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Articles on this archive page:
- RGS Wins Appeal 4/16/02
- National Forest Update 3/18/02
- Youth Upland Bird Camp Essay Contest 3/11/02
- RGS Joins Lawsuit To Protect Aspen Management 2/4/02
- RGS Comments On The Border Lakes Plan 1/21/02
- RGS Responds To Sierra Club Lawsuit 12/11/01
- RGS Meets With U.S. Forest Service 11/21/01
RGS Wins Appeal
The RGS filed an administrative appeal in the Chippewa National Forest's Rice River Management Project because this project did not comply with the existing Forest Plan. If enacted it would not only NOT create new grouse habitat, it would have led to the loss of significant acreage of aspen habitat.
The Forest Service Regional Office in Milwaukee, WI recently decided to reverse the project decision and send it back to the Chippewa to be revised. This is a significant win for grouse habitat management on the Chippewa. The Society is optimistic that the Chippewa will accept the guidance of the Regional Office and adhere more closely to the Forest Plan in the future.
Also, the North Winnie Project decision has been withdrawn by the District Ranger! This project was very much like the Rice River project in that it did not follow the direction laid out by the Forest Plan and would have been detrimental to grouse, woodcock, deer and other species that thrive in young aspen forests. We did not appeal this project as we thought we had made our point on Rice River, but it was appealed by other parties. Apparently the District felt the decision would be reversed, so they withdrew it before that happened. This indicates to me that the District and the Forest will likely be adhering to plan direction in the future. However, the plan is being revised as we speak and the future plan may not be as favorable for game species as the current one. I am working within the system to ensure that we continue to have some of the best grouse habitat in the world right here in Minnesota. You can help as well. If you want the Chippewa and Superior National Forests to continue to manage for abundant grouse, woodcock and deer habitat, send a note to the forest planners expressing support for Alternative C and tell them why. Alternative C would maintain most of the current aspen resource while still allowing the Service to change some forests into other forest types where it is appropriate . Contacts are Tracy Beck (tbeck@fs.fed.us) and Duane Lula (dlula@fs.fed.us).
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society
Top of Page Aspen Lawsuit Update - As most
of you are aware, RGS has filed on as an intervener in support of the US
Forest Service in another Sierra Club suit to halt all aspen management
in the Great Lakes Forests. Obviously, this suit also has the potential
to affect thousands of acres of important habitat for ruffed grouse, American
woodcock as well as a host of other wildlife species. Briefs have been
filed in this case and we are awaiting the court's decisions. We feel it
is crucial that RGS responds with sound scientific data to support the
important role that forest management plays in the ecology of our public
forestlands.
Please feel free to contact me if you
have any questions: Rick Horton, Forest Wildlife Biologist, P.O.
Box 657, Grand Rapids, MN 55744, 218-697-2820, rgshort@uslink.net.
By Rick Horton
Chippewa National Forest Projects:
Rice River Project - RGS has filed a formal appeal to
the decision to implement the Selected Alternative on this project.
This is only the 5th time in 16 years that we have had to resort to
this option in the entire country! We prefer to be partners with
the U.S. Forest Service, working towards improving wildlife habitat.
However, this project and several other recent ones similar to it, have
forced us to take this path. This project does not adhere to the
current forest management plan, and if enacted would lead to the loss and
degradation of over 1,000 acres of choice aspen-dominated grouse habitat.
We are requesting that the Forest Service Regional Office remand the decision.Upper
Bowstring Project - The first public input phase for this project recently
closed. The proposed
action on this project also does not follow existing plan direction, and
if enacted will negatively impact aspen forests and early successional
species. We have proposed an alternative method to re-establish conifers
on the landscape without jeopardizing future stand productivity.Cass
Lake Project - The first public input phase for this project recently closed.
The proposed action on
this project is appropriate and follows plan direction. RGS supports
enacting the proposed action in its entirety.
Forest Plan Revision: The
US Forest Service is conducting a series of open houses to present their
work on the revision of the forest plans for the Chippewa and Superior
National Forests. This process will determine the management direction
for these forests for the next 10-15 years! We are very concerned
with the recurring theme of declining emphasis in early successional habitats
in the Plan Revisions. Public participation and input can influence
the decision and help maintain habitat for grouse, deer,
woodcock and other early successional wildlife. Meetings are planned
for the following dates and times:
Legal Action Update:Sierra
Club Loses! Word was just received that a judgment was reached
in favor of the Michigan DNR and the US Fish and Wildlife Service in a
suit brought forward by the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club contended that
Pittman-Robertson Act funds given by the federal government to the states
must follow federal environmental regulations. This lawsuit had the potential
to stop or dramatically reduce the management of early successional habitats.
