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Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Understanding Grouse Habitat in Michigan
Ruffed Grouse Conservation Plan Executive Report
"Ruffed grouse populations generally have declined since 1980 throughout much of the eastern United States where their popularity as a game species is greatest."
"Ruffed grouse populations exhibit a 10-year cycle throughout the northern portion of the bird’s range. Local populations will increase for 4 to 5 years, eventually becoming quite numerous. The population peak will then be followed by 4 to 5 years of steady decline until the birds become relatively scarce. Then, the cycle begins again. Populations south of the northern tier of the United States exist at relatively low population densities and do not consistently exhibit detectable 10-year population cycles."
"Aspen forests can support many more ruffed grouse than other types of forest. Young aspen forests provide excellent year-round habitat for ruffed grouse, especially since the flower bud found on mature male aspen trees is an important source of winter food. Indeed, the aspen forests of the Great Lakes Region can be considered the very heart of the ruffed grouse range."
"Ruffed grouse are abundant only where young forests, those from 5 to 20 years of age, are common. These young-forest habitats typically support 5,000 to 8,000 trees and shrubs per acre and provide ruffed grouse with excellent protection from hawks, owls and other predators."
"Historically, young-forest habitats were sustained throughout the ruffed grouse range primarily by fires caused by lightning or by Native Americans. Today, in most regions, mature timber must be cut at regular intervals (every 10 to 15 years) to provide a mosaic of forest habitats of various ages and a continuous supply of quality ruffed grouse habitat. Frequently, grouse habitat management is best accomplished through sustainable forest management."
"Sustainable forestry practices that remove all or most of the trees at one time from an area of 3 acres (1.2 ha) or more are the best tools to establish and sustain quality ruffed grouse habitat. These practices are phrased even-age management because they result in a forest stand where all of the trees are nearly the same age. By removing all or most of the forest canopy at one time, a thick, young-forest habitat—ideal for ruffed grouse—develops. Unfortunately, because this type of habitat management can be visually dramatic, it is often both poorly understood and poorly accepted by some within the general public. The visual impacts of these types of habitat management practices can be mitigated by altering the size and shape of the harvest units and by retaining small patches of standing trees within the units."
"Ruffed grouse populations generally have declined since 1980 throughout much of the eastern United States where their popularity as a game species is greatest."
"Ruffed grouse populations exhibit a 10-year cycle throughout the northern portion of the bird’s range. Local populations will increase for 4 to 5 years, eventually becoming quite numerous. The population peak will then be followed by 4 to 5 years of steady decline until the birds become relatively scarce. Then, the cycle begins again. Populations south of the northern tier of the United States exist at relatively low population densities and do not consistently exhibit detectable 10-year population cycles."
"Aspen forests can support many more ruffed grouse than other types of forest. Young aspen forests provide excellent year-round habitat for ruffed grouse, especially since the flower bud found on mature male aspen trees is an important source of winter food. Indeed, the aspen forests of the Great Lakes Region can be considered the very heart of the ruffed grouse range."
"Ruffed grouse are abundant only where young forests, those from 5 to 20 years of age, are common. These young-forest habitats typically support 5,000 to 8,000 trees and shrubs per acre and provide ruffed grouse with excellent protection from hawks, owls and other predators."
"Historically, young-forest habitats were sustained throughout the ruffed grouse range primarily by fires caused by lightning or by Native Americans. Today, in most regions, mature timber must be cut at regular intervals (every 10 to 15 years) to provide a mosaic of forest habitats of various ages and a continuous supply of quality ruffed grouse habitat. Frequently, grouse habitat management is best accomplished through sustainable forest management."
"Sustainable forestry practices that remove all or most of the trees at one time from an area of 3 acres (1.2 ha) or more are the best tools to establish and sustain quality ruffed grouse habitat. These practices are phrased even-age management because they result in a forest stand where all of the trees are nearly the same age. By removing all or most of the forest canopy at one time, a thick, young-forest habitat—ideal for ruffed grouse—develops. Unfortunately, because this type of habitat management can be visually dramatic, it is often both poorly understood and poorly accepted by some within the general public. The visual impacts of these types of habitat management practices can be mitigated by altering the size and shape of the harvest units and by retaining small patches of standing trees within the units."
