Monitoring of forest game in Finland. Pekka Helle Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) Oulu

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1 Monitoring of forest game in Finland Pekka Helle Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) Oulu

2 Monitoring needed for sustainable hunting National and international legislation Careful planning of bag - sustainability Monitoring of populations and bag Maximum sustainable yield Optimum sustainable yield Prudence principle Duty of Natural Resources Institute Finland orders set by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

3 Number of species hunted in Finland (53) Waterfowl 17 Waders 1 Grouse etc. 7 Doves 1 Small & medium-size mammals 15 Baltic seals 2 Large predators 3 Moose and others artiodactyla 7 Hunting Act Nature Conservation Act

4 Ministry of agriculture & forestry EU Natural Resources Institute Finland Hunters Finnish Wildlife Agency

5 Monitoring methods include: line transect counts (ground, aerial), territory mapping, study plot method, voice counts, pellet counts, nest counts, colony counts, DNA-sampling (non-invasive method for some species), capture-recapture method, radio/satellite telemetry, etc. Statistical principles/tools - total counts seldom possible - random sampling if possible - stratified sampling (random/systematic, e.g. program DISTANCE for line transect data), TRIM (Trends and indices in monitoring data) - Bayes-based methods coming The very problem: - Voluntary people do the dirty work! - They cannot be forced too much! Repeatability! Errors of the estimate should be known!

6 Value of voluntary work done by hunters and birdwatchers in game monitoring programs estimated in 2008 based on an questionnaire: - Large predator observer network 40 person work years - moose (observation cards) 28 pwy - wildlife triangle counts 20 pwy - counts of waterfowl and species of agricultural land less work intensive Value of work about annually Voluntary helpers also drive about km per year without compensation!

7 Game sustainable hunting Monitoring of: Moose Wild forest reindeer Baltic seals Large predators Field game Waterfowl Some individual species (e.g. beaver) Forest mammals WILDLIFE TRIANGLE Grouse SCHEME ca 35 species

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9 Basic source of information: observations done by hunting clubs (about 5000) also electronical possibility Wintering population (after hunting) about yksilöä Population model: moose observations, sex ratio, % of calves, a bayesian method Inds per ha

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11 Two sub-populations - aerial counts with helicopter

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13 Observations collected by the network of trained voluntary persons (about 1 800) TASSU system (on internet) About observations annually Data on females with cubs most valuable Other sources of information: - satellite tracking - fieldwok by Luke personel Brown bear

14 Lynx

15 Wolverine

16 Wolf

17 Grey seal Halichoerus grypus Population size in Finland (green) and in the Baltic (blue) (aerial count in late spring when seals are gathered on small islets) Ringed seal Pusa hispida Population size in the Bothian Bay (aerial line transect during ice time, Finnish-Swedish co-operation)

18 Waterfowl monitoring 1986 Mallard Teal Wigeon Goldeneye Shoveler Garganey Tufted duck Pochard Goosander Red-breasted merganser Coot Joined project by Luke (hunters) and Luomus (ornithologists) About 400 permanent count points

19 FOREST GAME: WILDLIFE TRIANGLE SCHEME = 12 km As randomly as possible in forested areas Helle, Ikonen & Kantola 2016: Wildlife monitoring in Finland: online information for game administration, hunters, and the wider public. Canadian Journal of Forest Research

20 1989 WILDLIFE TRIANGLE SCHEME Transect lines permanent, randonly located on forested land, total Grouse, line transect counts as earlier (grouse counts during ) New: snow track counts of mammals on the same lines About 1000 lines studied annually (= km per each summer and winter count) Voluntary hunters do the field work! About persons annually!

21 Late-summer census (July-August) 3-man line transect: main belt 60 m in breadth August prime time for counting grouse, broods still together Census efficiency high, 80% on average

22 Winter count in January-March Usually by skiing Main target: mammal tracks crossing the line Standardization: pre-check of the line or count done after a good snow-fall

23 Wildlife triangle counts

24 Black grouse Hazel grouse Rock ptarmigan Willow grouse Capercaillie

25 Species covered in winter: Mountain hare European hare Red squirrel Thank Flying you squirrel Beaver Muskrat Wolf Red fox Arctic fox Raccoon dog Brown bear Stoat Weasel American mink Polecat Pine marten Wolverine Badger Otter Lynx Wild boar White-tailed deer Moose Wild forest reindeer Roe deer Capercaillie Black grouse Hazel grouse Willow grouse Partridge Pheasant Goshawk Raven

26 Parameters August count: Grouse density of individuals density of adults density of juveniles brood size hen with or without brood (capercaillie, black grouse) adult sex ratio in Cc and Bg Winter count: Track density number of crossings per 24 h per 10 km

27 Track density no. of crossings / 10 km / 24 h -a relative measure of abundance Converting track density to population density ind./km 2 = 1.57 x (s / (m * d)) s = no. of crossings m = transect length d = average distance covered in 24 h (Priklonski et al.)

28 Painotuskerroin 1,0 0,8 0,6 0,4 0, km r L L r 50 km

29 Earlier times: transfer of information by mail (forms and maps on paper slow and expensive) From 2014 Data input and reports via internet (about 75 % of all) Registrated field-workers and administration a lot of options for retrieving and processing the data Public site open for everyone reports by areas and species

30 Pine marten in 2016 Track density increase decrease

31 Capercaillie in 2016 density change

32 Capercaillie Black grouse Hazel grouse

33 Capercaillie

34 Linear trends , winter count data Roe deer Wolf Wild forest reindeer Wolverine Lynx European hare White-tailed deer Otter Moose Pine marten Red fox Red squirrel Least weasel Mountain hare Stoat

35 Wildlife triangles: playing with large numbers During , about counts performed ( in late-summer, in winter) Total length covered more than km working hours done, roughly 420 person-years! It is voluntary work! About grouse individuals observed Exact observation sites, extremely valuable data for studies of distribution, landscape and habitat selection with GIS tools about locations in every winter census about in late-summer census

36 Use of data: For hunting administration hunting regulations sustainability For planning etc. (environmental impact assessments) For research data used - about 60 scientific articles - in10 doctoral and 25 graduate theses - in about 150 popular articles

37 Grouse Nation-wide monitoring started in 1964 The time series is internationally unique Caper Black Hazel Willow

38 on-line information to game administration, hunters and wider public Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)

39 Input of data registrated, trained persons ID#, background information ID#

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41 Own census

42 Visible for everyone

43 The timeliest grouse hunting regulation in the world Wildlife triangle counts Results compiled by Luke Evaluations of results by Wildlife Agency, ministry (MMM) and Luke Recommendations of hunting times by Wildlife Agency to the ministry Concept of allowable hunting times by the ministry to be commented Hunting regulation laid by ministry Hunting season begins

44 To conclude: The monitoring instrument works nicely Everybody is happy: game administration hunters outdoor people ordinary citizens The biggest challence is how to keep the voluntary people motivated. Thank you for your interest! riistakolmiot.fi