The Ruffed Grouse Society signed on as a "friend of the court" along with
four other conservation organizations in support of the US Fish and Wildlife
Service and Michigan DNR. We understand that this support was crucial to
the dismissal of this lawsuit. More information regarding these events
will be forthcoming as it develops.
Top of Page Youth Upland Bird Camp Essay Contest c/o Chuck Blohm (651) 486-3887 Successful applicants will be announced at the Twin Cities RGS Family Field Day, May 18th, 2002. Be sure to complete the personal information on the essay sheet. A parent or guardian must agree to their youngster's participation by signing their essay. Remember, these scholarships are for the cost of Bird Camp only. Transportation to and from the event is the responsibility of the attendee. Top of Page PRESS RELEASE 2/4/02 Top of Page
Following is a brief narrative that highlights some of the concerns of the Ruffed Grouse Society re: the lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club
Editor's Note:
Details on the public input process for National Forests are provided in the article "Get Involved On National Forests To Save Wildlife Habitat!" in the Biologist Bulletin page.
RGS meets with U.S. Forest Service
Ruffed Grouse Society Senior Biologist Dan Dessecker and the Regional Biologists from the Great Lakes States met with U.S. Forest
Service representatives from the Washington Office, the Regional Office and several National Forests November 6-8 in Eagle River,
Wisconsin. The objective of this meeting was to more clearly identify specific opportunities to address the conservation of early
successional communities on National Forests throughout the eastern United States. Attendees were given handouts documenting the
reductions in acres of aspen managed on Great Lakes forests - only the Superior National Forest is meeting Forest Plan objectives.
Considerable time was spent in the field on the Chequamegon, Nicolet and Ottawa Forests looking at examples of situations where young
forests could have been managed differently to better create or maintain habitat for grouse and other young forest dependent species. We
left the meeting with the feeling that our concerns were clearly understood by those in attendance and look forward to a more productive
working relationship in the future. However, there is currently a management project on the Blackduck District of the Chippewa National
Forest out for public review that clearly does little to benefit grouse and woodcock in that District. The Winnie Watershed North Vegetation
Management Project was initiated in early 1999. The initial focus was to manage the forest in accordance with the existing Forest
Management Plan. However, the most recent Pre-decisional Environmental Assessment (11/2/01) contains many elements that move the
Forest away from the Desired Future Condition detailed in the existing Plan. For example, the plan calls for 27% of the forest in the project
area to be in the 0-19 year age class and 41% to be in the 60+ year age class. Currently 24% is in 0-19 age class and 53% is 60+ years
old. Under every Alternative the young age class will reduce to 11-15% and old age class will be 51-56% by 2010. That means you will
see about half the grouse and woodcock cover in this 28,100-acre area 10 years from now. RGS has been involved in this
project since its inception and we will continue to provide comments on it. Individuals commenting on this project at this stage in the
process will have little effect. However, it highlights the need for sportsmen to GET INVOLVED in the decision-making process on our
forests. Call forest managers, comment on projects, write to legislators. Decisions made today WILL effect your hunting in the future! Please contact me if you need
any assistance getting started.
By Chuck Blohm
The Twin Cities Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society has two scholarships available for aspiring young hunters to attend the Upland Bird camp at Deep Portage Reserve near Backus, MN July 21-26, 2002. Upland Bird Camp is a weeklong event, which introduces attendees to Wildlife habitat and biology, bird hunting skills, hunting dog handling and training, and shooting skills. Deep Portage Reserve is a live-in facility that will provide a complete North Woods environment in which to study and experience outdoor skills.
Campers will learn the habits and habitat needs of game birds, as well as safe and proper wing shooting techniques on daily trips to the range. A field trip to Pine Shadows Kennel will expose students to the benefits and applications of various dog breeds to upland hunting. Students will learn ethical hunting techniques, how to locate hunting areas, private landowner relations, game preparations and cooking, and the role of conservation organizations. Upland Bird Camp is a great way to meet friends and learn about birds and bird hunting.
These scholarships are open to boys and girls ages 12-16 who have received their Firearms Safety Certificate. In order to select this year's attendees, we are asking each candidate to submit 100 words or less on the following topic:
"How will my attendance at Upland Bird Camp help me respect and value our state's wild game resources?"
Please submit a legible essay (typed or word processed would really be nice). Proper spelling will not be a deciding factor, but essays should be grammatically correct and concise. Parents please do not write the essay for your youngsters - they're going to Bird Camp, not you.
