July 6, 2007 - TOP STORIES
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Amended regs proposed for Upper Miss
DNR taking applications for special youth hunts
Bald Eagle soars off Endangered Species List
Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener to be held near Hibbing
Amended regs proposed for Upper Miss
Comments on the proposed rule must be received by July 30, 2007
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on June 28 announced a proposed rule in the Federal Register to implement hunting- and fishing-related actions in the approved Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.
A 30-day public comment period on the new regulations began June 28. Comments must be received by July 30, 2007. The new rules are scheduled to take effect for the 2007-2008 hunting season.
Refuge Manager Don Hultman said the biggest change in the new rules is a modification of the system of Waterfowl Hunting Closed Areas that has been in effect since 1958 on the 240,000-acre, 261-mile-long refuge on the Mississippi River floodplain in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois.
Hultman said the closed areas will provide strategic resting and feeding areas for waterfowl during their migration along the Mississippi Flyway, and also enhance hunting opportunities by ensuring that ducks and geese remain on the refuge longer.
“The closed areas are like stepping stones for the birds as they make their way south,” said Hultman. “The new system takes into account decades of survey work that has shown an unequal distribution of waterfowl in the 12 river pools. Having all the ducks in a few pools is not ideal for the birds, nor ideal for waterfowl hunters.”
The new closed areas also include a provision asking the public to voluntarily avoid the areas from October 15 through the end of the duck season to help minimize disturbance to waterfowl. Small closed areas, those less than 1,000 acres, will also have a restriction on motor use during the same period.
When all changes in the CCP are implemented in 2009, Hultman said the refuge will have 24 closed areas totaling 43,683 acres, compared with the current 15 areas totaling 44,544 acres. Another 1,406 acres of the Wisconsin River Delta in Pool 10 will be open the first 30 days of the waterfowl hunting season, closing November 1.
Proposed changes to the closed areas in Pool 4 outlined in the CCP will not take effect until the 2009-10 season pending completion of additional monitoring.
In addition, 4,000 acres of river Pool 11 in Grant County, WI, will remain open to waterfowl hunting, but hunters will no longer be allowed to hunt from boats or skiffs in open water. The change will lessen disturbance to large concentrations, or rafts, of scaup and canvasback ducks that stage in the area.
“This portion of Pool 11 in recent years had a peak population of nearly 50,000 scaup and 17 percent of the scaup use-days for the entire refuge, and 15,000 canvasback ducks,” Hultman said.
The proposed rule also phases out the use of permanent waterfowl hunting blinds or structures in the parts of the refuge where they are still allowed. Permanent blinds will no longer be allowed in Pool 12 beginning with the 2007-2008 waterfowl hunting season; Pool 14 after the 2007-2008 season; and Pool 13 after the 2008-2009 season.
Hultman said the proposed rule also fine-tunes language in current refuge regulations for clarity and ease of enforcement, and includes other modest changes to modernize regulations and make them consistent with sound fish and wildlife management.
Changes include a requirement for nontoxic shot for turkey hunting, and clarifying existing rules for temporary blinds, use of dogs, hunting equipment, camping, campfires, and vehicle use.
Refuge fishing regulations remain virtually unchanged except to reference restrictions or voluntary avoidance in closed areas during the waterfowl season.
The refuge CCP was approved in October 2006 following four years of effort, including 46 public meetings or workshops attended by 4,500 people. Another proposed rule on general recreation CCP actions, such as electric motor only areas, will be prepared in the coming months. These new rules will also be released for public comment and implemented sometime in 2008.
The entire proposed rule, along with fact sheets and links to maps and the CCP, is available at
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/UpperMississippiRiver/ or you may call (507) 452-4232 and request a copy.
Comments on the proposed rule must be received by July 30, 2007, and can be made via e-mail to: uppermississippiriver@fws.gov Please include “Attn: Hunting/Fishing Regs” and your full name and mailing address in your e-mail message.
Comments may also be sent by mail to: Refuge Manager, Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, 51 East Fourth Street, Room 101, Winona, MN, 55987.
Upswing in grouse counts
Grouse population continues to grow
DNR News
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) spring ruffed grouse drumming count survey shows a 30 percent increase over last year and the highest level in seven years, confirming the population continues to grow. Populations of ruffed grouse, one of the state’s most popular game birds, rise and fall on a 10-year cycle. Counts had been at the low end of the cycle for four years before increasing slightly last year.