What happened to pheasant in Ohio?
http://ohiodnr.com/Portals/9/pdf/pub092.pdf
"Pheasants are Asian natives that were first successfully introduced into the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s"
"Agricultural land‑use practices at the turn of the century were ideal for pheasants. For example, farm fields were small with plenty of fencerows and field dividers, pastures and hay fields were interspersed among abundant small grain crops, and chemical control of weed and insect pests was not yet widespread. As a result, pheasant numbers increased quickly and peaked in Ohio at approximately five million birds in the late 1930s and early 1940s."
"High populations persisted through the 1940s and 1950s with annual hunter harvests averaging around 750,000 cock pheasants."
"Agricultural production intensified and became more industrialized after World War II. Mechanical equipment became more common and increased in size. Field sizes increased to accommodate the new equipment, while fencerows, wetlands and odd‑area habitats were lost as a result. Row crops, especially corn and soybeans, replaced small grains, such as wheat and oats, in many farming rotations. Chemical control of weeds and insects increased in popularity reducing food and cover used by pheasants and their broods."
"Pheasants, and other grassland birds, declined as a direct result of habitat loss. By the late 1960s, Ohio’s pheasant harvest declined to 100,000 to 300,000 cock birds annually"
"The ringneck is a bird of agricultural edges, favoring soils rich in nutrients and organic matter. Pheasants thrive where farming is intensive if two major habitat requirements are met: adequate undisturbed cover for nesting, and sufficient food and cover for the critical winter period. Thick cover, such as brushy fencerows and cattails, provides escape from predators and is an essential component to pheasant habitat at all times of the year"
In summary, pheasants (like quail) have been "farmed out". Habitat has been diminished. Farmers need to leave fence rows.
"Pheasants are Asian natives that were first successfully introduced into the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s"
"Agricultural land‑use practices at the turn of the century were ideal for pheasants. For example, farm fields were small with plenty of fencerows and field dividers, pastures and hay fields were interspersed among abundant small grain crops, and chemical control of weed and insect pests was not yet widespread. As a result, pheasant numbers increased quickly and peaked in Ohio at approximately five million birds in the late 1930s and early 1940s."
"High populations persisted through the 1940s and 1950s with annual hunter harvests averaging around 750,000 cock pheasants."
"Agricultural production intensified and became more industrialized after World War II. Mechanical equipment became more common and increased in size. Field sizes increased to accommodate the new equipment, while fencerows, wetlands and odd‑area habitats were lost as a result. Row crops, especially corn and soybeans, replaced small grains, such as wheat and oats, in many farming rotations. Chemical control of weeds and insects increased in popularity reducing food and cover used by pheasants and their broods."
"Pheasants, and other grassland birds, declined as a direct result of habitat loss. By the late 1960s, Ohio’s pheasant harvest declined to 100,000 to 300,000 cock birds annually"
"The ringneck is a bird of agricultural edges, favoring soils rich in nutrients and organic matter. Pheasants thrive where farming is intensive if two major habitat requirements are met: adequate undisturbed cover for nesting, and sufficient food and cover for the critical winter period. Thick cover, such as brushy fencerows and cattails, provides escape from predators and is an essential component to pheasant habitat at all times of the year"
In summary, pheasants (like quail) have been "farmed out". Habitat has been diminished. Farmers need to leave fence rows.
What happend to grouse in Ohio?
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/9/pdf/pub068.pdf
"It reaches its greatest abundance in the aspen forests of the Upper Great Lakes region and is famous for the 10-year population cycles associated with fluctuations in snowshoe hares and predators such as Northern goshawks and lynx."
"Grouse populations in Ohio do not reach the high densities or undergo the dramatic population cycles found in some parts of the range. In good habitat, fall grouse densities may average five to eight birds per 100 acres."
"As settlement occurred in the early 1800s, grouse populations increased rapidly as timber was harvested and young forest cover increased. However, as settlement progressed, massive deforestation left only remnant grouse populations."
"In the twentieth century, abandoned farmlands reverted to forest and brush in northeast, east-central, and southeast Ohio and provided increased habitat for expanding grouse populations in the 1970s and early 1980s"
"In more recent years grouse populations have declined to low levels as forests have matured and resulted in lower quality habitat. Presently, grouse can be found in low, but stable, numbers in 40 eastern Ohio counties."
