News

New Partner Helping WYFP Create Healthier Forests

June 29, 2019

On June 4, the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership gained its 17th partner: Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities. A nonprofit organization, HFHC builds coalitions that promote the active forest management needed to improve and sustain forest health. Individuals and businesses that are passionate about improving the health of our forests and the future of our rural communities help support this forward-thinking organization.

HFHC advocates for active forest management through regional programs in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, and Great Lakes States. The organization understands that young forests are an important part of healthy forest systems, and are especially beneficial to many game and non-game wildlife species, said Steve Kariainen, HFHC’s director for the Great Lakes States. Added WYFP coordinator Randee Smith: “With young forests being such an integral component of a healthy forest, it makes sense for HFHC and the WYFP to partner together.”

Kariainen will join the WYFP Steering Committee, bringing his knowledge from participation in several industry associations, committees, and working groups dealing with forest practices and environmental issues. HFHC has a large social media following in the Great Lakes region and should be able to help with outreach and in publicizing the work of the WYFP, Kariainen said. With a recent addition of a WYFP Facebook page, “timing couldn’t better to boost its presence through partners like HFHC,” Smith said.

Learn more about Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities.

Nothing to Grouse About

June 19, 2019

From Barron News-Shield

Roadside ruffed grouse surveys completed this spring show statewide drumming activity increased 41 percent between 2018 and 2019, the Wisconsin DNR reports. This increase aligns with a generally predictable upswing in the grouse population cycle.

The large increase in 2019 has made up for much of the unanticipated decline seen in 2018 drumming surveys and appears to put Wisconsin back on track for approaching the next cyclical high in the ruffed grouse population.

For complete survey results, visit dnr.wi.gov and search keywords "reports."

Roadside surveys to monitor the number of breeding grouse have been conducted by staff from Wisconsin DNR, U.S. Forest Service, tribal employees and numerous grouse enthusiasts and volunteers since 1964.

The survey results showed a 41 percent increase statewide over 2018 levels. The central part of the state showed an increase of 35 percent in drumming activity, and the northern forest showed an increase of 48 percent in drumming activity. These two areas comprise the primary grouse range in Wisconsin.

Drumming activity in both southwestern and southeastern Wisconsin is at or near historic lows.

"Ruffed grouse rely on dense, young forest cover resulting from disturbances such as fire and logging," said Mark Witecha, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources upland wildlife ecologist.

"Beyond actively managing state-owned lands, Wisconsin DNR is working to provide suitable grouse habitat through collaborative efforts (that) provide technical and financial assistance for delivering young forest management on private lands, benefiting ruffed grouse and other wildlife species by helping maintain healthy and diverse forest communities," Witecha said.

The DNR is currently working with partners to develop a ruffed grouse management plan, which will be released for public review later this summer, with associated public meetings to be held during a public comment period.

Wisconsin DNR is a partner in the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership, working alongside 15 other conservation entities to create this much-needed wildlife habitat.

Brainstorming Indoors, Then Boots in the Woods

February 12, 2019

To create good-quality wildlife habitat, it’s sometimes necessary to conduct a timber harvest. Many landowners that the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership (WYFP) works to educate and help haven’t considered harvesting trees – or they’ve taken the first step by developing a forest management plan but are unsure what to do next.

To provide insight into how to conduct a successful timber harvest that will benefit wildlife, WYFP hosted a forestry workshop and tour on Saturday, December 8, at the Kemp Natural Resources Station in Woodruff. Funding from the American Bird Conservancy made the workshop possible.

An enthusiastic group of 29 landowners attended, representing ownership of 25 properties and more than 3,000 acres. They hailed from 11 counties across northern Wisconsin.

The workshop started off with an introduction to the WYFP and funding opportunities that are available. Peter Anderson, a consulting forester with Sound Forest Management in Rib Lake, WI, gave a presentation on “How to Conduct a Successful Timber Harvest.” Anderson covered topics such as the importance of a forest management plan, how to find the best forester for your needs, services that foresters provide, how to work with loggers, how to monitor the harvest, and what to do when the harvest is finished.

After the presentation, landowners asked questions to a panel of natural resource professionals: Jon Steigerwaldt, a regional biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society; Jacob Bonack, service forester with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR); Jeremy Holtz, DNR wildlife biologist; and Peter Anderson, consulting forester. Participants quizzed the experts on a range of wildlife and forestry topics and sought details about programs such as DNR’s Managed Forest Law (MFL) program, a landowner incentive program that encourages sustainable forestry on private lands.

After lunch, participants drove to a site where trees had recently been cut to see what the place looked and felt like. On snow-covered ground, they continued their discussion with the professionals, getting insight into the use of different types of logging machines. Landowners had a chance to get a close look at a forwarder, a forestry vehicle that carries felled logs from the stump to a roadside landing, from which they will be hauled to a mill.

