Grassland Conservation Area proposed to help protect rare greater prairie chicken

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – A management and recovery plan for the greater prairie chicken and an associated initiative to maintain critical grassland habitat for the species in Central Wisconsin will be the focus of two public meetings in August.

Wisconsin has one of the few remaining populations of prairie chickens in the Great Lakes States and it is listed as a state threatened species. Minnesota has a small population, Illinois has only a small remnant population, and Michigan is bereft of the birds.

The prairie chicken is celebrated for its annual “booming” display that attracts visitors from all over the country to the Buena Vista Grassland southwest of Plover in Portage County. This display takes its name from the distinctive sound made by male chickens as they square off against each other to stake out territory to attract hens for mating. The loud booming call and ritualistic fighting of the birds as they jump and flutter is punctuated by the sound of their feet beating double time. The performance inspired the species' scientific name, Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus, or "drummer of love."

The prairie chicken, has been extensively studied and the focus of conservation efforts for many years by organizations and agencies, according to Thomas Meier, a Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist who has spent much of his career managing lands for grassland species.

Of particular note are the efforts of the Dane County Conservation League and the Society of Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus. Both groups championed Fran and Fred Hammerstrom’s early call for measures to save the dwindling prairie chicken populations and played critical roles in actively raising funds and protecting land in the 1950s and 1960s. The Hammerstroms were renowned wildlife biologists who spent years studying prairie chickens in Central Wisconsin.

“Without their dedication and perseverance, there would likely be few, if any, prairie chicken populations left to be protected in Wisconsin,” Meier notes. “But despite these past efforts, the future of the prairie chicken in Wisconsin remains uncertain.

“Working collaboratively with the farm community, we’ve been successful at Buena Vista Grassland protecting enough scattered grassland among the farmland that the prairie chicken population is holding its own there. But its range has continued to decline dramatically over the last 10 years, especially in Taylor, Clark and Marathon counties.”

Although a combination of factors is likely at work, Meier says biologists believe that the population declines are primarily related to the loss and fragmentation of critical habitat and the conversion of many farm operations away from the grass-based agricultural practices that dominated the area until the 1980s.

In an effort to stem the decline of the prairie chickens and other rare grassland species in Wisconsin, a key recommendation in the Management and Recovery Plan is to protect 15,000 acres of grassland over the next 10 years in the central part of the state.

“This project is designed to meet the critical habitat needs of a wide range of grassland species, including the greater prairie chicken, by protecting scattered grasslands within a larger, farm-based landscape,” according to Bob Michelson, DNR West Central Region wildlife supervisor.

The project would be established as the Central Wisconsin Grassland Conservation Area with two management objectives: to establish more tracts of permanent grassland habitat -- primarily focused on lands within 1 mile of booming grounds -- and to help maintain farming as the area’s dominant land use.

One strategy on this front may be to expand the type of farming agreements the DNR currently enters into with local farmers. For example, at Buena Vista Grassland almost 5,000 acres owned by the DNR are part of a rotation that enables local farmers to periodically graze, hay, or crop the lands.

“We intend to work creatively with local farmers and other partners to develop land use agreements and easements that mutually benefit the economic health of farms and the ecological needs of grassland species,” Michelson said. Partner groups include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service, Golden Sands Conservation & Development Council (a non-profit group concerned with improving the central Wisconsin economy, while conserving its natural resources), county land conservation departments, and other local organizations.

The project will also provide compatible recreational opportunities for people, spaces for people to watch grassland species, and experience a taste of Wisconsin's historic grasslands.

These informal public meetings are being held to provide information and gather public input on both the Wisconsin Greater prairie chicken Management and Recovery Plan and the Central Wisconsin Grasslands Conservation Area feasibility study. Both meetings will be conducted as open houses and will run from 4 to 8 p.m. They will be held:

• Aug. 10, Wisconsin Rapids McMillan Memorial Library, 490 East Grand Ave.
• Aug. 11, Marshfield Public Library, 211 E. Second St.

The feasibility study and the management plan require eventual approval by the state Natural Resources Board. That would create a project allowing the use of state acquisition dollars. More information about the project can be found on the DNR Web site at <>.

While the greater prairie chicken is rare and spectacular, and a primary focus of the conservation area, managing the area to maintain grasslands will benefit a variety of grassland birds, according to Meier.

Consider the bobolink.

The 6- to 8-inch tall black-garbed male bobolink appears to wear a golden neckerchief behind its throat and sports white strips along its wing and tail, a sort of grassland dandy. Its voice, a kind of banjo-picking music that plink-plunks "bobolink" lifts over the grassland. Henry David Thoreau said “This flashing, tinkling meteor bursts through the expectant meadow air, leaving a train of tinkling notes behind.”

