Newsletter 1, November 2000
Upcoming Annual Meeting-Woodward, Oklahoma, 5-8 November 2001
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George M. Sutton Avian Research Center
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Contents of This Newsletter
EARLY REGISTRATION INFORMATION
PRAIRIE GROUSE E-MAIL LIST
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
STATE REPORTS AND UPDATES
Preliminary Results of the 1999 Sharp-tailed Grouse Survey, Michigan
Wisconsin
Minnesota's 2000 Sharp-tailed and Ruffed Grouse Counts
Status of Minnesota Prairie-Chicken Population
Prairie Grouse In North Dakota
Distribution, Abundance, and Management of Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse in Washington
Fort Pierre National Grassland News, South Dakota
Iowa
Missouri Greater Prairie-Chicken 2000 Population Status Report
Kansas
Colorado
Oklahoma
OTHER REPORTS AND NEWS
Call for PGTC Historical Records
Some Recent Literature About Grouse
Thanks from Bill Berg
Newsletter Schedules and Information
Greater Sage-Grouse. Photo by Steve K. Sherrod.
EARLY REGISTRATION INFORMATION
The Meeting
The next Prairie Grouse Technical Council Biennial Meeting will be held 5-8 November 2001, in Woodward, Oklahoma. That's about 140 mi (225 km) northwest of Oklahoma City. It's about a 2½ hour drive from the nearest airport (in Oklahoma City), but also about three hours from the Amarillo, Texas, and Wichita, Kansas, airports, and three hours from the Tulsa, Oklahoma, airport.
That's right, Woodward is right in the middle of everything!
For information about Woodward and the surrounding area, see the Woodward web site,
www.woodwardok.com.
The aim of the conference is to bring together all those involved or interested in research and conservation on prairie grouse, especially Lesser and Greater Prairie-Chickens, Sharp-tailed Grouse, and Sage Grouse. Research papers and discussion sessions will be held on 6 & 7 November. Field trips in the area will provide opportunities to see and learn about Lesser Prairie-Chicken research and habitat conservation efforts.
The banquet speaker will be Dr. Peter Hudson, a Red Grouse biologist, who will be coming over from the United Kingdom. This should be an interesting and exciting meeting for all.
Reservations
The Woodward area is known for its quail hunting, and the meeting hotel will likely fill up with quail hunters from far and wide, possibly even you. We'll ask for a block of 50 rooms for the conference at the conference hotel (Northwest Inn), but if you plan to attend the meeting,
please make your reservation early. (The hotel will not accept reservations for the meeting before next December 1, 2000, but
please make your reservation soon after that.) If it turns out that the meeting attendees will need more than 50 rooms, it will be necessary for us to make those reservations
early.
To make reservations, contact the Northwest Inn (800-727-7606; 580-256-7600; fax 580-254-2274; P.O. Box 1006, Woodward, Oklahoma 73802, USA).
Be sure to tell them that you are booking for the Prairie Grouse Technical Council
Meeting.
Other hotels and Bed-and-Breakfasts in Woodward are listed on the meeting web site or at
www.woodwardok.com.
Transportation
Because Woodward isn't right near the airport, some of you will have transportation needs. For the meeting there will be a small number of vans to bring people from the Oklahoma City and Tulsa airports. If possible, we'd like to get an estimate on how many people will need transportation from and back to these airports. If you think you'll need transportation, even if you aren't sure or don't know what day you might need to travel, please contact Russ Horton (405-364-7142;
rhorton@onenet.net).
Quail Hunting
For those interested in quail hunting while at the meeting, please contact Russ Horton (405-364-7142;
rhorton@onenet.net) for details on licenses, etc. The meeting hotel has a free kennel for those who wish to bring their dogs, but it costs an extra $10 per night for the dog to be quartered in your room.
For more information about quail hunting seasons, regulations, and how to obtain a license, direct your browser to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's web site at
www.wildlifedepartment.com.
For More Information
For more information contact Russ Horton (405-364-7142; rhorton@onenet.net) or Stephanie Harmon (918- 581-7458 x229;
stephanie_harmon@fws.gov).