Please submit your entries by April 27th 2002, and send them to:
RGS Youth Upland Camp Contest
591 Mercury Circle
Shoreview, MN 55126
Thank you,
Chuck Blohm
Family Day Chairman
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION GROUP JOINS LAWSUIT TO PROTECT ASPEN HABITATS ON NATIONAL FORESTS
The Ruffed Grouse Society, a nonprofit wildlife conservation organization, has filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit to support the
efforts of the United States Forest Service to sustain aspen forest habitats on National Forests in the Great Lakes region. The lawsuit
was recently filed against the Forest Service by the Sierra Club and calls for a halt to all aspen habitat management on National Forests
in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
"Aspen habitats are important components of the biological diversity of our eastern forests, and these habitats are found virtually
nowhere else other than the Great Lakes region" says Dan Dessecker, Senior Wildlife Biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society. Aspen
habitats are essential to ruffed grouse and American woodcock, two game species pursued by almost half a million sportsmen and
sportswomen in the Great Lakes region each year. In addition, aspen forests provide critical habitat for many species of nongame
wildlife, including the seriously imperiled golden-winged warbler, which is listed by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service as a species
of "highest conservation priority," as well as the federally endangered gray wolf and the federally threatened Canada lynx. "A halt to
aspen habitat management on National Forests would seriously harm many types of forest wildlife," says Dessecker.
The challenge to halt the conservation of existing aspen habitats is based in part on the premise that aspen forests may be more
abundant today than when European settlers first arrived in the Great Lakes region. However, this perspective ignores the current role
of aspen forests in the ecology, the economy, and the hunting heritage of this region. "Does it make sense to try and fit the square
peg of some vision of what may have existed in the 1800's, into the round hole of 21st century reality?" asks Dessecker.
Three representatives of the forest products industry, Minnesota Forest Industries, Lake States Lumber Association, and Minnesota
Timber Producers Association have also joined this lawsuit on behalf of the Forest Service.
For more information, please contact: Dan Dessecker, Senior Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society
715-234-8302 (FAX 5051)
rgsdess@chibardun.net
Editor's Note:
Details on the public input process for The Border Lakes Plan are provided in the on the Biologist Bulletin page.
The Ruffed Grouse Society's following comments on the DNR Border Lakes Plan went out today. The deadline for comments is January
31. They can be mailed to Mr. Paulson or e-mailed to him at gaylord.paulson@dnr.state.mn.us.
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society
January 21, 2002
Gaylord Paulson
DNR Division of Forestry
500 Lafayette Road
St. Paul, MN 55155-4044
The Ruffed Grouse Society appreciates the opportunity to provide comment on the future management of the Border Lakes
Subsection. We support the Division’s efforts to meet its forest and wildlife management obligations. In general, the plan is well
constructed and addresses many of the Society’s concerns up front in an honest fashion. The Division has done an outstanding job of
recognizing the need to address the overmature condition of much of the forest in the region. In addition, we appreciate the value the
Division is placing on upland brush habitats as well as their concern about the potential negative effects of aspen pre-commercial
thinning on ruffed grouse populations.
However, we are disturbed with the negative opinion towards aspen found throughout the plan. Aspen forest communities are very
valuable to both wildlife and to the economy of northern Minnesota. The continued decline in aspen regeneration on state and national
forests is negatively affecting many species that rely upon young forest habitats. Young forests are extremely important to maintaining
biodiversity in northern Minnesota. Aspen forests offer unparalleled opportunities to maintain this ephemeral and increasingly rare
habitat on the landscape.
The Ruffed Grouse Society is concerned about the on-going declines in aspen communities in the eastern deciduous forest and
especially the Great Lakes Region. Over 21% of the aspen forests in the Great Lakes States have been converted to other forest types
in the past 40 years. Converting aspen, directly or indirectly through lack of management, will negatively effect populations of grouse,
deer, moose and woodcock as well as those predators that rely on their abundance. The Division’s decision to convert 10,000 acres of
aspen to conifers during the 7-year life of this plan is excessive. Planning to convert another 1/3 by 2051 is extreme. We feel strongly
that productive aspen stands with a site index >50 should be regenerated and maintained as aspen. Only aspen stands with indices
<50 should be considered candidates for conversion to other forest types. This applies to HRLV stands as well as normal rotation and
ERF stands. The aspen/balm of Gilead decision tree suggests that only aspen stands with site indices >65 will be regenerated as
aspen. All others will be converted to conifers or managed as mixed stands. We suggest that this guideline be changed so that stands
with an SI >50 are regenerated as aspen.
