2012 - Thief River Falls Times & Northern Watch

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Page 8 NORTHERN WATCH Saturday, August 11, 2012
Minnesota’s ruffed grouse
spring drumming counts were
lower than last year across most
of the bird’s range, according to
a survey conducted by the
Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources.
Compared with drumming
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Ruffed grouse counts decline in Minnesota
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counts conducted in 2011, 2012
survey results showed an average
decline of 24 to 60 percent,
to 1.1 drums per stop, in the
northeast survey region, which
is the core and bulk of grouse
range in Minnesota. Drumming
counts in the northwest
declined 33 to 73 percent to 0.9
drums per stop. Drumming
counts did not change significantly
in the central hardwoods
or southeast, which had averages
of 0.6 and 0.7 drums per
stop, respectively.
“The grouse population is in
the declining phase of its 10-
year cycle,” said Mike Larson,
DNR wildlife research group
leader and grouse biologist.
“The most recent peak in drum
counts was during 2009, but
hunter harvests remained relatively
high through at least
2010.”
Ruffed grouse populations,
which tend to rise and fall on a
10-year cycle, are surveyed by
counting the number of male
ruffed grouse heard drumming
on established routes throughout
the state’s forested regions.
This year observers recorded 1.0
drums per stop statewide. The
averages during 2010 and 2011
were 1.5 and 1.7 drums per stop,
respectively. Counts vary from
about 0.8 drums per stop during
years of low grouse abundance
to about 1.9 during years of high
abundance.
Drumming counts are an
indicator of the ruffed grouse
breeding population. The number
of birds present during the
fall hunting season also depends
upon nesting success and chick
survival during the spring and
summer.
Minnesota frequently is the
nation’s top ruffed grouse producer.
On average, 115,000
hunters harvest 545,000 ruffed
grouse in Minnesota each year,
also making it the state's most
popular game bird. During the
peak years of 1971 and 1989,
hunters harvested more than 1
million ruffed grouse. Michigan
and Wisconsin, which frequently
field more hunters than
Minnesota, round out the top
three states in ruffed grouse
Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources first conservation
officer academy since
2008 graduated eight officers
during a June 19 ceremony at
Camp Ripley.
The 12-week academy graduates
fill eight of 25 vacant conservation
officer field stations.
The DNR’s Enforcement
Division includes 155 field stations.
"When our recruits finish our
academy, we know that they
have received the best training
available anywhere," said Col.
Jim Konrad, DNR Enforcement
Division director. "We pride ourselves
on selecting the best people
available and giving them
the best training in order to provide
the highest quality service
possible to the people of
Minnesota who depend on us for
natural resources protection."
Training sessions at the academy
included confiscations and
forfeitures; warrants and exceptions;
emergency vehicle operation;
self-defense; watercraft
laws; recreational vehicle safety
and regulations; game identification
and enforcement; hazardous
materials; crime scene
management; evidence collection;
and aquatic invasive
species identification.
Each of the graduating officers
was chosen from more than
800 applicants who underwent a
rigorous written practical examination
to qualify for the academy,
as well as a division interview,
pre-work screening (functional
capacity exam), a psychological
profile and a background
check.
The new officers will now
spend the next 16 weeks field
training with experienced conservation
officers to gain on-thejob
training for natural
resources management and law
enforcement-related activities
harvest.
One reason for Minnesota’s
status as a top grouse producer
is an abundance of aspen and
other ruffed grouse habitat,
much of it located on county,
state and national forests,
where public hunting is allowed.
An estimated 11.5 million of the
state's 16.3 million acres of forest
are grouse habitat.
For the past 63 years, DNR
biologists have monitored ruffed
grouse populations. This year,
DNR staff and cooperators from
15 organizations surveyed 126
routes across the state.
Sharp-tailed grouse
Sharp-tailed grouse counts in
the northwest survey region
decreased approximately 18
percent between 2011 and 2012,
Larson said. Counts in the eastcentral
region declined approximately
33 percent.
Observers look for male
sharptails displaying on traditional
mating areas, called leks
or dancing grounds. Despite
three years of declines, this
year’s statewide average of 9.2
grouse counted per dancing
ground was similar to the longterm
average since 1980. The
2009 average of 13.6 was as
high as during any year since
1980. During the last 25 years,
the sharp-tailed grouse index
has been as low as seven birds
counted per dancing ground.
Overall, sharptail populations
appear to have declined
over the long term as a result of
habitat deterioration. In recent
years, the DNR has increased
prescribed burning and shearing
that keep trees from overtaking
the open brush lands
that sharp-tailed grouse need to
thrive.
Long-Term Plan
A long-range ruffed grouse
habitat and population management
plan is now available on
the Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources website at
www.mndnr.gov/grouse.
“The plan reinforces the
state’s commitment to ensure
the viability of ruffed grouse
and their forest habitat, manage
grouse as an integral part of
Minnesota’s forested landscapes,
and encourage and promote
hunting and observation of
ruffed grouse in their natural
habitat," said Bob Welsh, DNR
wildlife habitat program manager.
An average annual harvest of
more than 500,000 birds over
the past 25 years places
Minnesota as one of the nation’s
top three ruffed grouse states.
Grouse hunter numbers have
traditionally followed cyclic
changes in drumming survey
indices, but when drumming
surveys trended upward recently,
hunter numbers did not follow
as they had in the past. The
plan includes strategies to
reverse that trend by offering
improved habitat and access, as
well as programs to help new
hunters.