PRAIRIE GROUSE E-MAIL LIST
By David A. Wiedenfeld
There is an e-mail mailing list (a "listserv") for prairie grouse, called PGTC-L. Some of you are already on the list, and know how useful it can be. But for those who aren't, it's a great way to find out what's going on, or a way to get your own questions answered. The list hasn't been a very active one, with no messages at all some months. But I do remember a bit of discussion about the new Gunnison Sage Grouse, and similar issues.
The easiest way to join the list is just to let me (dwiedenfeld@ou.edu) know, and I'll add you to the list. Then you can be a part of all future discussions. So, to become part of the list, let me know, and I'll add you to PGTC-L!
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Greetings to All:
It hardly seems possible that it has been some 14 months since we met in Gimli, which means that in less than a year, we are scheduled to meet in Woodward, Oklahoma, which happens to be the "Home of the Boomers."
The planning committee for the upcoming meeting (Colin Berg, Stephanie Harmon, Steve Sherrod, David Wiedenfeld, Don Wolfe, and myself) has been working diligently to ensure an enjoyable and successful meeting experience in Northwest Oklahoma, and things are coming together quite well. We are hoping that everyone will be able to attend, knowing that attendance and participation by a large number of professionals involved in grouse research and management are the keys to the success of our meeting. I hope that there is an (almost) overwhelming response to the forthcoming call for papers, and that the information shared during our days together will prove beneficial, not only for ourselves, but especially for the grouse we all love. If the number of state updates provided for this newsletter, for which I thank each of you, is any indication of the interest level, this should be an excellent meeting.
The following preview of the meeting will hopefully sway those of you for whom the decision to attend has not yet been finalized, and will also increase the anticipation for those of you who know, without doubt, that you will attend.
Woodward is a community (pop. 13,000) with a rich heritage influenced by two major industries: cattle ranching and oil, and we plan to begin Monday evening with a mixer at the Pioneer History Museum, which provides insight into the histories of both. The curator (the wife of one of our Game Wardens) has agreed to prepare several special exhibits dealing with wildlife history, and has agreed to provide an interpretive tour of approximately one hour's length for those who are interested. Both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings (conditions permitting) will offer possible opportunity for viewing of Lesser Prairie-Chickens on fall booming grounds, and paper presentations will be held both days. Tuesday evening we will provide a barbeque dinner with all the trimmings, and evening entertainment will be a seminar by a noted local bird dog trainer, and screening of several grouse films of exceptional quality by Grunko Films Inc., of Sheridan, Wyoming. Wednesday afternoon we will have our business session, followed by a trade show and poster session, and the day will conclude with the Banquet and Awards dinner. Our meeting ends on Thursday at the conclusion of an all day field trip during which we will have an opportunity to view both sand sagebrush and shinnery oak grassland Lesser Prairie-Chicken habitats.
For those of you interested, northwest Oklahoma offers some of the finest Bobwhite Quail hunting in the world. This year will be one of the best years in the last decade, and hopefully next year will be similar. There is also ample opportunity for waterfowl hunting and hunting for Rio Grande turkeys. Hopefully a number of you will be able to come early or stay a few days after the meeting and enjoy the outdoor experience offered in northwest Oklahoma.
Again, on behalf of the planning committee, I would like to extend an invitation and hearty welcome to each of you to attend the meeting next November. We are looking forward to renewing old acquaintances, making new ones, and continuing to increase our knowledge of the prairie grouse on whose behalf these meetings occur. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc., please feel free to contact me, either by e-mail (rhorton@onenet.net) or telephone (405) 202-5901.
See you in Woodward,
Russ Horton
STATE REPORTS AND UPDATES
Preliminary Results of the 1999 Sharp-tailed Grouse Survey, Michigan
by R. Gregory Corace, III
School of Forestry and Wood Products, MTU
Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U. P.) represents the most easterly extension of the distribution of Sharp-tailed Grouse
(Tympanuchus phasianellus) in the United States. Since hunting for sharptails ceased in 1996, annual Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) lek surveys were abandoned. However, as the conservation of open land ecosystems (e.g., pine barrens, agricultural lands) continues to be given high priority by some regional land managers, species associated with these landscapes have started to receive more attention. Consequently, an U. P. -wide census of sharptail leks was re-initiated during the 1999 breeding season using volunteers associated with Michigan Technological University, Hiawatha National Forest, the Michigan Sharptail Grouse Association and Lake Superior State University.
