Pennsyvania's Powdermill reserve summer program teaches wildlife conservation

By Nicole Chynoweth

Morgan Calahan, 17, of Beaver County aspires to be a scientific illustrator.

“Anytime I talk to other people, they're like, ‘Oh no, computers are the thing now. You won't get a job,'” she said.

Calahan learned otherwise from wildlife professionals at Powdermill Nature Reserve last week.

The Wildlife Leadership Academy, a program created by the Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation Education, held a ruffed grouse-focused field school at Powdermill Nature Reserve, during which conservation experts taught 17 teenagers and four adult teachers about the state bird as well as ecology, biology and habitat management.

“I really learned a lot about the career I want to pursue,” Calahan said.

“Here you get a really hands-on experience with different professionals,” she said.

The Pennsylvania Institute for Conservation is a nonprofit organization that aims to “engage people across the state with the outdoors,” said director Michele Kittell. Its main program is the Wildlife Leadership Academy, which encourages youth to “become ambassadors for wildlife conservation in order to sustain wildlife legacy for future generations.”

Through the academy, Kittell said students attend one of three field schools, which are focused on the ruffed grouse, white-tailed deer and brook trout and coldwater conservation. After field school, they are challenged to complete outreach activities in education, community service, media engagement or the creative arts using the knowledge they gained.

The program provides students exposure to the career possibilities in wildlife and conservation because experts teach the curriculum, Kittell said. Over the years, the program has recruited students from 52 counties in the state.

Linda Ordiway, a regional biologist from the Ruffed Grouse Society, presented a slide show about aging and sexing ruffed grouse, explaining to students what physical features to look for on a bird to determine such characteristics. She said it is important to make students aware of the issues surrounding ruffed grouse.

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Ruffed Grouse Business Opportunity - Early Seral Habitat Establishment for Ruffed Grouse on the Redbird Ranger District of the Daniel Boone National Forest

Solicitation Number:

AG-531A-S-14-0011

Notice Type:

Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

Synopsis:

Added: Jul 30, 2014 6:48 pm

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for Early Seral Habitat Establishment for Ruffed Grouse on the Redbird Ranger District of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Clay and Leslie Counties, Kentucky. The contractor shall furnish all labor, materials, equipment, transportation, tools, supervision, supplies and incidentals except as listed under government furnished property to perform all work required to complete Early Seral Habitat Establishment for Ruffed Grouse in accordance with the specifications, terms and conditions of this contract.

This combined synopsis/solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for commercial items, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation.

There is no formal site showing for this project. However, an inspection of the project areas is highly recommended. You may contact John Hull at 606-598-2192, Extension 108 or email at jahull@fs.fed.us or Gavin Wilson at 606-598-2192, Extension 104 or email at glwilson@fs.fed.us for technical questions or directions to view the sites prior to submitting a quote. Please contact Sharon Martin at (859) 745-3131 or email at smartin03@fs.fed.us for all other questions.

This acquisition is 100% set aside for small business concerns. If interested, please refer to Page 5, Instructions to Offerors, to see what needs to be completed and returned with your Offer. Offers are due by 4:30 PM EST on August 14, 2014.

All interested firms are advised that registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) formerly Central Contractor Registration (CCR) is required to be eligible for award of a contract. For more information, please check the SAM website at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. Registration in SAM is free.

The Forest Service contemplates award of a firm-fixed price contract as a result of this combined synopsis/solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. Award will be made using Simplified Acquisition Procedures, therefore the evaluation procedures at FAR 13.106-2 will be used.

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HOW TO Take Advantage of Michigan’s Outstanding Grouse Hunting

Derrek Sigler

Michigan’s great outdoors are home to many outstanding hunting opportunities. The state’s ruffed grouse get scores of resident and nonresident hunters afield each fall, and with good reason.

Hunting Great Lakes grouse can be one of the best ways to spend a fall day. You don’t need a ton of gear—yourself, a trusty shotgun, a pocketful of shells, some hunter’s orange, and perhaps a good dog will do. A grouse hunt is never a waste of time, even when you don’t bag any of the tasty birds.

Grouse can elusive, but if you simply open your ears, it’s often quite easy to find them.

Where to find them

As with many other game birds, grouse like cover. My favorite tactic is to find overgrown areas that were clear-cut several year earlier. Young birch trees in particular seem to attract good numbers of grouse.

