Date: Thu Jan 30, 2003
Subject: Grouse information update

Minnesota Grouse Enthusiasts:
 
January has been a very busy month in the wildlife world.  First and foremost, from a grouse perspective, we must acknowledge that this has been a terrible month for the birds.  Paul Douglas, Chief Meteorologist for WCCO-TV, recently pointed out that the November to January period has been the driest this century.  For grouse, no snow means no protection from predators and the weather.  Northern Minnesota has seen over three weeks of below zero temperatures and several nights at minus 20 degrees - very tough on the birds!  There is little hope in seeing an upturn in the grouse cycle next fall given these winter conditions.  However, ideal spring brood-rearing weather would certainly help.

Governor Pawlenty put a lot of time and effort into considerations for his DNR Commissioner.  The ideal candidate would have experience with the Department, leadership skills, be an active sportsman, have enough financial ability to handle a $300 million budget during a state fiscal crisis, be able to moderate delicate negotiations and have a thick skin for criticism.  That's a tall order!  However, Governor Pawlenty did an admirable job with his recent appointment of Gene Merriam as DNR Commissioner.  Mr. Merriam, of Coon Rapids, was a member of the Senate for 22 years, including 6 years as Chairman of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.  Merriam has a very strong financial background and should be adept at juggling tough fiscal issues.  He has served as the Chairman of the Forest Resources Council, where he oversaw the activities of a very diverse group of forest stakeholders as they wrestled with sticky issues from visual quality to riparian protection.  I have worked with Gene for over three years in my involvement with the FRC and found him to be a strong leader.  In another bold move, Governor Pawlenty named House Republican Mark Holsten as Deputy Commissioner.  Holsten had previously served four years as the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Finance Committee.  Together, Merriam and Holsten are a powerful force for conservation at the helm of the DNR.  They are both avid sportsmen with a keen understanding of government policy and finance and strong ties to the legislature.  We look forward to working with them.

One of the things on the chopping block during this fiscal crisis is the Minnesota Future Resources Fund, administered by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota resources (LCMR).  The LCMR oversees the distribution of millions of dollars of lottery money that is set aside to pay for natural resources management and research.  There are currently Bills in the House that would divert this money into the General Fund.  Not only will this action effect habitat projects statewide, it will also effect the Minnesota RGS Biologist position.  This position was funded at start-up with Future Resources Fund dollars until a separate endowment established by RGS could mature enough to support the position.  We stand to lose roughly half of the start-up money if these funds are diverted by the Legislature.  RGS is closely monitoring the situation to see how it develops.

The Chippewa National Forest Supervisor position has been vacant since the departure of Logan Lee last year.  Last week I met with Acting Supervisor Duane Kick to discuss some of the issues RGS has had with the Chippewa over the past several years.  Mr. Kick has a long association with the western Great Lakes Region, serving on the Chequamegon National Forest in Wisconsin and the Superior National Forest in Minnesota in his 27 years with the Forest Service.  Duane was very receptive to our ideas and concerns about aspen management levels and habitat management for grouse, woodcock and deer.  We spoke at length about past and future collaborative management projects, giving me high hopes that we can move beyond the adversarial position we have been forced to take of late and once again act as partners for the good of wildlife.  The draft Chippewa Management Plan should be available in early March for public comment.  Duane is a applicant for the Forest Supervisor position and we wish him good luck in that endeavor.  I also met with Tracy Beck, the new District Ranger in Blackduck.  Tracy is a very intelligent and fair individual that we will have the pleasure of working with in the future.  He previously served as a forest planner on the Chippewa.

The Society provided written input on the DNR's Agassiz Lowlands Subsection Forest Resource Management Plan recently.  While there were many good points with this plan, we continue to be disappointed that the DNR fails to recognize the value of aspen forests for wildlife, especially in areas where aspen is supposed to grow.  This plan calls for converting 13,545 acres of aspen to conifers, managing for larger patch sizes and designating large areas as Extended Rotation Forests (letting them grow older than they should).  None of these actions will benefit ruffed grouse, woodcock, deer, bear or other critters that thrive in young forests.  We have expressed our concerns to the heads of the DNR Divisions and intend to discuss the situation with the new Commissioner when we meet with him and his staff one-on-one, hopefully in February.


I recently participated in the Wildlife Roundtable and provided input for  the DNR to develop a new strategic plan to direct them over the next decade.  In general I asked them to work towards balancing the forest age class and provide sufficient ruffed grouse habitat to allow us to continue to harvest over 1 million grouse during cyclic peak years.  They are holding three more public meetings around the state to get input from the public.  I will try to notify you of these meetings as they arise.


I made a presentation entitled, "Ruffed Grouse vs. Wild Turkeys: Beyond the Rhetoric" at the recent Northern Wild Turkey Workshop in Bloomington, MN.  The DNR and the National Wild Turkey Federation brought together wildlife managers and researchers from all over the northern US and southern Canada to discuss limiting factors and implications of moving wild turkeys north of their historic range.  The focus of my talk was the perception that turkeys interact negatively with grouse and drive local populations down.  The Society feels that declines in grouse numbers that coincide with increases in turkeys are a product of changing habitat.  Aging forests that are not regenerated in a manner to produce thick young stands favor turkeys over grouse, since grouse must have the young forest to protect them from their many predators.  However, I pointed out some of the potential ecological and social risks that managers may face with this northward expansion of turkeys.  Contact me if you are interested in this topic and I can send you an abstract of my presentation.


As I said, it has been a busy month.  We look forward to many opportunities in 2003 with new administrations in place in the DNR and the National Forest System.  I hope you find this information useful and I urge you to get involved in forest wildlife habitat issues whenever possible.  Together we can make a difference, but the world belongs to those who show up and speak up!  Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about any of these issues.
 
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society
218-697-2820