The landowners also visited a red pine plantation harvest and saw how the harvester was able to move between rows of trees with minimal site disturbance. They also checked out a site where management was aimed to regenerate oaks and saw how trees are marked with different colors to designate whether they should be left or taken during logging.

Overall, this educational day was greatly appreciated by all that attended. Property owners reported being put at ease through learning what they should look for and what they should do as they consider taking the big step of harvesting trees on their land to make food and cover for wildlife such as deer, snowshoe hare, American woodcock, and golden-winged warbler.

New Partner, New WYFP Office Location

October 22, 2018

Lumberjack Resource Conservation and Development Council recently joined the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership as a fiscal sponsor and an official MOU (memorandum of understanding) signee.

Says Lumberjack RC&D executive director Tracy Beckman: “Lumberjack values the relationship with WYFP because the group aligns so well with the Lumberjack mission by enhancing natural resources, helping to improve the quality of life for private citizens, and fostering partnerships at the public and private level. Lumberjack brings a wealth of grant administration experience and organizational development expertise to the group, and we’re looking forward to helping WYFP grow.”

A multi-county nonprofit, Lumberjack serves Florence, Forest, Langlade, Lincoln, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Shawano, and Vilas counties in northeastern Wisconsin. In existence for over 50 years, Lumberjack helps local governments conserve and properly use natural resources to solve local problems and improve local economies.

Reports WYFP coordinator Randee Smith, “As of August 12, the coordinator position transferred to Lumberjack RC&D, and our office location moved from the Rhinelander Department of Natural Resources building to the Lumberjack RC&D office in the Curran Professional Park near the Oneida County courthouse."

Smith added: "From the very beginning, when the WYFP executive committee considered transferring the coordinator position, Lumberjack director Tracy Beckman was kind and very helpful in answering all of our questions. She has been instrumental in organizing the funding sources that will support the coordinator position for the next three years and has already delved into learning about the complexity of the partnership.”

Continues Smith, “Looking forward, Lumberjack RC&D will play a vital role by housing the coordinator position and handling the administration aspect, and also will be positioned to apply for grants on behalf of the WYFP. I look forward to learning from Tracy as we work together and make new connections that will benefit the partnership and ultimately help both the environment and the people of northern Wisconsin.”

New RGS Biologist for Wisconsin

August 27, 2018

CORAOPOLIS, PA - Jonathan Steigerwaldt is the new regional wildlife biologist/forest wildlife specialist coordinator with The Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS/AWS) for Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. RGS/AWS is a key partner in the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership.

Steigerwaldt will provide leadership and use education and outreach to further RGS/AWS habitat programs that create young forest habitat helping ruffed grouse and American woodcock thrive on both public and private lands in the four states. Steigerwaldt will also coordinate the RGS/AWS forest wildlife specialist program, supporting the two forest wildlife specialists in Wisconsin that enhance private land forest habitat development in partnership with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WI DNR), and will help other staff members develop additional forest wildlife specialist positions in other states.

“I am very pleased with the addition of Jonathan to the respected Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society biologist team,” said RGS/AWS Director of Conservation Policy Brent Rudolph. “He comes to us with a lot of passion, [an] impressive background of education and work experience and the skills necessary to make a difference for the future of healthy forest management in his region.”

Steigerwaldt grew up on a certified Tree Farm and earned a Bachelor’s degree in forest management from the University Wisconsin, Stevens Point (UWSP). He worked in the Wisconsin County Forests Association for several years before returning to UWSP to earn a Master’s in natural resources, studying ecosystem responses to prescribed fire and timber harvesting treatments, focusing on wildlife use, insect populations, and vegetation and tree responses.

Steigerwaldt has also held forestry positions with WI DNR and has a number of years of experience as a private forestry consultant, a Wisconsin cooperating forester and a certified management plan writer. He emphasizes public outreach and education and has served as an instructor of forestry on a variety of subjects, including dendrology, land measurement, the ecological basis for natural resources management, plant identification, GIS and fisheries, forestry and wildlife management.

“I am extremely excited to further my passion for stewardship of natural resources through this position with the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society,” Steigerwaldt said. “I look forward to building on my prior work experiences and training to perpetuate and enhance our mission to create healthy forests that benefit forest wildlife in my region.”

Steigerwaldt resides in Spooner, WI, and officially started his position on July 30, 2018. Contact him at JonS@RuffedGrouseSociety.org or (412) 720-6033.

Landowner Workshop on Monitoring Wildlife Using iNaturalist

July 25, 2018
By Ryan Jacques, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

iNaturalist may be unfamiliar to many, but this worldwide project gives anyone who wants to be a citizen scientist a place to record and organize environmental observations and share those valuable observations with a community of other nature enthusiasts and scientists.

The Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership (WYFP) created a project within iNaturalist, Wisconsin’s Young Forests, that lets landowners collect data specific to young forest habitat in Wisconsin. By joining and submitting your observations, you can help the WYFP understand the impacts that management actions have on the plants and animals living on your property, which will allow us to fine-tune and improve future management approaches. (Learn more at Monitor Your Property.)

On June 16, 2018, the WYFP hosted a workshop at Kemp Natural Resources Station in Woodruff to kick off the iNaturalist project. Twenty private landowners from the northern counties learned how to monitor wildlife by using iNaturalist to identify, organize, and report their observations.

Speakers included Anna Buckardt (Masters candidate, University of Maine), Ryan Jacques (WI DNR), Randee Smith (WYFP coordinator), and Callie Bertsch (American Bird Conservancy). Presentation topics included the use and function of iNaturalist, ways to survey and monitor wildlife on the property level, young forest habitat types, how the WYFP works, and potential funding opportunities for creating habitat through partners such as NRCS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife program.

Casts of wildlife tracks and a variety of traps, furs, trail cameras, guide books, and identification references were also available so participants could sample different resources and discover which wildlife species they might encounter while monitoring their land.

The 20 people attending the workshop represented 13 different private land ownerships. The workshop drew in landowners from across northern Wisconsin who had completed young forest management; who were in the process of conducting habitat work to create young forest; or who wanted to find out more about managing for young forest.

Landowners who had completed management through the WYFP shared their experiences of applying for funding as well as the results of their management efforts. They unanimously expressed how easy the application process was, thanks to Callie Bertsch and the WYFP staff. Landowners just starting to manage and those who were getting management done were relieved to hear how quickly the vegetation grew back on managed sites, and how a variety of wildlife sought out the regrowing young forest habitat.

After lunch, participants took a field trip to the Lake Tomahawk Demonstration Area in the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest. Anna Buckardt and her volunteers set up a mist net in a stand of seven- to eight-year-old aspen. While waiting for the net to capture birds, Anna led a nature walk through the young aspen stand to gather data using the iNaturalist app. Participants were impressed by the power of iNaturalist, especially the way the app suggested identification options when a picture was added with the observation.

Participants spotted a variety of birds, including eastern towhee, red-eyed vireo, rose-breasted grosbeak, and veery. They also identified plants associated with young forests by using identification books and the iNaturalist app. The mist net caught a chestnut-sided warbler, letting folks see this colorful bird up close and ask questions about the specific data that researchers collected during the capture process.

Overall, the workshop was a very successful coming together of partners which gave landowners an enjoyable day full of worthwhile information and gratifying outdoor experiences. The workshop’s success stems from the hard work and determination of Randee Smith and the support and guidance of Jamie Nack (UW-Extension Senior Wildlife Outreach Specialist), ABC’s National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant (which provided lunch and beverages), Wisconsin DNR staff for providing equipment and resources, and the University of Maine and Anna Buckardt for support and the mist-netting demonstration.

Landowners should be on the lookout for future workshops put on by the WYFP for folks interested in managing their properties to help wildlife.

Survey Suggests Increase in Breeding Ruffed Grouse

June 6, 2017
MADISON – Roadside ruffed grouse surveys completed in spring 2017 showed statewide drumming activity increased 17 percent from 2016, based on data collected to monitor breeding grouse activity.

"An increase in breeding grouse activity hopefully will mean an increase in grouse nesting and brood rearing, which could mean more grouse for hunters to pursue this fall," said Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wildlife survey coordinator Brian Dhuey. "Ruffed grouse populations are known to rise and fall over a 9- to 11-year cycle, and the last peak in Wisconsin's cycle occurred in 2011 - survey results suggest that we have passed the low point in the population cycle and have started the increasing phase, which should continue the next few years as the grouse population moves toward the next peak."

Since 1964, roadside surveys to monitor the number of breeding grouse have been conducted by staff from the department, U.S. Forest Service, tribal employees, and numerous grouse enthusiasts and volunteers.

The northern and southwest regions of the state showed increases in 2017, while the southeast and central regions remained stable or showed small declines. While increases in the southwest part of the state were the largest by percentage, this area is not within the primary range for grouse. The increase in activity in southwestern Wisconsin follows near historic lows, and likely would not add significantly to grouse abundance in the state.

Results from the 2017 survey show that grouse populations in both the southwest and southeast regions remain well below historic levels. According to Mark Witecha, a DNR upland wildlife ecologist, the maturing of southern Wisconsin's forests and the resulting loss of dense, brushy areas that grouse need for cover has resulted in lower numbers of grouse in recent decades.

"Ruffed grouse rely on dense, young forest cover resulting from disturbances such as fire and logging," said Witecha. "Beyond actively managing state-owned lands, Wisconsin DNR is working to provide suitable grouse habitat through an extensive collaborative effort known as the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership. The Partnership provides technical and financial assistance for young forest management on private lands, benefiting ruffed grouse and other wildlife species by helping maintain healthy and diverse forest communities."
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Click here for a version of this news article that includes a link to full results of the 2017 statewide drumming survey.