Grouse can be found throughout the state, but for many of us, the Upper Peninsula holds a special place in our hearts. Anthony Hauck, Pheasants Forever’s online editor from St. Paul, Minnesota, knows exactly where he’s headed come fall.

“Felch in the Upper Peninsula is one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it burgs—a church, a bar, and a softball field,” Hauck said. “Actually, I’m not sure about the church or the softball field. But I’m sure about the bar, sure about the never-tasted-better cheeseburgers, and sure about the grouse and woodcock. I’d risk personal injury from my hunting partners if I told you exactly which direction we went from there, but the good news is you can’t go wrong whichever way [you go]. Then, pick a road or a trail and follow the best compass of all: your birdy dog.”

Having lived in nearby Gwinn while in college, I can attest to the area’s amazing grouse hunting. That area tops my list, too. For Lower Peninsula hunters, I have never had a bad hunt in the Manistee National Forest anywhere near the Manistee River, or around Baldwin.

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Free Workshop on Woodcock and Ruffed Grouse Hunting - New Hampshire

Get set for the fall grouse and woodcock season at a free workshop on Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock Hunting on Saturday, August 9, 2014, from 9 a.m. to noon at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Owl Brook Hunter Education Center in Holderness. Pre-registration is required. To sign up, call 603-536-3954.

The session will be led by grouse hunting enthusiasts/hunter education instructors Sean Williamson and Dan Keleher. Also Andrew Weik, the Northeast biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society, will give a presentation on ruffed grouse and woodcock and their habitat needs.

The workshop covers the basic skills needed for the pursuit of these challenging birds. Participants also will learn about grouse behavior, hunting safety issues, hunting with or without dogs, gaining permission to hunt/landowner relations, clothing choices, shotgun and ammunition options, creature comforts for an enjoyable hunt and recipes for grouse.

Grouse hunting season in New Hampshire opens October 1 and runs through December 31, with a daily bag limit of four birds. Woodcock season opens October 1 and runs through November 14. To learn more about small game hunting in New Hampshire, visit 

http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_small_game.htm.

For more information about the Owl Brook Hunter Education Center, and directions to the center, visit http://www.huntnh.com/Hunting/hunter_ed_center.htm.

Educational activities at Fish and Game’s Owl Brook Hunter Education Center are funded by the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program, supported by your purchase of firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department works in partnership with the public to conserve manage and protect the state’s fish, wildlife and marine resources and their habitats. Visit http://www.huntnh.com.

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Studying Population Dynamics of Ruffed Grouse - Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology at the University of Maine

Blomberg Studying Population Dynamics of Ruffed Grouse

Erik Blomberg, an assistant professor of wildlife ecology in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology at the University of Maine, received a $181,518 grant from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for his proposal, “Understanding population dynamics of ruffed grouse.”

The three-year project aims to better understand how forest management practices and sport hunting influence Maine’s ruffed grouse populations. According to the proposal, the native bird benefits from many forms of forest harvest and is widely used as a game species by Maine residents and visitors.

Blomberg and his team will implement a large-scale field study to evaluate how components of ruffed grouse biology, such as seasonal and annual survival and nest success, respond to different types of forest composition and management. Researchers also will estimate harvest rates throughout the annual hunting season from October to December.

Collected information will close a large gap in the current understanding of ruffed grouse ecology in the region and will contribute to future management of Maine’s popular game bird, as well as contribute to the general understanding of wildlife ecology in forest ecosystems, according to the researchers.

The researchers say they will work closely with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to ensure results provide the greatest benefit to Maine wildlife management.

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MN Ruffed grouse counts see increase, possibly signaling uptrend

Minnesota’s ruffed grouse spring drumming counts were significantly higher than last year across most of the bird’s range, according to a survey conducted by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 

“Ruffed grouse drums increased 34 percent from the previous year, with the increase happening in the northern part of the state,” said Charlotte Roy, DNR grouse project leader. “This may signal the start of an upswing in the grouse cycle that since 2009 has been in the declining phase.”

The increase is consistent with changes typical of the 10-year grouse cycle. The most recent peak in drum counts occurred in 2009. The cycle is less pronounced in the more southern regions of the state, near the edge of the ruffed grouse range.

Read the complete MN DNR article