Minnesota Grouse News 2012 New grouse hunter Anthony Johnson with Ted Dick, Grouse Coordinator (and Jakeand Anthony s first grouse!) 2011 was the first full year of the partnership agreement between The Ruffed Grouse Society and the Minnesota DNR that created and funds the MNDNR Grouse Coordinator position. In that time, RGS and DNR have been working together on a variety of issues and projects with the common goal of improving grouse and woodcock hunting for Minnesota hunters. This newsletter will review some of the more significant events of the past 18 months and provide RGS members with ideas for ways that they can participate in keeping Minnesota Grouse Hunting the best in the country. Minnesota RGS 2011 items of note: DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr and top brass from Divisions of Forestry and Wildlife participated in a grouse hunt to commemorate the 50 th Anniversary of the Ruffed Grouse Society (the Commissioner, Wildlife Director, Forestry Director and Wildlife Section Chief each shot a grouse on the wing in a 90-minute hunt). The long-awaited Ruffed Grouse Long-range Management Plan is nearly finalized and should be complete this spring. This document will provide the blueprint for achieving the long-term vision of quality ruffed grouse hunting and strong participant numbers through the next 50 years. The 2011 Grouse Hunter Survey is a first of its kind effort by MNDNR and the University of Minnesota to gauge hunter satisfaction and identify areas of improvement. In general, overall hunter satisfaction was very high. More on this story later. 1
Habitat News and Projects Minnesota Grouse News 2012 Announcing the Upper Mississippi Habitat initiative Pettibone Rotary Hydro-ax in action in 2011 at Roseau River WMA in NW Minnesota RGS received a $73,000 grant for the Upper Mississippi Habitat Initiative to improve woodcock/grouse habitat in the Blackduck/Northwestern Itasca County area. Total value of the project should be about $110,000 including matching donations from RGS ($7500), The Wildlife Management Institute ($1000) and Woodcock MN ($250). This is a cooperative project with MNDNR and the Chippewa National Forest. We re hoping it will open the door to more cooperative projects and potentially more grouse habitat management on Minnesota s two National Forests. Most of the work will consist of alder shearing (hopefully about 330 acres). Conservation Partners Legacy Grants allow groups like RGS to accomplish large-scale habitat improvements through use of sales tax money from the Lessard-Sams constitutional amendment. We hope to use this first project as a demonstration for private and county land managers and would like to expand this work in the future. For those of you who hunt in the Blackduck/Pennington/NW Itasca/East Beltrami County areas, we are looking for additional sites for this work, please contact Ted if you know of some public land spots that could use some chopping and we will check them out. 2
2011 Drummer Funds- (last year s fund was about 20K) Roger Clark accepts an RGS Drummer Fund check to help with trail improvements at Alder Pond RGMU Alder Pond RGMA ($1200) RGS assisted Itasca County with some Hunter Walking Trail development and improvement at Alder Pond Ruffed Grouse Management Unit near Grand Rapids. This project was suggested by Adam Sutherland of Itasca County RGS and a photo run in the Grand Rapids paper resulted in some good public sentiment for RGS and the local chapter. Klondike Ruffed Grouse Management Area ($9000) RGS assisted local foresters and wildlife personnel in improvement and upgrades to a Pine County Ruffed Grouse Management Area-we improved a Minimum Maintenance road, added some parking facilities and a picnic area and plan on doing some aspen age-class diversification and possibly adding more trails-more to come. This project was brought to us by DNR Forestry and will benefit anyone who hunts Pine County including metro RGS members and Cambridge/Isanti and Duluth chapter members. Alm Property-Pomroy Pastures ($1200) We sheared some woodcock/grouse habitat on an acquisition in Kanabec County. This was requested by USFWS and DNR Private Lands biologists and the MN Sharp-tailed Grouse Society. This land is slated to become a WMA. Deep Portage ($2700) Alder harvest biomass project to improve grouse/woodcock habitat. This was suggested by members of the Deep Portage Chapter. Warroad ($1500) RGS is working in Roseau County to add a gate and some improvements to an area where we can do some focused woodcock/grouse management. This was suggested by DNR Wildlife at Red Lake WMA. We would like to expand this project in the near future. Aitkin ($3000) We are looking into the feasibility of helping in the support of a private lands biologist whose assignment would be to assist private landowners with projects using Federal funds for wildlife including grouse and woodcock. At least two of these projects came in under budget so we still have some money to spend from 2011 in addition to the 2012 Drummer Fund. I am looking for ideas/suggestions for 2012 Drummer projects, feel free to call me or send an email. 3
