Minnesota Grouse Enthusiasts!
 
Hurray!  The grouse and woodcock seasons are open!!  However, many hunters don't really get too excited about the early season.  Leaves are on the trees, making it hard to see birds, let alone hit them.  It's often hot and buggy (take plenty of water for the dogs).  But nonetheless, it's great to be out in the sights and smells of fall.  We are still in the low ebb of the grouse cycle, and have just recieved the harvest information from the DNR.  It appears the take last year was the third lowest on record - 194,353 grouse (average is around 600,000).  But hunter numbers were also low - 79,000 compared to an average of about 112,000.  The hunter success rates were down from the previous year, but on par with the 2002 season.  Therefore the low kill was likely due to fewer people hunting.  There appears to be plenty of birds out there again this year.  I moved 2.5 per hour the only time I have been out so far.  Many people are reporting similar or better success rates, particularly if they encounter a brood of young birds.  I have also heard of excellent woodcock numbers.  Woodcock harvest was up to around 41,000 birds (from 30,000) in 2004.  This concurs with the USFWS population estimate trends.
 
Following are a couple early season tips to increase your success:

• Broods are still intact until dispursal in early October.  If you saw broods over the summer, hunt thick cover near those locations - they'll still be around.
• Don't focus on trails.  Get out in the thick cover where the birds are spending their time.  Trails will only be productive early and late in the day or after rainstorms, and usually only if they run through good cover.
• If it is dry in the woods, look along swamp edges and in alder swales in thick aspen stands.
• Later in October, check along all sorts of forest edges.  Young birds often stall there during dispersal.

Grouse and Woodcock Issues
 
In my last installment I mentioned the meeting RGS, other conservation grouse and Indian tribes had with the DNR and Forest Service in August.  We are all very concerned about the future habitat amount and quality, and hunter access to the National Forests.  We have asked them to respond to our concerns in writing by mid-October and meet with us again in December.  RGS has had the opportunity to meet with several political leaders since that group met and has found excellent support among them.  We Participated in a Game Issues Forum at Game Fair with Senator Norm Coleman and he suggested that he would contact the Forest Supervisors and personally ask them to consider the needs of the state's sportsmen and women in their planning.  Congressman Mark Kennedy was equally interested and we are meeting with his staff in Washington D.C. this week to seek further assistance.  Mark Dayton's representative in Northern Minnesota was very receptive of our concerns and will pass them on to the Senator.
 
Habitat Projects
 
We have struggled with funding habitat projects with the MDNR over the past year due to administrative changes and cash flow issues.  I am proud to report that these issues are behind us and we are able to fully fund some creative and beneficial habitat projects around the state.  Then following table details 13 projects valued at $114,465.  In addition, we recently funded a $6,500 road repar project on Morph Meadows WMA in Itasca County, a golden-winged warbler survey and two Becoming an Outdoors Woman events.  We are also in the process of purchasing a transportable bridge for the Cass County Land Department.
 

State Forest Inventory
Field inventory old aspen stands on state forests to prioritize harvests and retain healthy stands for later regeneration.
$30,000
March 2006

Tower Interns
Partial funding for hiring student interns to work on a variety of projects including several that would benefit ruffed grouse habitat, including clover seeding log landings, mowing trails & openings, and brush shearing.
$2,500
August 31, 2005

Woodcock Habitat - Tower
Mow or shear 50 acres of upland brush or lowland- upland brush interface to provide for future nesting cover for woodcock
$6,250
March 2006

Tower RGMAs
Gates, signs and about 1.5 miles of new trail development on three new grouse units, Cilina, Glipi and McNiven.
$15,000
Spring 2007

Tower Trails
Partial funding of maintenance on 38 miles of timber access/hunter walking trail. Total Project cost $5,000. MDHA will match.
$2,500
Fall 2006

Itasca Trail Mowing
Partial funding of maintenance on 25 miles of timber access/hunter walking trail. Total Project cost $5,000. MDHA will match.
$2,500
September 2005

GPS/PDA
Purchase 10-15 handheld GPS/PDA units and supporting software to improve efficiency of mapping and monitoring the condition of forest openings.
$10,000
Anytime (purchase)

Canosia Trail
Create timber access/hunter walking trail by reshaping 1.5 miles of logging trail, dozing and seeding 3 log landings
$3,100
September 2006