In total, 602 birds (of which 262 (44%) were dancing males) were counted in the U. P. The vast majority of these birds were found either in privately owned agricultural lands of the eastern U. P. or adjacent pine barren ecosystems of the Hiawatha National Forest Although all census results must be viewed with respect to both effort and area covered and should be considered more as an index of population change than an absolute measure, these data indicate a dramatic increase in the number of sharptails over the last few years. For the entire period of 1990-96, MDNR data collected using the same protocols show that on an annual basis the entire population counted in the entire eastern U. P. was less than 150 birds, with only 12 counted in 1996!
Since many birds of conservation concern (e.g., Short-eared Owl, Northern Harrier, Grasshopper Sparrow, LeConte's Sparrow) exist sympatrically with sharptails, the conservation of open land habitats has multi-species implications at multiple scales. Continued monitoring of sharptails should coincide with studies of the association between different open land species and their habitats.
Wisconsin
by Jim Evrard
Wisconsin Sharp-tailed Grouse Society
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is in the process of completing one of its first ecosystem management plans in the state. The plan covers the Northwest Sands, an ecosystem containing the largest number of sharptails remaining in Wisconsin. This planning effort, funded by an EPA grant, brought together many of the stakeholders in the ecosystem, including individuals, organizations, agencies and corporations, to develop a management plan that most could support.
The plan recognizes the rarity of the early seral stages of the jack pine barrens and recommends actions to halt the loss and even increase their acreage. This is the part of the ecosystem important as Sharp-tailed Grouse habitat.
This process of reaching consensus is illustrated by the very name given the ecosystem during the planning process, the Northwest Sands. The ecosystem is known as a pine barrens is most scientific circles, but the word "barrens" is an anathema to foresters. Since most of the remaining large blocks of habitat are managed for forest products, a compromise was reached by naming the ecosystem, the Northwest Sands.
Minnesota's 2000 Sharp-tailed and Ruffed Grouse Counts
by Bill Berg
DNR Wildlife Research
Prior to spring 2000, Minnesota's Sharp-tailed Grouse counts had risen for an unprecedented 4 years in a row, thanks to an aggressive brushlands management program. Given the wet spring and summer of 1999, we didn't think it could happen again. But this spring, sharptails went up another 5% in the East-Central Range, and declined only 9% in the Northwest Range (where Ruffed Grouse drumming declined 35%). Range-wide, sharpies declined only 1%! Not bad!
In the East-Central Range, 1,106 males were tallied on 135 leks, and the average of 10.2 males per occupied lek set a record for this zone. In the Northwest Range, 890 males were counted on 118 leks, and the average of 11.6 males per lek was a near-record for this zone.
This success is a credit to Minnesota's Brushland Management Program, which uses a permanently dedicated fund of about $330,000 each year to manage brush landscapes through prescribed burning and shearing. But we still have a long way to go, because Minnesota's sharptail populations are still 70% below the baseline 1980 levels. Hunters took about 14,000 sharptails in both the 1998 and 1999 hunting seasons. The 2000 season runs from Sept. 16 to November 30, with a limit of 3 daily and 6 in possession.
For those interested in Ruffed Grouse populations, we predicted that the downward trend in the ruff's "10 year cycle" was about to begin (as it does at the start of every decade), and it did. Drumming declined state-wide 12%, and varied from down 35% in the Northwest Zone to stable in the Central Hardwoods. Range-wide, drums average 1.5 drums per stop, with the highest being 1.9 drums per stop in the ruff's main North-Central Zone. The inclement weather in spring and summer of 1999 caused poor brood survival and poorer hunter success; about 700,000 ruffs were taken in 1999, compared to 950,000 in 1998. The 2000 season runs from September 16 to December 31, with a limit of 5 daily and 10 in possession.