The bobolink has come a long ways to the grasslands of Wisconsin. It is the longest flying migrant in its bird family, traveling to the grasslands of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. They fly at night in large flocks and can cover great distances over open water, perhaps stopping at Cuba before launching themselves to Brazil or Argentina. The bobolink is one of the Neotropical birds that require habitat protection efforts both here and in South America.

In the United States the bobolink probably prospered in the early part of the 20th Century, when most people kept horses and pastures were plentiful. But their numbers have declined in recent years, as have many other grassland species.

“Although the bobolink is not a centerpiece of the Central Wisconsin Grassland Conservation Area. It's likely to be a beneficiary,” Meier says.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Michelson, West Central Region Wildlife Expert - (715) 839-3736; Jim Keir, Wildlife Manager, Buena Vista-Leola Wildlife Areas - (608) 339-4819; Thomas Meier, Wildlife Manager, Mead-McMillan Wildlife Areas - (715) 457-6771

Public will have opportunity to comment on proposed 2004 waterfowl seasons

MADISON – People will have an opportunity to comment on possible frameworks for the 2004 Wisconsin waterfowl hunting seasons in an upcoming series of public hearings scheduled for Aug. 2-5. A summary of the public’s comments will be considered by the state Natural Resources Board at its Aug. 11 meeting in La Crosse where the board is expected to set the fall waterfowl season framework.

“The final structure of the Fall 2004 waterfowl regulations frameworks will be made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service later this week,” said Kent Van Horn, Department of Natural Resources migratory waterfowl biologist. “Each state then develops their waterfowl regulations within the USFWS framework or sideboards. There are several possible ways Wisconsin could structure the fall 2004 seasons and that’s what we want to share with the public and get their reactions.”

Canada geese

For Canada geese, Van Horn said, 2004 will be a low harvest quota year because of a late winter and poor conditions on the Ontario breeding grounds of the Mississippi Valley Population (MVP) of Canada geese. The MVP geese make up 61 percent of Wisconsin’s Canada goose harvest. The statewide Canada goose quota set by the Mississippi Flyway Council is 49,200, which is down considerably from the high 2003 quota of 85,500. This translates into a lower number of tags in the Horicon and Collins zones and possibly an early closing of the exterior goose season. Preliminary estimates are 3 tags/hunter for the Horicon and Collins zones.

“With the lower quota for 2004 we’ll be asking the public to weigh a more liberal two-bird daily bag that will likely lead to closing the season after three-four weeks, or a one-bird daily bag that could stretch the season out to a full 90 days,” Van Horn said.

Ducks

As for ducks, breeding conditions and population estimates were variable across North America this spring. Information from the USFWS indicates that water conditions in breeding areas of the US prairies and Canada were quite variable but overall pond numbers were down 24 percent from 2003 and 19 percent below the long term mean.

“Water conditions on the prairies have improved since May so brood habitat should be good, however, production is still expected to be low for several species,” Van Horn said. “The total mid continent breeding population estimate of mallards was a little over 8.3 million birds. This population figure combined with the Canadian pond number of 2.5 million birds supports a liberal duck season for fall of 2004. This is the same framework that hunters have experienced for several years, including a 60-day season and 6 birds/day bag limit.

“Given the predicted USFWS liberal framework of 60 days, we’ll be asking for public input on several factors as we work to finalize the Wisconsin waterfowl regulations. Season start dates, season splits, and bag limits will all be discussed. For example, under the 60-day seasons the past few years, we have opened the northern zone early (this year would be Sept 25) and the southern zone a week later (this year Oct 2) with a 5-day split in October. Wisconsin hunters in the past have also elected to reduce the daily bag of hen mallards from 2 to 1 in order to protect our breeding ducks.”

Locations and meeting times are as follows:

• Aug. 2, La Crosse - 7 p.m. La Crosse County Administration Building, 400 4th Street North, Basement Auditorium (Note: Enter at the South entrance between the Admin. Building and the Health Building).
• Aug. 3, Spooner - 7 p.m. University of Wisconsin Experimental Farm - W6646 Hwy. 70
• Aug. 4, Green Bay - 7 p.m., Room 310Green Bay City Hall, 100 N. Jefferson St.,
• Aug. 5, Pewaukee - 7 p.m., Conference Room, Comfort Suites, N14 W24121 Tower Place, Hwy. J and I-94

Prior to the Aug. 2-5 public meetings, DNR biologists will meet with the Wisconsin Conservation Congress Migratory Committee to brief the committee on information learned at the recent Mississippi Flyway Council Technical Section regarding fall waterfowl populations and possible season frameworks. A public information meeting will be held the following day.

The 2004 Conservation Congress Migratory Committee Meeting will be held Friday, July 30, from 7 to 10:30 p.m. at the Comfort Suites Foxfire; 205 Foxfire Drive; Waupaca. There will be a 2004 Post Flyway public information meeting (public invited) on Sat., July 31, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the same location.