“It’s encouraging to see ruffed grouse populations increasing again,” said Dennis Simon, DNR Wildlife Section chief. “This is an important bird for Minnesota hunters as well as those who travel to our state to experience some of the best ruffed grouse hunting in the nation.”
Drumming counts went up 40 percent in the northeast survey region, the core of grouse range in Minnesota, to 1.5 drums per stop. Grouse populations along the periphery were similar to last year with 0.9 drums per stop in the northwest, 0.8 drums per stop in the southwest and 0.5 drums per stop in the southeast.
“Much of the periphery is a transition from forests to more open landscapes, and the tree species are often different from those in the northeast,” said Mike Larson, DNR wildlife research biologist. “Those are two reasons that surveys in the periphery result in lower counts that vary less from year-to-year.”
Ruffed grouse populations are surveyed by counting the number of male ruffed grouse heard drumming on established routes throughout the state’s ruffed grouse range. Throughout the year, but primarily during mating season, a male ruffed grouse stands on a downed “drumming log” and beat its wings in five- to eight-second intervals. The drumming, which sounds like a muffled lawnmower, is meant to attract female grouse and warn other males away. This year, observers recorded 1.3 drums per stop statewide. Last year’s average was one drum per stop. Counts vary from about 0.8 drums per stop during years of low grouse abundance to about 1.9 during years of high abundance.
Minnesota is frequently 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 number one bird in the bag. During peak years, such as 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 harvest.
One reason for the state’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. Private lands, including large industrial forests, historically have provided good grouse habitat and hunter access. As these large industrial landowners consider breaking up their holdings and selling small parcels to private individuals, public access and grouse habitat are likely to be affected. DNR is working strategically with its partners and large private landowners to secure large-scale, long-term conservation easements that would preclude development, preserve access and provide wildlife benefits. According to the DNR’s ruffed grouse management plan, 11.5 million of the state’s 16.3 million acres of forest are grouse habitat.
DNR officials are taking steps to prevent a decline in grouse populations. In 2004, the DNR established a goal of increasing the annual ruffed grouse harvest to 650,000 birds. To accomplish that goal, wildlife managers will continue to work closely with forest managers to find ways for timber harvest to benefit grouse habitat, according to Steve Merchant, DNR wildlife programs manager.
“You can improve grouse habitat by managing for the right mix of aspen age classes and the position of aspen stands in relation to stands of other tree types,” Merchant said. Spruce and other conifers, for example, can provide important thermal cover for grouse in winter.
Starting in 2006, the DNR changed the boundaries by which drumming count results are reported. Drumming routes in the northeast, where the 10-year grouse population cycle is most evident, are now reported as a single group. Grouse populations along the periphery of the range – the northwest, southwest and southeast – do not cycle as dramatically.
For the past 57 years, DNR biologists have monitored ruffed grouse populations. This year, DNR staff and cooperators from 15 organizations surveyed 131 routes across the state.
SHARP-TAILED GROUSE AND PRAIRIE CHICKENS INCREASE
Sharp-tailed grouse counts in both the northwest and east-central survey regions increased between 2006 and 2007, Larson said. Observers look for male sharptails displaying on traditional mating areas, called leks or dancing grounds. This year’s statewide mean of 11.7 grouse counted per dancing ground was as high as during any year since 1980 and well above last year’s average of 9.2. During the last 25 years, the sharp-tailed grouse index has been as low as seven birds counted per dancing ground.
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 keeps trees from overtaking the open brush lands that sharp-tailed grouse need to thrive.
Counts of prairie chickens at their leks, or booming grounds, in western Minnesota were about 45 percent higher this year than they were in 2006. In survey blocks representing relatively good prairie chicken habitat observers counted 14.5 males per booming ground and one booming ground per 2.4 square miles. The population recently has been greater than during the 1980s and 1990s.
The DNR’s grouse survey report, which contains information on all three species is available online at www.dnr.state.mn.us.
DNR taking applications for special youth hunts
Four state parks, two military reservations, two refuges and a nature preserve will provide high quality deer hunting opportunities for 475 young hunters this fall. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is offering ten special youth deer hunts in 2007, at locations with high deer populations that need to be trimmed.
Applications for the special youth deer hunts will be accepted beginning July 1 at any DNR Electronic License System (ELS) vendor, or at the DNR License Center. The deadline for applications is Friday, Aug. 17. Successful applicants will be notified in early September.