All of this information (and much more) is available on www.dnr.state.mn.us.
Status of Minnesota Prairie-Chicken Population
by Terry Wolfe
DNR - Wildlife
Spring 2000 prairie-chicken populations appear to be up from 1999 though numbers aren't available yet. 1999 counts showed 1,419 males on 117 booming grounds.
As management functions increase and personnel of agencies decrease, prairie-chicken counts have been moved somewhat aside. Land management, in the form of prescribed burning of grasslands and seeding natives on old fields, has increased considerably by US Fish and Wildlife Service (US F&WS), Department of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy-the big three grassland holders in Minnesota. Late summer harvesting of native seed for future restorations is significant. At one point in September six combines were harvesting seed in the grasslands east of Crookston. Native seed is being used on CRP and agency lands. Private enterprise is a big part of prairie restoration efforts in Minnesota.
One tract of land recently purchased by The Nature Conservancy in Polk County will require many years of seed harvest to restore. Some 38 square miles in size, Tilden Farm is slated to be restored to wetlands and grasslands, then turned over to US F&WS as a National Wildlife Refuge. Prairie-chickens, sharptails, waterfowl, and other prairie wildlife will benefit. The USDA's Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) will fund much of the restoration efforts.
Greater Prairie-Chicken.
Prairie Grouse In North Dakota
by Jerry Kobriger
Sharp-tailed Grouse. Sharptails are in good shape in North Dakota. To start the new millennium, counts this spring indicated an increase of about 18% on a statewide basis. Of 23 census areas, only four had lower counts than the previous year. Changes varied from a decrease of 20% on a small area in the southeastern part of the state to a couple of areas with 50+% increases in the western part of North Dakota. We had the potential for an excellent year.
Brood surveys began on 15 July and continued until 1 September, as they do every year. Number of broods / mile on routes was up nearly 40% (2.3 to 3.2) over the previous year. Unfortunately average brood size dropped over 25% (from 6.3 to 4.7). Age ratio of grouse observed on routes dropped from 3.2 to 1.6, or 50%. It appeared that the increase in numbers of broods would offset the reduction in average brood size and numbers of sharptails available to hunters would be the same or slightly better than last year.
Hunter success data from opening week-end confirmed this. Data from 312 hunting parties (over 1,000 hunters) indicated that success was up about 20% from 1999 to 2000. Data from about 300 sharptail wings collected on opening week-end indicated an age ratio of 1.59, down about 20% from the 2.01 age ratio of 1999. Thus with a higher breeding population and lower production, the fall population was similar in both years.
Greater Prairie-Chicken. There is good news and bad news about prairie-chickens in North Dakota. Spring census in 2000 showed good numbers of chickens in the Grand Forks area where releases have taken place over the past few years. The outlook was favorable for this year until a 17 inch rain flooded almost the entire release area during the peak of nesting and hatch. Mortality was undoubtedly high for young birds and some adult mortality also occurred. We anticipate lower numbers in this area next spring when counts are made.
On the Sheyenne Grasslands, the spring census also showed a stable to slightly increasing population. No severe floods hit this portion of the prairie-chicken range but neither do we have any data to indicate success of production, but we hope to see a continuation of stable or increasing populations in this area.
Distribution, Abundance, and Management of Columbian Sharp-Tailed Grouse in Washington
by Michael A. Schroeder
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus columbianus) historically occurred in shrub and steppe communities throughout much of eastern Washington. The declines in distribution and abundance have been dramatic; they are now listed as a threatened species by the state of Washington. Between 1954 and 2000, 58% of 107 Sharp-tailed Grouse leks became vacant. Most of the vacant leks (53%) are in areas where they recently have become extirpated. Based on annual changes in number of birds counted on leks since 1960, the Sharp-tailed Grouse population has declined 92%. Approximately 700 Sharp-tailed Grouse currently occupy eight isolated areas totaling 3% of their historic range. Historic and recent declines are linked to conversion of habitat for production of crops and degradation of the remaining native habitat. Although declines in the populations appear to be slowing, the small size and isolated nature of the remaining populations may be a long-term problem. Details about the status of Sharp-tailed Grouse in Washington are available in the following publication:
Schroeder, M. A., D. W. Hays, M. A. Murphy, and D. J. Pierce. 2000. Changes in the distribution and abundance of Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse in Washington. Northwestern Naturalist 81:95-103.
