Grant to benefit ruffed grouse, woodcock
The Ruffed Grouse Society has received a grant from Minnesota's Legacy Fund to enhance young-growth forest habitat for woodcock and ruffed grouse in the Blackduck and northwest Itasca County areas of northern Minnesota.
Known as the Upper Mississippi Habitat Initiative, the project's total value is about $100,000 and includes matching donations from RGS, $7,500; The Wildlife Management Institute, $1,000; Woodcock Minnesota, $250; and Chippewa National Forest, $10,000.
Most of the work will consist of shearing about 330 acres of alder.
"We're hopeful the success of this first project will open the door to more cooperative projects and more young forest habitat management on Minnesota's two national forests and other public and private lands," said Ted Dick, grouse coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the RGS.
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The grant was one of 38 totaling $2.6 million awarded during the latest round of Conservation Partners Legacy grants administered by the DNR. Money for the grants comes from a small sales tax increase Minnesota voters approved in 2008.
Other northwest Minnesota projects to receive funding in the latest round of grant awards were:
- National Wild Turkey Federation, $77,614 to create forest openings to improve 259 acres of wild turkey habitat in Hubbard County.
- Friends of the Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District, $75,000 to restore 75 acres of wetlands in Becker County.
- Fergus Falls Fish and Game Club, $16,830 to restore 178 acres of grassland in the Fergus Falls Wetland Management District.
-- Herald staff report
Delta praises Prairie Pothole funding boost
BISMARCK -- A recent decision by the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission to increase duck stamp funding for the prairie breeding grounds is drawing praise from Delta Waterfowl.
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According to a news release from the conservation group, the commission's decision calls for an increase in Migratory Bird Conservation Fund dollars for states in the Prairie Pothole Region.
The commission's decision will reallocate upward of 70 percent -- nearly $30 million -- of the conservation fund dollars to the breeding grounds, with roughly $20 million going to North Dakota and South Dakota. In 2011, the Prairie Pothole states received $17 million.
Calling the action a "historic decision," John Devney, Delta's director of U.S. policy, said additional funding for waterfowl conservation on the prairie breeding grounds is critical to the long-term future of duck hunting.
"The duck factory is in trouble," Devney said. "The wetland and grassland resources here are at greater risk than they have been in decades."
-- Delta Waterfowl
Did you know?
- A bill in the Minnesota Legislature to move up the date of the state's walleye fishing opener to May 5 instead of May 12 won't affect the annual Governor's Fishing Opener if the change passes. According to Carol Altepeter of Explore Minnesota Tourism, this year's governor's opener will proceed as scheduled May 11-12 in Waconia, Minn.
- The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has just started setting gear to trap walleyes on Devils Lake for the spring egg take, but a department official said the big lake may not contribute many eggs for state stocking programs this year. Randy Hiltner, northeastern district fisheries supervisor for Game and Fish in Devils Lake, said the lack of flow from Channel A and road construction next to state Highway 19 where the department traps the fish likely will hamper the walleye run.
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- The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has completed its nonresident any-deer archery license lottery, and 24 tags remained as of early this past week. Game and Fish will issue remaining licenses on a first-come, first-served basis, and nonresidents can print out an application at gf.nd.gov or request a form by phone at (701) 328-6300. There's a limit of one license per hunter.