Where Have the Ruffed Grouse Gone?

January 31, 2017
By Jerry Davis for the Wisconsin State Journal

TOWN OF BERRY -- Residents, particularly landowners, living in the driftless (unglaciated) areas of Wisconsin and adjacent states noticed when the whip-poor-wills called less often.

After the 1980s, some also noticed the absence of ruffed grouse drumming in spring.

But a few “partridge” still remain here in southwest Wisconsin and across the borders in Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois.

Scott Walter flushed six ruffed grouse during the opening day of last fall’s gun deer season on his farm in Richland County.

The previous spring, a neighbor of Walter’s heard six male grouse drumming on his property.

Walter, a regional wildlife biologist living in rural Viola, is employed by the Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society in their Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois’ district. Before that, he spent five years in the upland game wildlife section of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and 10 years teaching at UW-Richland, where he studied Wisconsin’s beloved timber gamebird.

One of Walter’s new responsibilities is to assist individuals and organizations in rehabilitating woodland habitat to better fit a host of wildlife, particularly ruffed grouse and woodcock.

Recently he spoke with about 30 landowners at the Town of Berry Town Hall, near Mazomanie.

Walter asked, and then answered, their likely question.

“What happened to the grouse in western Dane County and much of the rest of the driftless area?”

He quickly gave a pardon to wild turkeys, coyotes and the rest of the area’s predators but not to those who are not helping to create disturbances in their forests.

“A ruffed grouse is basically a hunk of meatloaf with feathers,” he said. “Is it a hawk’s fault if you released a rabbit on Lambeau Field and the hawk eats it, or would you blame the lack of the right habitat the creature needs to hide from predators?

“The area forests have matured and we’re no longer able to flush 40 birds in a day of hunting,” Walter lamented. “But we can bring them back to some level but not to what once was.”

In other words, it should be possible for a spring turkey hunter to hear the putt, putt sounds of that “John Deere tractor of the spring woods.”

That’s the drumming sound a male grouse makes from a well-protected log, but would never be heard in the middle of a savanna or hay field.

“A few birds are still here, but scattered,” Walter said. “A hen will lay 12 eggs and that can begin to bring them back to some level.”

Forest succession is the problem; a maturing forest does not provide for the needs of ruffed grouse who need sections of young forest; otherwise they are too exposed to owls, hawks, foxes and coyotes.

Local development can hinder the bird’s survival, but that is not a major factor.

It may surprise those who still travel north to hunt that in the 1980s the grouse population was higher here than in northern Wisconsin, Walter said.

“The disturbances on the forest that kept a woods from maturing, from starting over, from creating some sections of young trees, particularly aspens, have been eliminated in many cases,” he said.

“Timber harvesting is a disturbance, but how that timber is harvested differs. The pulp industry in northern Wisconsin clear-cuts sections, which stimulate aspens,” Walter said. “We can do a patchwork of harvesting to create diversity. Grouse need some areas of dense, brushy forest.”

The acres of young forest in the driftless area have been reduced from about 300,000 acres in 1980 to 65,000 acres in 2015.

That patterns the reduction in grouse, too.


Learn more about ruffed grouse and how they use young forest habitat.

Valerie Johnson Hired as Forest Wildlife Specialist

January 5, 2017
SPOONER – Healthy forests are the centerpiece of the Ruffed Grouse Society and its sister organization the American Woodcock Society's mission, and this important mission is shared by many other conservation organizations.

By engaging with conservation partners, RGS/AWS can pool "time, talent and treasure" to have a synergistic impact on forest resources. RGS/AWS staff have captured this synergy through a novel collaboration with staff from the USDA - Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, which will support a new, full-time staff person dedicated to forest habitat development in northwestern Wisconsin.

Valerie Johnson recently began working in the first RGS/AWS forest wildlife specialist position in the Spooner USDA Service Center. Johnson will work with forest landowners to identify and implement sound forest management practices on their lands, emphasizing those that enhance or expand the young forest habitat base. From initial consultation to practice implementation, she will provide landowners with all the technical assistance needed to achieve their forest wildlife habitat objectives and will provide financial assistance via the application of federal Farm Bill conservation dollars.

"We are very excited to bring this initiative to fruition," said Josh Sherman, NRCS assistant state conservationist for field operations. "Private landowners manage the majority of forested land in Wisconsin, and through this position we envision being able to better provide needed technical and financial services to this community. We are thrilled to have someone of Valerie's energy and expertise on board."