Historic and current range of Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse in Washington.
The state of Washington is currently working on a recovery plan for Sharp-tailed Grouse. Management is being directed toward protecting, enhancing, expanding, and connecting the existing populations. These specific activities include habitat acquisition and restoration, support for the Conservation Reserve Program, translocation of birds from Idaho to Washington, and genetic research throughout the distribution of Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse. In addition, a digital map of their distribution was produced. Because the map is a draft, we welcome comments and suggestions, particularly concerning the 'boundary' between Columbian and Plains Sharp-tailed Grouse.
Historic and current range of Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse in North America.
Fort Pierre National Grassland News, South Dakota
by Glenn Moravek
Fort Pierre National Grassland provides habitat for Greater Prairie-Chickens and Plains Sharp-tailed Grouse. The 116,000-acre mixed-grass prairie lies in central South Dakota, south and west of the Missouri River. Private cropland is interspersed among blocks of the public land, with wheat, sunflowers, sorghum, corn and alfalfa being grown. A grazing association with 33 members and six independent ranchers hold permits to graze cattle on the national grassland.
The Nebraska National Forest, USDA Forest Service, which administers the grassland, prescribed it for wildlife emphasis under a 1984 land management plan. After a local public involvement process that lasted about two years, the forest supervisor in 1992 issued interim guidelines that set the cattle stocking rate somewhat lower than the Soil Conservation Service range analysis rate and agreed to rest eight percent of the grassland annually from grazing. Some grazing rotation systems were also improved. In 1998, after intensive monitoring and an environmental analysis, the forest supervisor decided to continue this management with some changes.
Since 1988, the grassland staff has annually counted the number of displaying male grouse within an 18,000-acre unit in the east-central grassland. Initially, the number of prairie-chicken males was about 20% higher than sharptails. Then the grouse population crashed with hot, dry weather and poor habitat in the late Eighties. The population gradually rose through the Nineties, which was generally a cool, wet decade. Last spring, the combined number of prairie grouse males was well over 200% of that in 1988. Although sharptail males had increased slightly from 1988, the number of prairie-chicken males was up 330%. Overall, grouse hunters seem to have been satisfied with the quality of grass cover during this period.
Meanwhile, after an unsuccessful appeal of the forest supervisor's decision, the local grazing association filed a lawsuit attempting to return to the higher grazing level. Last August, a federal judge ruled in favor of the Forest Service, basically stating that the forest supervisor's decision had not been arbitrary nor capricious. That judgment has been appealed.
Out on the prairie, the grouse population is relatively high. The past summer has been one of the driest in memory, and residual cover is shorter overall than it has been in some time. But due to the presence of adequate subsoil moisture early in the grazing season and the present management, some effective residual grass cover remains.
Iowa
by Mel Moe and Ed Weiner
Iowa DNR
Greater Prairie-Chicken booming ground counts were basically the same as those of 1999, with 44 males on six booming grounds. This was in spite of very poor upland bird production in this area during 1999 due to a wet spring. Weather conditions have been better in 2000, so better production is anticipated and hopefully counts will be higher in 2001. The Kellerton Bird Conservation Area is being developed to provide quality prairie-chicken habitat. To date 680 acres are publicly owned, with plans to acquire another 1400 acres and to provide assistance in the management of 2,000 acres of surrounding private land. This area is the center of our current prairie-chicken population.
During the springs of 1995 and 1996, 150 Sharp-tailed Grouse from South Dakota were released in the loess hills of western Iowa in a restoration attempt. One dancing ground was observed in 2000 with two males present. Reports from the public later this summer indicate the probable presence of at least one more dancing ground which we did not observe. An adjacent landowner has reported seeing two broods of 4-6 birds throughout this summer. Plans are to release more birds in 2001 one if weather conditions allow for good trapping conditions in South Dakota.