Habitat News and Projects (continued) Minnesota Grouse News 2012 Potential 2012 Drummer Fund Projects Township Road improvement at Shotley Ruffed grouse Management Unit in Beltrami County. Continue age-class diversification and trail work at Klondike Ruffed Grouse Management Unit in Pine County. Koochiching County habitat work Potential trail work in Lake and Cook Counties benefiting N. Shore and Ely Chapters-currently we have proposals to lengthen and loop some Hunter walking trails in the Virginia/Hibbing Areas. Lake of the Woods/Roseau County young forest habitat/trail work Working with Cambridge/Isanti DNR on some potential project ideas. Any ideas you have are welcome-it s your money! We are always looking for chapter input on Drummer Fund expenditures consider designating someone from your chapter to help prioritize habitat expenditures from the Drummer Fund and feel free to contact Ted with ideas. New Habitat Maker Update Mille Lacs WMA Manager Steve Piepgras and newly promoted Wildlife Habitat Program Manager Bob Welsh, thanking Dick and Judi Huempfner for their contribution to the new mowing/shearing/harvesting machine. The Cat mower purchase made possible in part by a generous donation from RGS members Dick and Judi Huempfner of the Isanti/Rum River Chapter is continuing to improve trails and habitat since its arrival in October. These machines are very expensive and require a lot to maintain and operate in 4
addition to the initial outlay. The Huempfners helped purchase this machine that the Central Region Wildlife staff had on their wish list for quite some time. The DNR contributes to the cause by furnishing the haul truck, trailer, operator, fuel and storage. So conservation groups help improve habitat and hunting and the DNR makes the money go further. This machine is owned by the DNR and will be stationed at the Mille Lacs WMA. It was ordered with a variety of attachments so it can handle a number of tasks including harvest/grinding small diameter timber and brush as well as firebreak construction and trail mowing. Contact Ted if you would like some photos or video to show to local RGS members or potential sponsors. If you have a trail or site on public land in the central region, contact Ted and we ll see what can be done to improve it. Thanks again to Dick and Judi Huempfner. (note-as some of you may know, Dick Huempfner published important research on how ruffed grouse feed in winter and particularly their use of aspen. The Huempfners were also founders and long-time operators of Advanced Telemetry Systems, (ATS) a world leader in development of electronic technology used in Wildlife research. I would like to interview the Huempfner s someday and see if they would share some of the stories from what must have been a fascinating life in wildlife research). RGS Member News Eagle Scout Builds Gun Racks for Mille Lacs WMA RGS gave boy scout Nathan Kinn money for an Eagle scout project to construct gun racks for parking lots at Mille Lacs WMA. These racks will dramatically improve hunter safety in these relatively hightraffic areas. It also provided Nathan s crew with a project that got them thinking about hunting traditions and safety. First Photo : Ted Dick, Nathan Kinn, and Mille Lacs Manager Steve Piepgras Second Photo: Gun Rack building crew-thank you! 5
RGS Member Works 2nd year as Technician on MNDNR Spruce Grouse Research Project I met Alex Fish and his dad at a presentation I gave to the Twin Cities RGS chapter last winter. Alex is a recent college grad who said he was interested in a career in some type of wildlife mgmt. I kept his name in mind and when a temporary field position was posted I let him know. He got the job assisting on a spruce grouse field research project on the Beltrami Island State Forest south of Warroad and Baudette. Although field projects can be difficult at times, they are a good way to get a taste of field work to see if it s something that really interests you. He must have enjoyed it because I heard he is coming back this spring to do it again. I hope to track him down and see if he ll write a little summary of his experiences so in 20 years we can say we knew Alex back when he was just starting out.. If you know of college students interested in Wildlife or Forestry that are looking for internships, have them give me a call and maybe we can point them toward something. Legislative/Policy Issues One of the most effective ways grouse hunters and RGS members can have an impact on the future of their favorite sport is by taking the time to contact administrators and officials and expressing their opinions-you would be surprised how few people take the time to call or email someone when it s time for decisions to be made. This year, I ve heard from many people asking what they can do or who they can call regarding a number of issues including: Legislation concerning trapping and making it safer for dogs (an email concerning this topic was sent by RGS in late winter). DNR License Fee Proposal RGS did sign the letter of support from 60 conservation groups. (for more information on what grouse hunters get for their small game license dollar, see the recent RGS email blast or contact Ted Dick). Input on Forest Management and Trail Management. (Part of my job is to comment on ways to improve timber plans or trail plans for grouse hunters. This winter I wrote comments on National Forests timber plans in the Marcell and Deer River Areas in addition