I-Falls Gates
Construct and install gates on hunter walking trails on State Forest land at 10 sites to protect them from ATV damage
$4,865
September

2006

Loerch WMA Trail
Build .6 miles of new trail and 2 - 1/2 acre wildlife openings to provide hunter and logger access
$5,250
May 2006

Mower Lease
Partial Funding of brush mower to be used for brushland mowing, firebreak development and maintenance, WMA boundary maintenance and trails
$4000
December 2005

Dodge County WMAs
Treat European Buckthorn, regenerate decadent upland brush and regenerate old aspen inclusions on the Vorce, Naylor, Teapail and Schletty WMAs in Dodge County to provide habitat for woodcock and grouse.
$20,500
June 2007

Region 3 ASV Lease
Partial funding of brush mower lease to be used for brushland mowing, firebreak development and maintenance, WMA boundary maintenance and trails for two winters
$8,000
May 2007

Grouse and Woodcock Health
 
We are still interested in the role West Nile Virus may be playing in the grouse cycle.  Towards that end the US Geological Survey's National Wildlife health Research Lab in Madison, WI will be sending scientists to Grand Rapids to collect blood from recently harvested birds this October.  In addition, we are investigating the possibility of collecting grouse eggs next spring and rearing some captive birds to test the mortality rate of the virus on them.  Stay tuned...
 
Purina Habitat Partnership
Remember to save those weight seals from Purina Hi Pro or Pro Plan dog food bags. For each one turned into the RGS National Office, Purina will donate a penny per pound for RGS habitat projects. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will match this donation, doubling the amount for habitat. You can send the seals into the RGS National Office, 451 McCormick Road, Coraopolis PA 15108.

Forest Service Issues 
The Ruffed Grouse Society joined forces with 5 other conservation organizations and 3 Indian tribes to take the USDA Forest Service to task for ignoring hunters.  On August 11, RGS, Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, North American Bear Foundation, Minnesota Bear Guides Association, Woodcock Minnesota, Minnesota Trappers Association, Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa and the 1854 Authority (representing the Bois Forte and Grand Portage Band of Chippewa) met with representatives of the DNR and both the Chippewa and Superior National Forests.  The groups expressed frustration with the ban on cross country travel for trapping and big game retrieval; road closures and other access limitations; the reductions in aspen habitat and proper regeneration for game habitat; coordination with the DNR on game population management; difficulty in interpreting federal documents; and overall reduction in emphasis on game populations.  We feel that this is all occurring simultaneously with little acknowledgement of the negative impacts to the state's sport hunters and tribal members.  The DNR tends to agree with the groups on these topics.  We then presented the Forest Service with a list of problems and proposed solutions.  We will continue to work with them and see how things progress.  Stay tuned.......
 
The Forest Service announced at this meeting that the Appeal Deciding Officer had issued a verdict on the appeals of the 2004 Chippewa and Superior Forest Plans.  Associate Deputy Chief Frederick Norbury upheld Regional Forester Randy Moore's decisions on all counts (which means we lost our appeal).  The only recourse for the appellants now is to file lawsuits, as we are sure some will.  These decisions can be read at http://www.fs.fed.us/emc/applit/nhappdec.htm.  The Society's comments are #0011.
 
For the Birds:
 
RGS Biologists Rick Horton, Dan Dessecker and Gary Zimmer recently attended the Golden-Winged Warbler Workshop in Siren, WI.  Songbird experts from all disciplines and from around the world gathered to discuss the issues and solutions to increasing the population of this highly imperiled bird.  Golden-winged warblers, or GWWA, prefer habitats similar to ruffed grouse and woodcock - shrubby wetlands, old fields, power line rights-of-way, and especially young aspen clearcuts.  Minnesota is the heart of the breeding range, hosting 42% of the worlds breeding GWWA population and one of the last pure populations that have not been hybridized by the closely related blue-winged warbler.  The demise of logging has contributed to GWWA declines in the eastern US, but a thriving timber industry here has helped keep Minnesota a stronghold for them.  In fact, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has asked Minnesota to try to double it's GWWA population in the next ten years.  Unfortunately that will be very difficult given that the USDA Forest Service in Minnesota believes we need to reduce the amount of aspen and clearcutting, particularly on the Chippewa National Forest.