Greater Prairie-Chickens.
Missouri Greater Prairie-Chicken 2000 Population Status Report
by Larry Mechlin
Resident Population. Annual surveys of booming grounds along 16 routes and 35 management units (a unit includes a management area and private land within one mile) are conducted each year. Since early surveys did not always make the distinction between males and females,
all birds on the grounds counted are included in results to define long-term population trends for resident prairie-chicken populations. The steep decline defined by survey data over the last thirty years shows some indication of bottoming out if one focuses on the last five years. Although densities are very low, we would hope current habitat levels are resisting further population declines. The statewide population has declined to the point that few birds exist outside annually surveyed areas, so by surveying a few additional areas in 1998, 1999 and 2000 we attempted a complete censuses of
booming males. The number of males counted on spring booming grounds in 2000 (252 males) was down by 31% from 1999 (367 males) and 1998 (370 males). Yes, these numbers indicate that the decline continues. It has been a concern from the formation of the Grassland Coalition that the prairie-chicken population would wane before real increases in habitat could be put on the ground to stimulate population growth. Survey results continue to show short-term positive, but long-term negative movement for populations associated with complexes managed by public agencies (MDC and DNR) or NGOs (MPF and TNC). The path to local extinction becomes apparent as one views the pattern of decline. On private grounds, habitat has reached such a state that no recovery is indicated.
Looking at the brighter side, recent purchases by TNC (Dunn Ranch + in northwest Missouri and additions to Wah Kon Tah Prairie in west central Missouri) have added significantly to grassland habitat managed with the needs of prairie-chickens in mind. The continued efforts of the Grassland Coalition that involves several state agencies, NGO's and interested private landowners have kept avenues open to work with a broad spectrum of private landowners. Tailored plans to improve habitat and increase awareness around selected focus areas for improved management have and continue to be developed by Grassland Coalition teams. The heightening of awareness among Missouri's citizenry of the plight of Missouri's grassland communities and the generation of funds to preserve and improve management of those communities continues to be a major limiting factor. The Missouri Prairie Foundation addressed this need by supporting the Lek Trek (a walk across the state) that began July 22 on the Iowa/Missouri state line near Dunn Ranch in Northwest Missouri and at the Arkansas/Missouri line and culminated October 14 at Prairie State Park in southwest Missouri. Through the course of the walk, 16 public events and 15 learner day events with schools along the route over 7,500 individuals participated.
Reintroduced Populations. For the last 10~ years since translocations occurred, populations in Harrison and Sullivan counties have done well. However, the Sullivan County (north-central Missouri) population count was down from 58 booming males to 26 this spring. One booming ground was unoccupied, so relocation of this group of birds could account for some of the drop. Forty-five booming males were counted along the six mile long survey route (Dunn Ranch +) set up in Harrison County, down from 53 in 1999.
Kansas
by Randy Rodgers
Lesser Prairie-Chicken. Kansas' lek survey showed a 9% increase in the population index for Lesser Prairie-Chickens this spring. This represents the third consecutive year of increase in the Lesser population index. This index was derived from ten survey routes established south of the Arkansas River and it does not take into account the recent expansion Lessers have made to the north in response to CRP. In the past 2 springs Kansas Wildlife and Parks staff and a few volunteers have documented 101 Lesser Prairie-Chicken leks north of the Arkansas River. We expect that many more leks will be located in the next few years as more area is surveyed. Recent drought in much of western Kansas is, however, a concern.
Greater Prairie-Chicken. The Greater Prairie-Chicken population index was down 6% this spring. Three survey routes in southeast Kansas had no prairie-chickens along them this spring and a fourth had only one small lek. Greater Prairie-Chickens, like Lessers, are increasing in western Kansas in response to habitat provided by CRP grasslands. These populations are not reflected in Kansas' prairie-chicken survey structure. Concern over Greater Prairie-Chicken populations in eastern Kansas continues. Extensive annual burning in some areas of the Flint Hills, encroachment of trees onto prairie in other areas, and actual conversion of prairie in still other areas are all negatively affecting Greaters.