Johnson is steeped in the North Woods lifestyle, is an avid hunter, and brings an abundance of experience and enthusiasm to the RGS/AWS conservation program. She earned her B.S. degree in geology and watershed management from Winona State University in Minnesota and a Master's in forestry and forestry recreation from UW-Stevens Point. She has an extensive background in forest management, having worked as a forestry technician for Wisconsin DNR and in various roles for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Park Service, and Illinois DNR. She currently serves as treasurer for the Wisconsin Chapter of the Society of American Foresters.

"I am extremely excited to begin this new journey as the forest wildlife specialist with the Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society and our partners at NRCS and the Wisconsin DNR," said Johnson. "I very much look forward to helping landowners achieve their forest management objectives, getting to know local RGS/AWS members, and in building strong partnerships with my conservation colleagues throughout the region."

Johnson can be reached at ValerieJ@RuffedGrouseSociety.org.

New Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership Coordinator Hired

October 5, 2016
The Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership (WYFP) recently announced the hiring of Randee Smith as the partnership’s coordinator.

A graduate of Michigan Technological University, Smith has participated in numerous conservation and research projects, including a study of golden-winged warbler genetics in Michigan and a reforestation project in the rainforests of Australia. She began work with the WYFP in August.

Wisconsin's forests support a robust timber industry and vibrant and diverse populations of game and nongame wildlife, and provide scenic beauty and outdoor recreation to the state’s citizens and visitors.

Established in 2011, the WYFP brings together 15 conservation and industry organizations to work to give public land managers and private landowners the knowledge and tools they need to sustain the health and diversity of the state's forests.

Said Jeremy Holtz, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources biologist who serves as WYFP facilitator: "Randee brings a wealth of experience in forest wildlife management, and she has a driving passion for forest management and wildlife conservation. She will help lead our WYFP team and ensure that northern Wisconsin landowners receive outstanding service as they engage in management of their forested acres."

"I'm excited to become a part of the WYFP team," said Smith. "I’ve had a lifelong association with the wildlife of our northern forests, and being able to work with the WYFP and landowners across northern Wisconsin to enhance their habitat is a dream come true."

Smith added, "Young forest conservation is a critical and pressing issue, and we absolutely need landowners to understand how they can contribute to our conservation efforts. I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish together."

Noted Holtz about the WYFP: "Our goal is to ensure that land managers understand the critical role of disturbance in maintaining a diverse and functional forest ecosystem."

Owing to a lack of natural and manmade disturbances in recent decades, said Holtz, "We have seen major declines among many species of wildlife – from American woodcock to golden-winged warblers – that are adapted to dense, young forest habitats." Those habitats arise following disturbance caused by floods, fires, storms, and management activities like timber harvesting. The WYFP, Holtz said, "works diligently to promote active forest management that addresses this critical conservation issue."

WYFP partners include federal and state agencies, wildlife and forestry organizations, timber companies, and private landowners. The group provides outreach, education, and advice for landowners interested in enhancing forest wildlife habitat on properties they own or manage.

Over the past five years, hundreds of northern Wisconsin landowners have benefited from WYFP efforts, and habitat on thousands of forested acres has been created and improved.

The WYFP coordinator position receives funding from the Ruffed Grouse Society, Wildlife Management Institute, and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

For more information on the WYFP, contact Randee Smith, WYFP Coordinator, 315 S. Oneida Ave., Suite 206,(715) 966-5160, WIyoungforest@gmail.com.

Additional media contacts:
Jeremy Holtz, WYFP Facilitator
Phone: (715) 365-8999
E-Mail: Jeremy.Holtz@Wisconsin.gov

Dan Eklund, WYFP Steering Committee Vice-Chairman
Phone: (715) 762-5194
E-Mail: deklund@fs.fed.us

Migratory Bird Treaty Centennial

August 9, 2016
In 2016, Wisconsin commemorated a century of bird conservation within and across the state's borders. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources invited citizens to join in celebrating that important milestone by attending bird conservation events, volunteering for bird-related conservation projects, helping birds in local areas, and spending time birding on Wisconsin's scenic public lands.

Learn more about how you can help and celebrate birds.

The beautiful golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) was Wisconsin DNR's Bird of the Month for June 2016. This songbird actually benefited from widespread clearcutting in the 1800s and early 1900s. A bird of young or wet shrubby habitat with scattered trees, the golden-winged warbler began to decline as young forests and thickets aged. Human development in areas with shrub habitat greatly reduced the species in southern Wisconsin, and hybridization with blue-winged warblers was also a problem, especially as blue-winged warblers shifted their range north. Most nesting golden-winged warbler populations in the state currently occupy the aspen and alder thickets of northern Wisconsin.

Key points to remember:

Wisconsin is home to over 20 percent of the world’s nesting golden-winged warblers, meaning the state has high "stewardship responsibility" for the species.

The state's Young Forest Initiative, which seeks to manage young forest habitat for plants and wildlife, is working to improve conditions for golden-winged warblers and other birds such as rose-breasted grosbeaks, brown thrashers, and American woodcock.