Interested parties are encouraged to attend one of the public meetings or hearings and/or submit comments on the waterfowl regulations to Allison Oberc at PO. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921 or by e-mail to <Allison.Oberc@dnr.state.wi.us>.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Kent Van Horn - (608) 266-8841

Fall turkey application deadline Aug.10

MADISON -- This fall, 78,900 wild turkey permits will be available to hunters. This is a slight increase in permits compared to last fall when 78,750 permits were given out. Permit levels were finalized by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Turkey Advisory Committee after careful consideration of hunter interference rates, previous fall permit levels, recent spring harvests, and predicted spring turkey production. Conservative fall permit levels were established based on a concern over poor production levels this spring as a result of the cool and wet weather.

Hunters are reminded that August 10 is the fall turkey application deadline. The $3 application can be purchased at all ALIS vendors, DNR Service Centers, by calling 1-877-WI-LICENSE, or by applying through the DNR's On Line License Sales/ Web site.

The fall season is a 30-day season that will run from Oct. 9 through Nov. 7 for all permit holders. This straight season allows for more hunter opportunity and flexibility and differs from the spring season which is divided into six, five-day hunting periods. The fall bag limit is one turkey of any age or sex per hunting approval notice.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrea Mezera (608) 261-8458

Forestry centennial, invasive species featured at DNR State Fair exhibit

MILWAUKEE – Visitors to the 2004 Wisconsin State Fair (Exit DNR) can learn more about the history of forestry in Wisconsin, about efforts to control exotic invasive species, and about how burn barrels contribute to air pollution by visiting the Department of Natural Resources state fair exhibit.

“DNR Park is a natural oasis in the southwest corner of the fairgrounds,” says Kathleen Wolski, public affairs manager for the DNR Southeast Region. “It is a great place to relax and enjoy nature, talk with staff and learn about the natural environment. It is both figuratively and literally one of the coolest spots at the Fair.”

The State Fair opens Thursday, August 5 and runs through Sunday, August 15 at the Wisconsin State Fair Park on 84th Street in West Allis, just south of Interstate Highway 94. Here are some of the exhibits visitors can enjoy at DNR Park:

100 years of Forestry

The forestry program is celebrating 100 years with a special Centennial feature. A model train exhibit contributed by "Bits n' Pieces” features two model trains traversing Wisconsin's natural and built environment during four seasons. Wisconsin's Tree Farmers of the Year will be on hand August 12-14 to demonstrate and encourage public stewardship of our natural resources, and the fire equipment exhibit will display past and present wild fire suppression tools including the original Wisconsin fire-line plow and T-6 tractor. Visitors will be invited to take a forest history quiz and spend time talking with our staff of professional foresters. The indoor forestry exhibits will highlight proper tree pruning and the gypsy moth information. Fire safety lessons will be held daily at Smokey's Schoolhouse and Smokey Bear's 60th birthday party will be held on Monday, August 9.

Uninvited guests wreak environmental havoc

The aquatic invasive species exhibit will be back again at the State Fair to allow visitors the opportunity to learn about some of Wisconsin's "Least Wanted" species. These plants and animals have been introduced to Wisconsin waters where they can have big ecological, economic, and recreational impacts. Visitors will get up close and personal with these plants and animals while learning the simple steps that they can take to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species when boating, fishing, and even gardening. Staff will be available to answer questions and there will be plenty of ID cards and other materials to take home. A variety of fish native to Wisconsin will be on display at the aquarium exhibit.

A Rich Heritage

The "Wall of Fame,” featuring Wisconsin’s heritage of outdoor activities, will highlight the Law Enforcement display. A joint effort of the Conservation Congress and the DNR Law Enforcement Bureau, this display will be the focal point on the importance of continuing our heritage by becoming involved in outdoor activities such as fishing, hunting, boating, hiking, trapping, and other activities.

Fresh Air

The focus of this year's air and waste display will be “Open Burning.” Learn the proper use of burn barrels and take a quiz on what can--and cannot--be burned, along with alternatives to burning. The Quest for Clean Air display, plus a more general air quality display, will illustrate the sources of air pollution, explain the Air Quality Index and give examples of actions people can take to reduce air pollution.

T-shirt Printing

A traditional State Fair activity for many families is T-shirt printing at the DNR Park. Coordinated by the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, each day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. artists of all ages can decorate a T-shirt or other piece of material. This year’s theme is leaf printing and the printing is free. T-shirts are available for sale, or you can bring your own.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathleen Wolski - (414) 263-8516

Smokey Bear turns 60 years old

MADISON -- August 9, 2004 marks Smokey Bear’s 60th birthday, and state forestry officials say Smokey’s simple theme -- Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires -- remains as pertinent today as it was when first coined 60 years ago. In honor of Smokey’s birthday, state officials have a variety of activities planned, including a birthday party at the Department of Natural Resources park at the Wisconsin State Fair.