Sharp-tailed Grouse. Sharp-tailed Grouse populations produced through trap-and-transplant efforts appear to be slowly diminishing. Some leks established through releases have been present without supplementation for 9-10 years, but lek attendance has slowly dwindled and some of these leks have recently disappeared. Three known dancing grounds remain. No recent efforts to locate new leks has been undertaken, though reports of sharptails up to 50 miles from the known leks are still occasionally received.
Greater Prairie-Chicken. Photo by S. K. Sherrod.
Colorado
by Ken Giesen
Greater Prairie-Chicken. Surveys of Greater Prairie-Chickens in Colorado indicate an increase in both populations and distribution, with a breeding population now estimated to exceed 10,000 birds in seven counties. The Colorado Wildlife Commission removed the Greater Prairie-Chicken from the state list of Threatened and Endangered species in 1998 and in September 2000 opened the first legal hunting season on this species since 1937. The open season was from September 15-30 for shotgun and archery, and from September 15 - October 31 for falconry. Hunting was by application, drawing, and permit only, and restricted to private lands. Only 47 permits (44 hunting, 3 falconry), each allowing a 2-bird bag, were given out (the maximum limit was 200 permits). Preliminary data indicates the total harvest will be < 20 birds. Because hunting was restricted to private lands, and landowner permission was needed prior to submitting an application, few hunters applied this year.
Lesser Prairie-Chicken. Annual surveys of breeding birds continued in 2000 and resulted in 210 males, 63 females, and 43 unclassified Lesser Prairie-chickens being counted on 27 leks. Fewer males were counted in Baca County (76 on nine leks), than in Prowers County (111 on 11 leks), and 23 males (six leks) were counted in Kiowa County. Access was denied for counting two known leks on private property in Cheyenne County, but a third lek was found with six birds (not classified). Total counts represent a 49% increase from counts in 1999, with more birds being counted outside of the core range in Baca County. Plans for 2001 include an intensive search for additional leks and surveys of all known leks within the distribution of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken in Colorado. Management efforts include cost-sharing with private landowners to better manage livestock on private and Comanche National Grassland pastures, and enhance CRP fields with interseeding of forbs and taller native grasses. Because most of southeastern Colorado experienced drought conditions in 2000, production of young was thought to be poor, and counts in 2001 are expected to decline.
Oklahoma
by Russ Horton
Lesser Prairie-Chicken. Spring booming ground surveys showed that the average number of males (4.6) per historic lek site surveyed decreased 31.3% from 1999 numbers (6.7 males/lek site). The average number of males (9.4) flushed from active booming grounds decreased only slightly from the 9.9 males flushed per active booming ground in 1999. Lek densities (0.08 leks/square mile) remained unchanged from 1999.
Weather conditions during the nesting season were favorable, but somewhat drier than normal. Anecdotal reports indicate good nest success, although drought conditions throughout the summer may have negatively affected brood survival.
Ongoing cooperative efforts between the USFWS, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and private landowners to improve LPC habitat appear to have been helpful, and hopes are high for good recruitment in spring 2001.
Greater Prairie-Chicken. The average number of males (3.3) per historic lek site surveyed decreased 43.5% from 1999 numbers (7.6 males/lek site). The average number of males (7.5) flushed from active booming grounds decreased 13.8% from the 8.5 males flushed per active booming ground in 1999. Lek density (0.13 leks/square mile) decreased 27.7% from 1999 lek density (0.18 leks/square mile).
Greater Prairie-Chicken populations continue to decrease range-wide, apparently due, in large part, to unfavorable range management practices. Anecdotal reports indicate that recruitment was poor overall, although isolated areas within occupied range may have had decent recruitment.
Overall, GPC numbers remain near an all-time low with no indication of any ongoing or extended recovery.
Greater Prairie-Chicken. Photo by D. L. Reinking.