Recent research has shown golden-wings also use older forest habitats in proximity to their young-forest breeding areas, suggesting that a mosaic of different habitat types may best serve this species.

On their wintering sites in Central and South America, these warblers occupy forest canopies, preferably near open areas. Montane forest may also be an important habitat.

RGS and USFWS Agreement Provides $50,000 for Wisconsin Young Forest Habitat

April 5, 2016
The Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to expand support for young forest habitat restoration efforts across northern and central Wisconsin.

A new agreement secures $25,000 in FWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife program funding for forest management practices that will benefit ruffed grouse, American woodcock, golden-winged warblers and other young-forest-dependent wildlife species over the next three years.

RGS has also committed an equal amount of staff time and habitat funding over this time period, resulting in $50,000 in total support for critical habitat efforts in the state.

Landowners across northern and central portions of the state will be eligible for assistance, with support focused on identified priority areas for woodcock and golden-winged warblers. The Partners for Fish and Wildlife program provides technical and financial assistance to landowners interested in enhancing fish and wildlife habitat on their land.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service has long been a leader in private lands conservation work in Wisconsin, and we’re thrilled to be able to collaborate with their staff and bring additional resources to address our shared mission of supporting healthy forests in the state,” noted RGS and American Woodcock Society (AWS) regional biologist Scott Walter.

“This agreement is a great example of how, by partnering with agencies that have similar conservation goals, we can magnify our ability to meet conservation objectives,” Walter added. “This agreement also brings assistance to those who own 90 percent of the land in the upper Midwest – private landowners.”

Record Habitat Funding in Wisconsin from RGS/AWS

March 9, 2016
By Jane Fyksen, Agriview

Ruffed grouse, American woodcock, golden-winged warblers and numerous other wildlife species require regenerating forest stands that develop following timber harvests and other forest-management activities. The Ruffed Grouse Society and its sister organization the American Woodcock Society are providing $80,340 through the Wisconsin Drummer Fund to 15 projects in Wisconsin that will enhance young forest wildlife habitat and increase hunter access to prime hunting areas.

Partners will bring an additional $130,000 to complete these projects, resulting in more than $210,000 in forest habitat improvements during 2016.

More than 880 acres will be directly enhanced. Funds used to support expanded landowner outreach efforts and forest access-road improvements will indirectly support habitat improvements on thousands of additional acres. More than 45 miles of hunter walking trails will also be created or enhanced with the funds.

To accomplish the projects, RGS/AWS will partner with the U.S. Forest Service, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Class ACT Charter School in Park Falls, the counties of Price, Ashland and Bayfield, and the Golden Sands Resource Conservation and Development Council.

The Wisconsin Drummer Fund was initiated in 2010 to let RGS/AWS funnel funds raised at chapter events, and through direct member donations, to proactive forest conservation work in Wisconsin. Since then, more than $376,000 has been made available to support 85 Wisconsin young-forest-related projects, enhancing an estimated 8,704 acres of habitat and improving hundreds of miles of hunter walking trails. The funds have been matched by other agencies and organizations, resulting in more than $1 million worth of projects being funded in Wisconsin since 2010. This year marks the sixth straight year for record funding levels under the program.

Wisconsin Drummer Fund Projects approved for 2016 include:

• Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership — 21 northern Wisconsin counties and 13 partner organizations
• Wildlife Openings and Hunter Walking Trails — Taylor and Price counties – U.S. Forest Service
• White River Wildlife Area Aspen and Alder Regeneration — Ashland County, Ashland County, and Wisconsin DNR
• Trott Hunter Walking Trail Rehabilitation — Ashland County, Ashland County Forest and Recreation Department
• Ruffed Grouse Habitat Management and Enhancement — Forest County, U.S. Forest Service
• C.D. Besadny Fish and Wildlife Area Grouse and Woodcock Habitat — Kewaunee County, Wisconsin DNR
• Marathon County Alder Regeneration — Marathon County, Wisconsin DNR and Marathon County Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry
• School Forest Ruffed Grouse Project — Ashland County, Class ACT Charter School, and Ashland County Forest and Recreation Department
• Woodboro Lakes Wildlife Area Trail Enhancement — Oneida County, Wisconsin DNR
  Black River Country Forest Opening Management -- Jackson County, Wisconsin DNR
• Borst Valley Wildlife Area Wildlife Shrub and Alder Regeneration — Trempealeau County, Wisconsin DNR
• Mud Lake Wildlife Area Grouse and Woodcock Habitat — Door County, Wisconsin DNR
  Price County Forestry Aspen Age-Class Breakup — Price County, Price County Forestry Department
• Central Wisconsin Demonstration Forest Project — Green Lake, Outagamie, Portage, Taylor and Wood counties; Golden Sands Resource Conservation and Development Council
• Bayfield County Buckthorn Removal — Bayfield County, Bayfield County Forestry and Parks Department

Visit www.ruffedgrousesociety.org for more information or contact RGS/AWS regional wildlife biologist Scott Walter at ScottW@RuffedGrouseSociety.org or 608-538-3840.