The DNR’s ruffed grouse
management plan was approved
earlier this year after public
comments on the draft plan
were reviewed and considered.
“Now that the plan has been
approved, we can continue to
implement and accelerate our
strategies to maintain great
hunting opportunities,” said Ted
Dick, DNR grouse coordinator.
“Those strategies include
improved access to hunting
land, better information for
hunters and education for new
hunters, and focused input to
the timber planning process
that will ensure that grouse
habitat needs are well-presented
and considered in all forest
planning processes.”
Minnesota leads the nation in
aspen-birch forest type, the preferred
habitat of ruffed grouse,
and offers more than 11 million
acres of federal, state and county
land open to public hunting.
Persons interested in learning
more about grouse, hunting
opportunities and available
online tools are encouraged to
visit the DNR website at
www.mndnr.gov/grouse. More
information, including podcasts,
more detailed mapping and
hunter education class
announcements will be posted
there as they are developed.
DNR pins badges on eight new conservation officers
before receiving their initial
field station assignment.
Becoming a conservation officer
has been a long-time goal for
former Anoka County Sheriff’s
Department Deputy Amber
Peterson.
“I’m getting the opportunity
to combine my two passions: law
enforcement and the outdoors,”
said Peterson.
“I’m really excited to get out
there and be the face of the
Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources,” said Mitch
Lawler, a former deputy with
the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s
Department.
Another academy is scheduled
to get underway this fall.
These newest conservation
officers are Amber Peterson,
Scott Arntzen, Jason
Beckmann, Anthony Bermel,
Napoleon Genereux, Mitchell
Lawler, Jennifer Mueller and
Shawn Wichmann.
Waterfowl hunters and harvest increase
Minnesota hunters bagged
more ducks and Canada geese
in 2011 than in 2010, and more
waterfowl hunters took to the
field, too, reversing a downward
trend, according to the
Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources.
"The results are in and the
numbers moved in a good direction,"
said Dennis Simon, DNR
Wildlife Section chief. "Duck
hunter numbers and success
were up, resulting in an
increased harvest from 2010."
Simon said new data from the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
also showed that Minnesota
ranked first in the nation in
Canada goose harvest and second
in the number of active
waterfowl hunters.
"The takeaway from last
year's season is that more
waterfowl hunters were in the
field and those who went hunting
had better success, which is
a good thing and something
hunters have longed for," said
Simon. "It means that the harvest
was up as well, but total
duck harvest was still well within
our long-term historic averages."
The total duck harvest in
Minnesota increased 19 percent
from 2010, from 524,000 ducks
in 2010 to 621,000 ducks in
2011. The recent 10-year average
harvest is 655,000 ducks.
Mallards were the most common
duck in hunters' bags, with
181,000 mallards harvested.
Mallards represented 29 percent
of the total duck bag. The
recent 10-year average mallard
harvest is 206,000 mallards.
Wood ducks were the second
most common duck in hunters'
bags, with 151,000 harvested in
2011 compared to 78,000 in
2010. The recent 10-year average
wood duck harvest is
102,000 birds. Blue-winged teal
harvest was 90,000, ring-necked
duck harvest was 63,000, and
green-winged teal harvest was
37,000.
Duck hunter success was 8.1
ducks per hunter per season,
which increased from 7.5 ducks
per hunter per season in 2010
and near the 10-year average of
8.4 ducks per hunter per season.
Steve Cordts, DNR waterfowl
specialist, said the agency made
a number of regulation changes
in 2011 that collectively played
a role in last year's higher harvest.
"We created additional
opportunity by establishing
North and South Duck zones
and opening the season one
week earlier than normal. Hen
mallard and wood duck bag limits
were changed. Shooting
hours were changed to one-half
hour before sunrise on opening
day," said Cordts. "Breeding
duck numbers and duck production
were also very good in 2010,
which resulted in large numbers
of ducks present during fall
hunting seasons."
Cordts said opening the season
earlier likely had the most
impact on increases to duck harvest,
particularly with the large
increase in harvest for early
migrant species like bluewinged
teal and wood ducks.
Canada goose harvest
increased from 189,000 in 2010
to 239,000 in 2010 and was
above the 10-year average of
220,000 Canada geese. About
100,000 Canada geese were harvested
during the early
September goose season.
The number of active duck
hunters in Minnesota was
77,000 in 2011, an increase from
70,000 in 2010. Minnesota
ranked second nationally in
2011 in numbers of active duck
hunters, trailing only
Louisiana. "While encouraging,
this is still lower than the
100,000 active duck hunters in
Minnesota as recently as 1999,"
said Cordts.
Estimates of hunting activity
and harvest are derived using
the Harvest Information
Program (HIP), required for all
migratory bird hunters. A series
of screening questions are asked
of hunters when they purchase
a license. The screening questions
are not the harvest survey
but help to better identify
migratory bird hunters, who are
then randomly selected and
mailed harvest surveys and
asked to record hunting activity
and harvest during the season.
Alme named to
dean’s list at
Northwestern
College
Anna Alme, daughter of
Randy and Leslie Alme of
Greenbush, was named with
high honors to the spring semester
dean's list at Northwestern
College in St. Paul. The dean's
list includes full-time students
with a grade point average
(GPA) during the semester of
3.65 (out of 4.0) or higher. Anna
is pursuing a degree in elementary
education and ESL education
at Northwestern.