OTHER REPORTS AND NEWS
Call for PGTC Historical Records
D. M. Christisen reminds us that the official repository for all PGTC papers, records, and photographs, is the manuscript collection at the University of Missouri. If you have any documents pertinent to the history of the PGTC or that you think should be archived please send them to the manuscript collection. This could include photographs or slides of members on field trips The address to send materials is:
Western Historical Manuscript Collection
23 Ellis Library
Univ. Missouri
Columbia, MO 65201-5149
Some Recent Literature About Grouse
compiled by David A. Wiedenfeld
Applegate, R. D. 2000. Use and misuse of prairie-chicken lek surveys. Wildlife Society Bulletin 28: 457-459.
Connelly, J. W., K. P. Reese, R. A. Fischer, and W. L. Wakkinen. 2000. Response of a Sage Grouse breeding population to fire in southeastern Idaho. Wildlife Society Bulletin 28: 90-96.
Jamison, B. E., R. S. Beyer, R. J. Robel, and J. S. Pontius. 2000. Passive Integrated Transponder tags as markers for chicks. Poultry Science 79: 946-948.
Martin, K., P. B. Stacey, and C. E. Braun. 2000. Recruitment, dispersal, and demographic rescue in spatially-structured White-tailed Ptarmigan populations. Condor 102: 503-516.
Moss, R., D. A. Elston, and A. Watson. 2000. Spatial asynchrony and demographic traveling waves during Red Grouse population cycles. Ecology 81: 981.
Moss, R., N. Picozzi, and D. Baines. 2000. Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus in Scotland-demography of a declining population. Ibis 142: 259.
Niemuth, N. D. 2000. Land use and vegetation associated with Greater Prairie-Chicken leks in an agricultural landscape. Journal of Wildlife Management 64:278.
Salter, G. C., and R. J. Robel. 2000. Capturing Lesser Prairie-Chickens on leks during fall. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 103: 46-47.
Thirgood, S., S. Redpath, I. Newton, and P. Hudson. 2000. Raptors and Red Grouse: conservation conflicts and management solutions. Conservation Biology 14: 95-104.
Thanks from Bill Berg
MEMO FROM Bill Berg 32680 County Rd. 326 Bovey, MN 55709
DATE: June 1, 2000
TO: Russ Horton, Chair
Prairie Grouse Technical Council
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife
RR 2, Box 238
Norman, OK 73071
SUBJECT: Thanks for the Hamerstrom Award
"I would like to thank the Prairie Grouse Technical Council for presenting me with the esteemed Hamerstrom Award, which I received at the Gimli, Manitoba PGTC meeting last September. As those of you who attended may recall, the award was a total surprise, and my acceptance speech was less than eloquent. I forgot to thank all of my wonderful and dedicated Wildlife and Forestry colleagues who have worked so hard on brushlands management in Minnesota, and who have done all of the legwork. I was simply the instigator. I was humbled and very overcome by the award, mainly because I knew the Hamerstroms well, having spent parts of two springs there in 1960 and 1961. I am one of the remaining few who experienced a house full of free-flying hawks, sleeping in the "loft" of their yet-to-be painted Civil War era house, waking up to bat droppings on my sleeping bag, and eating Fran's fried eggs, complete with chick embryo remains and feathers. And, if you didn't eat all of those eggs, you were in real trouble!
Thank you, Prairie Grouse Technical Council, for this honor. It will be cherished forever."
Bill Berg
Wildlife Research Biologist
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Grand Rapids 55744
Newsletter Schedules and Information
Three newsletters are planned to be sent before the meeting next year: this one, a second newsletter at the end of April, 2001, and a third newsletter at the end of September, 2001. I will send a call for information for the next newsletter
by e-mail only at the end of March 2001.
If you have pictures of prairie grouse (especially sharp-tails, sage-grouse, or Lesser Prairie-Chickens) that you would like to show off in the next newsletter, I'd like to have them. You'll get credit, and others will get to see your neat pictures.
David A. Wiedenfeld
Editor, PGTC Newsletter
Sutton Avian Research Center
P. O. Box 2007
Bartlesville, OK 74005
USA
918-336-7778
918-336-7783 fax
dwiedenfeld@ou.edu
George M. Sutton Avian Research Center Web
Site