State Professional Forestry Chapter Joins WYFP

February 15, 2016
The Wisconsin Chapter of the Society of American Foresters (WI SAF) recently joined the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership, adding a respected, accredited group of natural resource professionals to the statewide effort to increase the amount of young forest to benefit wildlife, people and forest health and diversity in the Badger State.

“WI SAF is excited to partner with the diverse groups involved in this effort,” said Tom Hittle, past State Chair and current State Policy Chair for the chapter. “This presents an excellent opportunity to enhance the connection between professional resource managers, landowners, and the entire Wisconsin forestry community.”

The Society of American Foresters is the national scientific and educational organization representing the forestry profession in the United States. Founded in 1900 by famed conservationist Gifford Pinchot, it has grown to become the largest professional society for foresters in the world.

The SAF’s mission is to advance the science, education, technology and practice of forestry; to enhance the competency of its members; to establish professional excellence; and to use the knowledge, skills and conservation ethic of the profession to ensure the continued health and use of forest ecosystems and the present and future availability of forest resources to benefit society.

The Wisconsin chapter has about 400 members who “represent all segments of the forestry profession in Wisconsin,” Hittle said. “Our membership includes natural resource professionals in public and private settings, researchers, CEOs, administrators, educators, forest technicians and students.”

According to the group’s website, Wisconsin SAF members in their various professional jobs play a major role in managing the 16 million acres of public and private forested land in Wisconsin.

Those forests, the website notes, “provide a variety of benefits for Wisconsin residents and the nation in the form of wildlife, water, recreation and forest products. The forestry profession has adapted to changing priorities for Wisconsin’s forests. During the early days of economic and community development, the emphasis was on timber production. Today, foresters manage for a rich diversity of forest resources to achieve landowner objectives and meet society’s needs and the needs of future generations.”

Added Jeremy Holtz, Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership facilitator, “The mission of the Society of American Forests – to be responsible stewards of the earth’s forests while meeting society’s vital needs – is directly in line with that of the WYFP.”

Holtz also noted that “Many of the cooperating foresters and forestry professionals we already work with through the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership are affiliated with or receive training from SAF. This is the first professional society to formally partner with our group. The Society makes a great addition to the diverse composition of our partners, who include forest industry representatives, government agencies and non-government organizations.”

Holtz added, “We look forward to working with WI SAF members as our Partnership expands various programs such as outreach, landowner assistance and monitoring of wildlife response to forestry practices on public and private forests across Wisconsin.”

Farm Bill Funds Wildlife Habitat, Healthy Forests in Great Lakes States

March 12, 2015
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, announced in January 2015 that a robust grant program will pay for young forest habitat creation in the Great Lakes States starting this year and running through 2019. The project is part of a nationwide Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) funded through the 2014 Farm Bill.

This particular RCPP, “Improving Forest Health for Wildlife Resources,” will fund numerous on-the-ground habitat projects plus pay for planning future young forest creation efforts in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Around 64,000 acres of new habitat will be created in the region, spurred by $5.5 million awarded by NRCS – funding that has attracted commitments for an additional $6.2 million from conservation partners that include state and federal agencies, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and county forests.

The program, administered by the American Bird Conservancy, will emphasize creating habitat to benefit the golden-winged warbler, which has suffered one of the steepest population drops of any songbird species, with a decline of more than 3 percent annually over the last 40 years across its range. The RCPP aims to create new breeding habitat on a total of 64,000 acres of private and public lands in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, resulting in a population increase of approximately 16,000 warblers in four years. Funding will provide technical support to private landowners whose properties lie within designated golden-winged warbler focal areas, helping them plan and carry out conservation management actions on their lands. Prescribed practices may include aspen management, timber-stand improvement, and shrubland restoration.

“This is a great time to be a private landowner who wants to manage forested land,” says biologist Amber Roth with the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership, the delivery mechanism for funding habitat projects in the Badger State. Jeremy Holtz, with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, explains: “The Partnership now has unprecedented resources to draw from in providing advice and helping to pay for habitat work. We plan to create and renew thousands of acres of young forest across northern Wisconsin in places that will have the greatest positive impact on wildlife populations that need our help.” Adds Roth, “The work will promote forest health and diversity while making sure our woodlands include both young and old forests and a diverse mix of tree species. Additionally, many local forest-based businesses and communities will be supported by this new work.”

See additional resources at the bottom of this article to download Best Management Practices for golden-winged warblers and American woodcock.

Other wildlife that will benefit from habitat made for golden-winged warblers include white-tailed deer, black bear, moose, Canada lynx, ruffed grouse, American woodcock, whip-poor-will, and a range of songbirds from alder flycatchers to black-billed cuckoos.