"Good grouse habitat includes three general forest types: mixed species stands of hardwood shrubs, saplings, and brush-vine tangles; moist areas with dense clumps of shrubs interspersed with lush herbaceous growth; and young forest stands of mixed hardwoods."
"Habitat management for ruffed grouse involves increasing the amount and distribution of young forest cover through the use of even-aged timber harvests. A well-planned timber rotation can enhance and maintain grouse habitat for many years."
In summary, grouse are a upland bird that thrives in young timber cuts. Logging is required to keep up a grouse population.
"It reaches its greatest abundance in the aspen forests of the Upper Great Lakes region and is famous for the 10-year population cycles associated with fluctuations in snowshoe hares and predators such as Northern goshawks and lynx."
"Grouse populations in Ohio do not reach the high densities or undergo the dramatic population cycles found in some parts of the range. In good habitat, fall grouse densities may average five to eight birds per 100 acres."
"As settlement occurred in the early 1800s, grouse populations increased rapidly as timber was harvested and young forest cover increased. However, as settlement progressed, massive deforestation left only remnant grouse populations."
"In the twentieth century, abandoned farmlands reverted to forest and brush in northeast, east-central, and southeast Ohio and provided increased habitat for expanding grouse populations in the 1970s and early 1980s"
"In more recent years grouse populations have declined to low levels as forests have matured and resulted in lower quality habitat. Presently, grouse can be found in low, but stable, numbers in 40 eastern Ohio counties."
"Good grouse habitat includes three general forest types: mixed species stands of hardwood shrubs, saplings, and brush-vine tangles; moist areas with dense clumps of shrubs interspersed with lush herbaceous growth; and young forest stands of mixed hardwoods."
"Habitat management for ruffed grouse involves increasing the amount and distribution of young forest cover through the use of even-aged timber harvests. A well-planned timber rotation can enhance and maintain grouse habitat for many years."
In summary, grouse are a upland bird that thrives in young timber cuts. Logging is required to keep up a grouse population.
What happened to the quail in Ohio?
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/9/pdf/pub014.pdf
"Bobwhite quail are a forest edge species. They are found in rural Ohio where there is a mix of brushy woodlot edges, fence rows, old fields, pastures, meadows, and small crop fields. While quail prefer some overhead cover, the vegetation must be open enough for this small bird to run on the ground and flush out when being pursued by predators."
"Ohio’s quail were at the northern fringes of this game bird’s regional distribution. Thus, severe winter weather had the potential to reduce populations and limit distribution. Unfortunately, the winters of 1976-77 and 1977-78 were particularly devastating to Ohio’s bobwhite population."
"Subsequent changes in agriculture also adversely affected the habitats relied upon by bobwhite. Removal of brushy fencerows and elimination of woodlots to increase crop field sizes degraded habitat quality"
"Quail numbers improved enough in southern Ohio to open a limited quail hunting season in 1984. However, increasing fragmentation of existing quail habitat as a result of development across Ohio’s rural landscape and intensive agriculture continue to degrade habitat quality and make dispersal from the few remaining healthy populations very unlikely without wildlife management intervention."
In summary, quail are susceptible to extreme cold and require cover to survive. Farmers need to leave fence rows between their fields.
"Bobwhite quail are a forest edge species. They are found in rural Ohio where there is a mix of brushy woodlot edges, fence rows, old fields, pastures, meadows, and small crop fields. While quail prefer some overhead cover, the vegetation must be open enough for this small bird to run on the ground and flush out when being pursued by predators."
"Ohio’s quail were at the northern fringes of this game bird’s regional distribution. Thus, severe winter weather had the potential to reduce populations and limit distribution. Unfortunately, the winters of 1976-77 and 1977-78 were particularly devastating to Ohio’s bobwhite population."
"Subsequent changes in agriculture also adversely affected the habitats relied upon by bobwhite. Removal of brushy fencerows and elimination of woodlots to increase crop field sizes degraded habitat quality"
"Quail numbers improved enough in southern Ohio to open a limited quail hunting season in 1984. However, increasing fragmentation of existing quail habitat as a result of development across Ohio’s rural landscape and intensive agriculture continue to degrade habitat quality and make dispersal from the few remaining healthy populations very unlikely without wildlife management intervention."
In summary, quail are susceptible to extreme cold and require cover to survive. Farmers need to leave fence rows between their fields.
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