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Minnesota Happenings in Forest Management The Forest Service has released its decision to propose Alternative E for the management of the Superior and Chippewa National Forests. The Plan will formally be available for review May 9, after which there will be a 90 day public comment period. There will be many open houses and public meetings this summer to help people understand the implications of this plan. While the Service contends that this plan will provide both young and old forest, the amount of young forest (read grouse and woodcock habitat) will be greatly reduced.
by RGS's Rick Horton.
Where to find the plan and how to comment
The two forest management plans and Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be available beginning Monday at the Chippewa National Forest's Web site,www.fs.fed.us/r9/chippewa/plan/planning.htm.
Paper copies will be available at some local libraries May 2. The plans are also available on computer CD.
The comment period will run from about May 9 to Aug. 11 and public meetings will be scheduled in mid-June.
The Forest Service will host 10 open houses to distribute the plans and explain the review process.
4-7 p.m. May 6
• Superior National Forest Supervisors Office, 8901 Grand Ave Place.
• Walker District Office, 201 Minnesota Ave. E., Walker.
• Tofte District Office, 7355 W. Minnesota Highway 61, Tofte.
4-7 p.m. May 7
• Chippewa National Forest Supervisors Office, 200 Ash Ave., Cass Lake.
• Deer River District Office, 1037 Division St., Deer River.
• Kawishiwi District Office, 118 S. Fourth Ave. E., Ely.
• Wuori Town Hall, St. Louis County Road 307, Virginia.
4-7 p.m. May 8
• Blackduck District Office, 417 Forestry Drive, Blackduck.
• Gunflint District Office, 2020 W. Minnesota Highway 61, Grand Marais.
• North Central Research Station, 1992 Folwell Ave., St. Paul.
Forest facts
• The Superior National Forest covers about 3 million acres, of which about 2 million are federally owned.
• The Chippewa National Forest covers about 1.6 million acres, of which 667,000 acres are federally owned.
• The two forests make up about 14 percent of the state's forested land open to logging. They produce about 5 percent of the timber cut in the state.
• The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin completed its forest plan earlier this month and is holding a public comment period.
This is a long and difficult process, but sportsmen need to have their voices heard if we are to preserve what is arguably the best upland hunting in the world. Remember, the world belongs to those who show up!
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society
Date: Mon Mar 31, 2003 11:08:10 AM US/Central
Minnesota Grouse Enthusiasts:
Grouse drumming and woodcock peenting season is almost upon us - in fact we have already received reports of both in the Grand Rapids Area last week. Take the time to get out with the family to enjoy these annual rites of spring. Still mornings and evenings in April and early May are the best times to listen as these are the peak activity times and sounds carry farther. Listen for woodcock giving their nasal "peent" call in open habitats like pastures, trails and powerline corridors near brushlands or young aspen stands. Watch for them to take wing over the peenting ground and perform their "sky dance" while making twittering noises with their wings. You can move closer to the peenting ground when the birds are airborne and get a much closer look at them. Listen for drumming grouse in dense young forest areas. It's very difficult to see drummers as the sound seems to come from everywhere at once so it is hard to pinpoint their location. They are also very wary and will simply move off when they see you approach. Observing a drumming grouse in the wild qualifies as a trophy of a lifetime.
The MDNR will begin conducting the 53rd annual ruffed grouse drumming survey in early May. We won't know for certain until the data is compiled, but we fear that there will be another year of decline in grouse numbers. Ruffed grouse rely upon deep, loose snow to provide thermal cover and to hide from predators. They often spend over 22 hours per day under snow in mid-winter. Unfortunately, northern Minnesota has suffered through a very cold and snowless winter this year. We received numerous reports of people finding grouse that appeared to have frozen to death! One of these was particularly interesting. A member's Brittany spaniel retrieved a dead bird while they were out for a walk on the frozen Swan River near Warba. I got it from him and determined to look into the death. The adult male bird weighed about 100 grams less than the average, judging from our data collected during the National Hunt, so it had lost about 17% of its body weight. However, it's crop was full of birch catkins, so I deduced that while it was light, it was healthy. It was then that I took note of the fact that it had stands of sedge (marsh) grass wrapped tightly around both wings and the neck. Grouse often roost in marsh grass when there is not enough snow. I put one and one together and concluded that this bird had fed, then went to the marsh to roost. Somehow it got tangled in the grass and couldn't free itself. In its weakened state it quickly succumbed to stress, fatigue and/or the cold. So the lack of snow didn't directly lead to the death of this bird - but it certainly contributed to it!!
As noted previously, the Minnesota DNR has released the Mille Lacs Subsection Forest Resources Management Plan. They are taking public comments through April 15th. Attached are the Society's comments on the plan. In short, we have serious concerns that these plans do not consider fiscal and manpower realities - the team admittedly did not consider whether or not the plan could be implemented. We also feel that undue emphasis is placed on restoring historic forest condition without regard to the potential impacts of doing so upon the timber industry, wildlife populations and people of Minnesota. We have drafted a letter expressing these concerns to DNR Commissioner Merriam and are looking forward to meeting with him and his staff in the near future to discuss our concerns. Please feel free to go to the DNR website www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/subsection/millelacs/index.html to read the Mille Lacs plan and comment on it (you can do it online), especially if you enjoy recreating between Princeton and Brainerd or from Little Falls to the Wisconsin border.
I was invited by a group of Grand Rapids businessmen to attend a meeting with Governor Pawlenty on March 12 to discuss the economic status of the community. While I did not have the opportunity to spend much time with the Governor, I was able to express the notion that active forest management provides economic opportunities to the timber industry as well as creating quality wildlife habitat, and that healthy game populations attract sportsmen to rural communities, further strengthening the economy.
The Forest Resources Council unanimously approved the recommendations of the North East and North Central Landscape Committees at their March 25th meeting. The reports will be posted on the Council web site in the next month. In short, the groups set future forest condition goals, made some recommendations on changes to forest type and suggested strategies to achieve the goals.Coordination of the goals and strategies are the next step.
The Chippewa National Forest has named Norm Wagoner as the new Forest Supervisor. Biographical information is sketchy right now, but he comes from the Colorado/Wyoming area and will begin work June 1.
The revised Minnesota National Forest Plan is due to be released May 9th for a 90 day public review. Those concerned about hunting and recreating on the Chippewa and Superior National Forests should seriously consider reviewing this plan and commenting on it. Make no mistake - it WILL dictate less aspen forest management and will negatively effect grouse, woodcock and deer numbers on federal lands.
Four habitat project analyses will be released for 30-day public comment periods by the Chippewa National Forest in the next few weeks. The Walker District (218-547-1044) has the Boy River project coming out, the Marcell/Deer River District (218-246-2123) will release the Upper Bowstring River project and Blackduck (218-835-4291) is issuing the Sand Plain and Cass Lake projects next week. These can seem quite daunting at times, but it is imperative that decision-makers hear from the people that use the forest so they can balance their perspectives. The world belongs to those who show up!!
I find myself in many situations in which it would be very helpful to have mounted specimens of ruffed grouse and woodcock for educational programs, displays and other events. Unfortunately, I don't have any mounts. I would greatly appreciate any donations of good quality grouse and woodcock mounts from members, friends or friendly taxidermists. I will happily display an acknowledgement of the source of the mount if so desired and can provide the donor with a tax-deduction form for the donation.
Chapter Youth events are scheduled for April 12 at the Rice Creek Club in St. Cloud and May 3 at the Isanti County Sportsmen's Club in Cambridge.
Rick Horton
Forest Wildlife Biologist
Ruffed Grouse Society
www.twincitiesrgs.org