sharptail populations appear to have declined
over the long haul as a result of habitat deterioration. In recent
years, the DNR has increased prescribed burning and shearing
that keeps trees from overtaking the open brushlands that sharp-tailed
grouse need to survive.
In addition, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) appears to
be benefiting sharptails in the northwest, perhaps evidenced
by the record number of males per lek observed there this spring.
North Dakota
Spring Ruffed Grouse Population Down
The survey, conducted for 53 consecutive years, tallied the number
of drumming male grouse on 196 miles of spring survey routes
in the Turtle Mountains, Pembina Hills and McHenry County (J.
Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge).
Sunrise counts showed a 27 percent decrease in the Turtle Mountains
compared to last year, a 37 percent decrease in the Pembina Hills,
and a 42 percent decrease in McHenry County.
The statewide average number of ruffed grouse drums heard per
best stop was 0.78, down substantially from last year's 1.07.
Ruffed grouse populations run in 9 to 10-year cycles. The last
population peak was in 1999, while the low was recorded in 1993.
Ruffed grouse populations have been low for the last three years,
including 2004, and may be at the final low year of the current
population cycle, Kobriger said.
Spring Sage Grouse Population Down
State Game and Fish Department biologists counted 144 males this
spring, down 17 percent from 2003. This spring's attendance was
also 17 percent lower than the previous 10-year average. The
all-time high number of male sage grouse counted on leks in the
southwest was 542 birds in 1953, compared to a low mark of 111
in 1996.
Birds were counted this spring on 16 strutting grounds. That's
one more active ground than in 2003. "We were able to find
eight males on one ground that did not have grouse last year,"
said Jerry Kobriger, upland game management supervisor, Dickinson,
of the birds found in Slope and Bowman counties.
North Dakota's sage grouse season, a three-day affair since the
early 1960s, has typically opened the Monday after the sharp-tailed
grouse opener in early to mid-September. This fall, however,
department wildlife managers are contemplating a later season
to better protect adult female grouse, a segment of the population
critical to producing future generations.
No specific dates for the fall sage grouse season have been set
at this time.
Spring Duck Index Remains High
North Dakota's 2004 spring breeding duck index was the third
highest on record, despite a 16 percent decrease in available
water areas.
The 57th annual spring survey, conducted May 10-14, showed an
index of more than 4.3 million birds, 113 percent above the 1948-2003
average and 9 percent higher than last year, according to Mike
Johnson, migratory game bird management supervisor for the North
Dakota Game and Fish Department.
Duck indices were up from 2003 for all species except mallard
and blue-winged teal. The most significant increases were for
redheads (51 percent), gadwall (44 percent) and wigeon (39 percent). |
The index for mallards, although down 9
percent from 2003, was still 152 percent above the long-term
average. Blue-winged teal, down 14 percent from last year, were
53 percent above the long-term average.
The survey is conducted by biologists driving more than 1,800
miles on eight routes spread across the state running from Canada
to South Dakota. Observers count all ducks and water areas within
220 yards of the roadway, Johnson said. "This large sample
gives indices from which we can compare year-to-year changes
and the long-term trends of habitat conditions and waterfowl
numbers."
Even though the 2004 water index was down from last year, it
still remained 31 percent above the 1948-2003 average. Better
water conditions were noted in the east, Johnson said, with much
drier conditions in the west and northwest. "Water conditions
in many of the larger semi-permanent and permanent wetlands remain
high, but was considerably reduced compared to recent years,"
he added. "Many temporary, seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands
had dried since last spring." |