“Smokey Bear is probably one of the most recognized symbols in America,” says Catherine Regan, DNR wildfire prevention specialist. “That’s why Smokey’s message is extremely important in Wisconsin -- over 98 percent of all wildfires in Wisconsin are human-caused.”

While Smokey’s message of fire prevention has stayed largely the same over the years it has undergone a bit of an evolution, Regan says.

“As our understanding of the role that fire plays in nature has grown, Smokey’s message has been revised from ‘forest fires’ to ‘wildfires’ because we now understand that some fires in the forest are important for maintaining forest health,” she says.

“Most wildfires in Wisconsin are caused by the careless acts of people. Smokey teaches Wisconsin residents to always consider alternatives to burning their leaves and brush, to always obtain the necessary permits, and to check with local fire protection agency for more information before burning.”

The message doesn’t just relate to forests, Regan notes. “As more and more homes appear in the woods, Smokey’s message is more important than ever.” A few decades ago, rural fire agencies had only one or two homes at risk when there was a fire in the forest. Today, they have hundreds of homes to protect. Homeowners are finding that it is up to them to create an environment around their homes, which will help to keep it safe from wildfire.

The first national fire prevention messages featuring Smokey Bear were distributed by the United States Forest Service in 1944. The Forest Service, working with the Advertising Council, authorized a poster by artist Rudolph Wendelin as the symbol of fire prevention. The symbol became real in 1950 in New Mexico when fire fighters found a tiny bear cub up a tree in a burned area after a forest fire had swept through that badly burned the feet of the little cub.

Fire fighters rescued him and nicknamed him "Hotfoot" for a while but quickly switched to "Smokey" in honor of the Forest Service fire-fighting symbol. Game Warden Ray Bell took the little cub to a veterinary hospital in Santa Fe and later kept the cub in his home during recovery. When he finally was healed he was flown to the National Zoo. In 1976 Smokey died and was returned to New Mexico to be buried.

Wisconsin is celebrating Smokey’s 60th birthday in several ways this year. There will be a birthday party for Smokey Bear beginning at 1 p.m. on August 9 in the DNR park at the Wisconsin State Fair. The DNR in conjunction with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is sponsoring a birthday card contest (contest entries closed on July 16). This statewide event will choose 17 regional winners. Each regional winner will receive a Smokey goodie bag and will get a chance to compete at the state level. The top three winners will be posted on the DNR and EEK! Web sites on August 9.

Smokey Bear continues to be the national symbol of fire prevention and education and will always remind us that “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires!” To learn more about Smokey Bear visit www.smokeybear.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Regan (608) 266-2359

Beginner waterfowl clinic offered

BABCOCK, Wis. -- The Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center in cooperation with the Tomah chapter of Ducks Unlimited will sponsor a Beginner Waterfowl Hunter Clinic on Saturday, September 11, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Skills Center is located 20 miles west of Wisconsin Rapids on Highway "X" one mile north of Highway 80 near Babcock, Wisconsin on the 9,000 acre Department of Natural Resources Sandhill Wildlife Area.

The clinic will include activities on identifying common ducks, hunter ethics, shotgun shooting practice, and demonstrations on decoying, calling, use of retrieving dogs, boater safety tips and more. A lunch and refreshments will be provided, compliments of several area Ducks Unlimited chapters. Bring clothing suitable for the out-of-doors.

Youth participants completing the clinic may be able to return to Sandhill to hunt on one of several flowages if the US Fish & Wildlife Service sponsors its Youth Duck Hunt weekend again this year in late September. Participants under age 18 years old who have a hunter safety certificate and desire to return for the hunt can bring an experienced duck hunter with them to the clinic. Remember, space is limited, so register soon!

For more information contact the Skills Center at: (715) 884-6333 or (715) 884-2437.

Registration is limited to 30 people on a first-come, first-served basis and is confirmed by mailing in a registration fee of $10 per person by Aug. 25. Persons desiring to stay over in our dorm either prior to or following the event may do so; we ask a donation of $15 per person per night.

Checks should be made out to DNR-Skills Center. Include the name of each participant, and the address and daytime phone number of one person in each party. Send your registration fee to: Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center, PO Box 156, Babcock, WI 54413.

Inquiries on the status of registrations may be sent via e-mail to: <Sandra.Green@dnr.state.wi.us>. More information on the Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center can be found on the DNR Web site.

The Sandhill Outdoor Skills Center is located 20 miles west of Wisconsin Rapids on County Highway X, 1 mile north of Highway 80 near Babcock, Wisconsin on the 9,000 acre Department of Natural Resources Sandhill Wildlife Area.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Sandhill Skills Center at: (715) 884-6333 or (715) 884-2437