Managing 29% of the forest, and 21% of the aspen, as Extended Rotation Forest (ERF) is clearly inappropriate. There is currently
abundant old forest in the Border Lakes region in the BWCAW, VNP and Superior National Forest. Rather than “complementing” the old
forest, the DNR should balance those unmanaged lands by managing most state forests in the area at normal rotation age. We feel
that ERF levels should be set at the recommended 10%. In addition, there is no good justification for setting ERF guidelines at 80 to
100 year rotations in aspen. This is double the recommended rotation age and virtually ensures that the stand will be retyped due to
succession or deemed unmerchantable at the time of regeneration. We strongly urge the Division to reset ERF guidelines for aspen to
60 to 70 years.
Broad-brush approaches to riparian area management are not appropriate and could be detrimental to important species. While the
wildlife portion of the Assessment does not reflect it, American woodcock populations have declined at a rate of about 1.5% per year
over the past 30 years. The 2000 Woodcock Task Force convened by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
concluded these continued declines in woodcock populations were due to losses of shrub-sapling and young forest habitats. Woodcock
heavily utilize brushy young forests with moist soils, such as would be found in regenerating deciduous forests along lakes and
streams. We ask that the DNR not mandate ERF management or management towards old growth conifers in all or most riparian
areas. Instead, let local managers make on-site decisions regarding riparian management in accordance with the Voluntary Site-level
Guidelines.
While the FRC NE Landscape Committee has stated an ecological goal to manage for historical conditions, it has yet to analyze the
economic feasibility or social acceptability of that goal. In addition, there is still disagreement on the accuracy of studies recreating
historic conditions or the appropriateness of managing towards a past condition. The underlying assumption of RNV is that the historic
condition is the only one that will provide for viable populations of all species found in this landscape. This is simply not true, as there
are a host of conditions that will support viable species populations. We ask that the DNR not set historic condition as a management
goal until all analyses on sustainability of the NE Landscape are completed.
Again, the Ruffed Grouse Society feels this is a fairly well thought out plan. With some adjustments, the plan can adequately guide
forest management for the benefit of wildlife and the people of Minnesota for the next 7 years. Please feel free to contact me if you
have any questions or other concerns.
Sincerely,
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society
to halt aspen habitat management on National Forests in the Great Lakes region.
By Rick Horton
The recently announced Sierra Club lawsuit to ban the conservation of aspen forest habitats on National Forests in the Great Lakes
States is a serious threat to forest wildlife and regional biological diversity. In the eastern United States, the Great Lakes states offer
the only opportunity to protect this unique resource, as functional aspen forest communities are all but nonexistent outside of Michigan,
Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Since the 1960's, millions of acres of aspen forest have been lost in the Great Lakes region. Most of this acreage has converted to
forests dominated by maple and other northern hardwoods. Northern hardwood forests are already far more abundant in the northern
Great Lakes region than are aspen forests (31% northern hardwood vs. 22% aspen), and reductions in the conservation of aspen
forests would only exacerbate the continuing loss of our aspen forests.
Not surprisingly, wildlife associated with aspen forest habitats is declining as well. Ruffed grouse and American woodcock, two game
species of immense importance to 500,000 sportsmen and women each year in this region thrive in aspen forests. Woodcock
populations in the Great Lakes states have declined by over 40% since the 1960's. Likewise, many species of nongame wildlife depend
on aspen forest habitats. With the exception of the federally endangered Kirtland's warbler, the golden-winged warbler is the most
imperiled songbird in the eastern United States. Research clearly shows that this beautiful little bird prefers to nest in very young
aspen forests (1-6 years of age) that have recently been regrown through clearcutting. The National Forests in Wisconsin and
Minnesota lie at the very heart of the golden-winged warbler's breeding range. Any significant reduction in the conservation of aspen
forest habitats in this region would be devastating to the golden-winged warbler.
The assertion by some that aspen forests are the cause of high white-tailed deer densities in some portions of the Great Lakes region
is simply not accurate. White-tailed deer are habitat generalists that survive quite well across a broad range of habitat conditions.
White-tailed deer populations have increased over the past several decades while aspen forests have become LESS abundant on the
landscape. Current white-tailed deer population trends are due to recent mild winters and an increase in recreational deer feeding,
which have worked in concert to dramatically reduce winter mortality.
It is hardly surprising that an organization with the stated goal of eliminating forest management on all federal lands would promote
this type of ill-conceived proposal. Unfortunately, such extreme proposals only further complicate efforts to protect and enhance our
National Forests.
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society (218-697-2820)
November 21, 2001
Rick Horton
RGS senior wildlife biologist
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society
www.twincitiesrgs.org