Groups participating in the project include: American Bird Conservancy; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge; Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge; Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Woodcock Minnesota; Beltrami County, MN; The Conservation Fund; Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; U.S. Forest Service; Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest; Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society; Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association; Wisconsin County Forests Association; Wildlife Management Institute; The Forestland Group; Pheasants Forever; National Wild Turkey Federation; Michigan Department of Natural Resources; Louisiana-Pacific Corporation; Michigan Tech University; Indiana University of Pennsylvania Research Institute; Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Wisconsin State Implementation Committee; and the following Wisconsin County Forests: Bayfield County Forest, Douglas County Forest, Florence County Forest, Lincoln County Forest, Marathon County Forest, Price County Forest, and Taylor County Forest.

Landowners who want to help wildlife by making much-needed young forest can contact Randee Smith, 315 S. Oneida Ave., Rhinelander WI 54501, 715-966-5160, WIyoungforest@gmail.com.

Major Grant Funds Wildlife Habitat Projects Across Northern Wisconsin

March 12, 2015
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), a conservation grant-maker created by the U.S. Congress, recently awarded $400,000 over two years for a project characterized as “Creating Early Successional Forest that Maximizes Forest Productivity for Wildlife.” The grant – which has attracted matching commitments of $920,432 from conservation partners – will be used to make much-needed young forest in Minnesota and Wisconsin, improving forest health and tree diversity while helping wildlife.

Grant monies will continue funding the position of Habitat Coordinator for the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership, currently held by Randee Wlodek, based in Rhinelander, WI. It will also fund a new forester technician position with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, as well as private consulting foresters across northern Wisconsin who work directly with landowners. Personnel will identify private and public lands where making young forest can deliver the greatest benefits to wildlife, including golden-winged warblers and American woodcock, two birds considered to be “guild species,” or representatives of the suite of different wild creatures that need young forest, also known as early successional habitat.

The goal is to create at least 1,000 additional acres of young forest in Minnesota and Wisconsin on sites near known territories of golden-winged warblers. Scientists studying these migratory birds believe that “new adults arriving in the spring are attracted to sites already occupied and seek to establish new territories in the area,” says Amber Roth, wildlife biologist and Vice-Chairperson of the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership. “It’s highly likely that new habitat created within five miles of existing golden-winged warbler territories will be quickly occupied by the warblers,” which will then use the fresh habitat for breeding and rearing young.

The NFWF grant will also fund outreach efforts and workshops explaining the benefits of young forest to folks who are positioned to create this important habitat: private foresters, as well as natural resource professionals in state and federal agencies. Workshops will show how wildlife benefits when foresters use Best Management Practices, or BMPs, when planning and carrying out timber harvests and other land-management actions.

See additional resources to the right and on the homepage to download Best Management Practices for golden-winged warblers and American woodcock.

The NFWF funding will also help biologists carry out a monitoring program to measure the short-term response of golden-winged warblers and American woodcock to habitat created using the BMPs. Essentially, biologists will count the number of singing males of each species in a given area, which will provide an index to the quality of the habitat. Monitoring will take place on at least 40 young forest sites on public and private lands that were created through, or that meet the criteria of, “Best Management Practices for Golden-winged Warbler Habitats in the Great Lakes Region: A Guide for Land Management and Landowners,” a document previously produced by scientists (available as a download at the bottom of this article). Monitoring studies will also yield a list of other bird species found in association with golden-winged warblers and woodcock in areas where young forest and shrubland have been created or renewed.

Says Roth, “We’re very excited that NFWF has chosen the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership, along with our colleagues in Minnesota, to receive and use these important funds. I feel that it’s a testament to the ongoing commitment of Wisconsinites to create homes and habitats where all wildlife can thrive.” Jeremy Holtz, Chairperson for the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership, adds: “This grant supplies us with new resources to help landowners manage their forests in ways that will benefit wildlife whose populations have fallen in recent years as the amount of young forest has dwindled on the land.”

Habitat created through the NFWF grant should result in a significant increase in the population of the golden-winged warbler, now under consideration by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Not only will golden-winged warblers and woodcock thrive in the new habitat, but other wildlife will also home in on the resulting food and cover, including deer, bear, moose, bobcats, Canada lynx, ruffed grouse, whip-poor-wills, a variety of songbirds, and many reptiles.

Key partners in the Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership include private landowners, state and federal agencies, American Bird Conservancy, Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society, Pheasants Forever, National Wild Turkey Federation, Wisconsin County Forest Association, The Forestland Group, Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, and the Wildlife Management Institute. The American Bird Conservancy will administer the grant.

Landowners who want to help wildlife by making young forest can contact Randee Smith, WYFP Habitat Coordinator, 315 S. Oneida Ave., Rhinelander WI 54501, 715-966-5160, WIyoungforest@gmail.com.