There is no fee to apply, although successful applicants will have to purchase the appropriate deer-hunting license prior to their hunt. The youth individual firearms and youth individual archery license costs $14, and are available to residents age 12 to 17.
There will be four archery and six firearms special youth hunts in October. Eligible youth may apply for one archery hunt and one firearms hunt. Youth age 12 to 15 are eligible for the firearms hunts, and youth age 12 to 17 are eligible for the archery hunts. Youth who applied unsuccessfully in the past will have preference. There is a mandatory orientation session for each hunt, and hunters must be accompanied by a parent, guardian, or an adult authorized by the parent. All youth hunters must possess a valid Firearms Safety Certificate.
Camp Ripley and The Nature Conservancy will host archery hunts in Morrison County on Oct. 5 -7. The Arden Hills Army Training Site will host two bowhunts over the Education Minnesota school break, Oct. 18-19, and Oct. 20-21. The Minnesota State Archery Association and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association help sponsor the hunts.
The Whitewater Wildlife Management Area refuge will allow youth gun hunters over the entire Education Minnesota school break, while Rydell National Wildlife Refuge, Lake Bemidji State Park and Buffalo River State Park will be open Oct. 20-21. Savanna Portage State Park and St. Croix State Park will welcome youth hunters on Oct. 27-28. The Bluffland Whitetails Association and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association sponsor the hunts.
All of the hunts have a bag limit of one deer of either sex, with the exception of Lake Bemidji State Park, which has a bag limit of five antlerless deer. There is no party hunting, so individual youth must tag their own deer, however they may purchase and use bonus permits for antlerless deer. Deer harvested during the special youth hunt count against the yearly state bag limit of five deer.
More information about the special youth deer hunts is available on the hunter recruitment page of the DNR Web site, www.dnr.state.mn.us.
Bald Eagle soars off Endangered Species List
USFWS Reports
WASHINGTON, D.C – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne on June 28 announced the removal of the bald eagle for the list of threatened and endangered species at a ceremony at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. After nearly disappearing from most of the United States decades ago, the bald eagle is now flourishing across the nation and no longer needs the protection of the Endangered Species Act.
“Today I am proud to announce: the eagle has returned,” said Secretary Kempthorne. “In 1963, the lower 48 states were home to barely 400 nesting pairs of bald eagles. Today, after decades of conservation effort, they are home to some 10,000 nesting pairs, a 25-fold increase in the last 40 years. Based on its dramatic recovery, it is my honor to announce the Department of the Interior’s decision to remove the American Bald Eagle from the Endangered Species List.”
In the Midwest, eagle numbers are among the highest in the continental United States, with Minnesota leading the lower 48 states with 1,312 breeding pairs. Wisconsin’s population is the nation’s third largest outside Alaska, with 1,065 pairs.
The removal of the bald eagle from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants will become effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. Upon delisting, the Service will continue to work with state wildlife agencies to monitor eagles for at least five years, as required by the Endangered Species Act. If at any time it appears that the bald eagle again needs the Act’s protection, the Service can propose to relist the species. .
The Service is making the draft post-delisting monitoring plan available and is soliciting public comment for 90 days. Comments on the monitoring plan must be received 90 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Comments may be sent by mail to
Bald Eagle Post-Delisting
Monitoring Plan Comments
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Rock Island Field Office
1511 47th Avenue
Moline, Illinois 61265
Comments may also be transmitted electronically to baldeaglePDM@fws.gov or by following the instructions at the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov
More information about the bald eagle and the post-delisting monitoring plan is available on the Service’s bald eagle website at http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/baldeagle.htm
Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener to be held near Hibbing
ST. PAUL (AP) – Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Tuesday, June 26 the fifth annual Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener will be held in the Hibbing area on Saturday, Nov. 3.
Pawlenty said northeastern Minnesota and the Hibbing area are “home to some of the finest deer hunting in the state.”
Pawlenty started the Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener in 2003 as a way to showcase Minnesota’s deer-hunting heritage and the economic benefits.
The first four Governor’s Deer Hunting Openers were held in the Brainerd Lakes area, the Grand Rapids area, the Perham area and the Rochester area.
According to the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Minnesota’s 475,000 deer hunters spend $240 million in retail sales every year and create nearly 5,000 jobs in rural Minnesota.
© 2007 Outdoors Weekly Corporation