to state and county management plans. I can tell you from experience that a couple emails from hunters really get the attention of planners. In March, DNR Wildlife staff in Pine County had proposals to add at least 15 Hunter Walking Trails and 60 square miles of Areas of Limitation (restrictions on motorized access). They told me they received a number of letters from RGS members and other grouse hunters. If every chapter made it a policy to keep track of these public comment opportunities, I think you would find it more likely that you get the type of hunting you desire. It only takes a sentence or two sent to the right people at the right time). Research Grouse Research Biologist Dr. Mike Larson continues to work on a variety of research projects. This winter, he and graduate student Meadow Koufeld along with Dr. Rocky Guitierrez completed a study on 6
the Red Lake WMA that is contributing data in a practical sense to our forest management and the effects of timber sale design on ruffed grouse. Does Your Chapter Want to do More? For many of the Minnesota RGS chapter committees, holding a banquet once a year is more than enough work (and those of us who receive support from those banquet proceeds appreciate the effort). But sometimes chapters ask if they can do more to help their members and their local communities. As I ve mentioned at various banquets, I am more than willing to come and meet with your chapter any time. It s up to you, if you have people who want to do more, let me know. Mentoring new grouse hunters One easy thing to do is to host some new hunters on a mentored hunt. I had never done this before this past fall and I ended up taking nine new people out -- we had a great time. Below is a thank you note I got from Anthony Johnson s dad (Anthony s picture is on the front of this newsletter-his thank you letter appears on page 8 of the spring issue of RGS magazine). Keeping hunting traditions strong is important. The key to maintaining good grouse habitat is to have strong numbers of hunters; planners, politicians and land managers respond to public comment especially when it comes from a large group. I ll be looking for volunteers so ask around your chapter-it only takes a day and DNR handles everything except the actual hunting. We ll set it up so you can pick the day and we ll send the hunter to you so if you live in Bemidji, they will come and meet you at a location of your choosing. When you take your new hunter out, get some good pictures for the local paper, this PR goes a long way the next time you go to a gun shop and ask for a banquet donation. Ted, I know Anthony sent you an e-mail a couple days ago, but I wanted to say thank you as well as a parent. Not growing up in a bird rich area of the country, bird hunting has been a mystery that Anthony and I have been unraveling over the past few years. The mentored youth hunt is an outstanding program that has given us the opportunity to learn about grouse hunting together and hopefully instill a love of hunting in Anthony that I learned from my father years ago while hunting rabbits and squirrels. We had an outstanding day, and Anthony got a great hunting adventure to keep in his memory and share with his family and friends. Jake did a great job finding us birds and having so many flushes our first time out was a great motivator we are hooked! (In addition to Anthony s record distance shot!) Thank you specifically for sharing your time, grouse (and hunting dog) expertise, and overall passion for the outdoors. We hope to get a few more birds in the next few weeks and make a dinner of them and the wild rice you gave us. Thanks again! Sincerely, Mark Johnson, Moorhead, MN 7
Help Wanted with Hunter Walking Trail Maintenance We ve had discussions with the Chippewa National Forest about helping with their hunter walking trailsthey are requesting assistance because they no longer have a recreation budget so trails don t get cleared or mowed. I would be willing to volunteer with the Feds to work side-by-side clearing trails (hopefully some chapter volunteers would join me). We want to try this near Blackduck, Bemidji, Marcell and Deer River. This type of interaction goes a long way in the Public Relations department if you put a photo in the paper and it also builds cooperation with the Forest Service managers. I ve also been contacted by administrators on the Superior National Forest to assist in some timber projects there that will benefit Ruffed Grouse and woodcock in the Northeast. I would like just a volunteer or two (commitment of only one day/person from the Blackduck/Bemidji chapters. Grand Rapids RGS chapter has already volunteered a mower and RGS will provide some funds for the machine fuel and haulingthank you RGS. Thank you and keep in touch Thank you for your support of grouse in Minnesota. Be watching in the future for more news concerning other projects we ve been working on to promote RGS and maintain/improve grouse habitat and hunting traditions. And if there is anything I can help with, let me know, that s what I m here for. Ted Dick Grouse Coordinator, Grand Rapids, MN 218 327-4438 ted.dick@state.mn.us (email me for an electronic version of this newsletter so you can send it to RGS members or potential members who couldn t make it to the banquet) 8