District appears to be another disappointment.  Early analysis shows the preferred alternative calls for clearcutting only 137 acres of aspen on 42,000 acres of federal land.  Another 1300 acres of young aspen and 400 acres of old aspen will be managed to eventually convert it to conifers.  The Service will be accepting public comments on this project through January 18, 2004.   call them at 218-246-2123 to request a copy of the Environmental Impact Statement for this project.

DNR NEWS

• DNR Commissioner Gene Merriam has created a Division of Fish and Wildlife and returned the Divisions of Wildlife and Fisheries back to Section status, like it was prior to the Garber administration.  Merriam feels this arrangement better emphasizes consumptive sports.  He has named long-time DNR employee, sportsman and RGS supporter John Guenther as the Director of the Division.  Guenther, formerly the DNR Regional Administrator out of Grand Rapids, has dual offices in Grand Rapids and St. Paul.
• The DNR Wildlife Section has at long last formed a Grouse Committee, akin to their turkey, pheasant, deer, etc. committees.  It is made up of managers from each region, as well as a GIS coordinator, a forest wildlife coordinator and the RGS Regional Biologist.  Steve Merchant from DNR-St.Paul chairs the committee.  the first meeting was held this summer at Camp Ripley, where they discussed population goals, management suggestions and the need to devise a species management plan.
• The DNR also created a grouse research position this fall.  The position will be responsible for research and surveys on ruffed, spruce and sharp-tailed grouse as well as prairie chickens and will be housed in Grand Rapids.  They expect to name a candidate very soon.
• Thanks to the pheasant, duck and turkey stamps, these species have thousands of dollars dedicated to their management and research each year.  Why isn't there similar dedicated money for grouse?? There are certainly more hunters and higher harvests of grouse each year than many of these other species.  RGS and other conservation organizations have been in discussions with the DNR over this issue for the past year and seem to be at an impasse.  The latest proposal is a small game license restructuring that provides dedicated funding for all three species while doing away with the stamps.  The DNR is willing to entertain the idea, but some within the conservation community are baulking over their slice of the pie.  We will keep you informed as this progresses.

NATIONAL HUNT 2003

The 2003 National Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock Hunt was held once again at the Sawmill Inn in Grand Rapids in Mid-October.  This invitational hunt has been a Grand Rapids fund-raiser and a research tool for the Society for 22 years. The income from the Hunt has provided for many Management Area Projects in Itasca, Cass and Aitkin counties.  During the Hunt, teams of hunters and volunteer guides hunt on over 5 million acres in the area.  The average grouse harvest is about 250 birds per year, or 2.5 birds per hunter.  Small potatoes when you think of all the birds on 5 million acres of land.  This is perfect testimony to the difficulty of hunting this "King of Game Birds.  All birds are returned to the Sawmill to be examined by RGS biologists prior to cleaning and freezing.  The data gathered by the biological staff has been very helpful in determining trends and management suggestions for the birds.  This year, DNR veterinarian Gary Hart and US Geological Survey scientists from Madison, Wisconsin collected blood and tissue samples from grouse and woodcock to test for the prevalence of West Nile virus in the birds.  We expect results early in 2004.

Celebrity highlights from the 2003 Hunt included Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who took the time to address the hunters and volunteers before the Hunt, as well as Commissioner Merriam and Fish Wildlife Director John Guenther, who hunted together in northwestern Itasca County, guided by the RGS Regional Biologist.

GOVERNOR'S FORESTRY PANEL
 
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty recognizes the importance of a healthy forest products industry for the economic good of the State.  He also realizes that we need that industry to help us create and maintain young forest habitats for wildlife.  However, the timber industry has fallen on hard times lately as competition with foreign interests and high stumpage prices have made it less economical to invest in plants in Minnesota.  Paper mill and OSB plant sales and closings have been in the news all too frequently in the past couple of years.  As a result, the Governor convened a Task Force to determine a plan of action to make the industry more viable in the state.  The panel returned with seven recommendations:  Harvest more and better quality trees; speed up the environmental review process; improve transportation infrastructure; promote third party sustainability certification; improve forest health and productivity; improve the industry business climate; and create a team to implement the recommendations.
 
The Governor's interest in sustainable forestry continues when he hosts other regional governors and Canadian counterparts at the Governor's Summit:  Forest Industry Sustainability in the Great Lakes Region February 11 and 12 in Bloomington, Sponsored by the Great Lakes Forestry Alliance.
 

RGS WEBSITE UPDATED

Check out The Ruffed Grouse Society's completely revamped website at http://www.ruffedgrousesociety.org and its new e-commerce capabilities.

With an American Express, MasterCard, Visa, or Discover card you can securely renew a membership, join RGS, buy gift memberships for others, make a donation to several specific project funds, and finally, order from an expanded merchandise offering.  You are also able to submit your membership name and address corrections via the Internet.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or have changes to your address:

Rick Horton, Regional Wildlife Biologist, P.O. Box 657, Grand Rapids, MN  55744

218-327-2524, 412-720-6035 (mobile), rgshort@uslink.net

The Ruffed Grouse Society is an international organization actively involved in promoting forest wildlife conservation on public and private lands throughout North America. For information on the Ruffed Grouse Society, please call 888-564-6747 .

www.twincitiesrgs.org