October 5, 2018 at 4:26 p.m.
Natural Resources Board shortens grouse season with an emergency rule
Ruffed grouse management plan now on the table
Natural Resources Board shortens grouse season with an emergency rule
The emergency rule calls for the closure of the ruffed grouse season for Zones A and B on Nov. 30. Some public comment was made for and against the early closure before the board deliberated on the matter.
A common thread in those comments, as well as comments made by the board members, was the importance of a ruffed grouse management plan.
Board member Dr. Fred Prehn said this bird, an important game species to the state, has been ignored for many years and, if nothing else, he was happy to see the department and others talking about it and putting a management plan on a fast track, to be completed by 2021.
"The only good thing that came out of this is we realize we have no science managing our ruffed grouse population," board member Greg Kazmierski said. "I'm really disappointed in that - that we, for 20 years, haven't had a management plan." He classified ruffed grouse as a keystone species to the state, which has traditionally had some of the best ruffed grouse hunting in the country.
There was some dissension, at first, regarding the date of closure, however.
Historically, only 15 percent of the harvest of ruffed grouse has happened after Nov. 30, in a season that would have lasted until Jan. 6, 2019. Several board members, as well as DNR secretary Dan Meyer, asked if there was any sound science stating that an early closure of the season would affect the population of ruffed grouse next year. They were told there is no sound science to suggest that, but the department believes it's better to err on the side of caution.
"Something happened over the summer," board member Gary Zimmer said, noting that the numbers seemed to fall at that time of year, rather than due to hunter harvest in the fall. "I think we do need to take the cautious approach. But I don't think the date is a big thing. The big thing is we're talking about this bird. It is an important bird to the state." Zimmer said he would put the grouse among the top five birds in the state in terms of importance.
Other members argued a Nov. 30 closing date would really be a Nov. 16 closing date, as most bird hunters would not care to be in the woods pursuing birds during the nine-day gun-deer hunt. With that taken into consideration, and the fact that there is no scientific evidence that early closure would help populations, a motion was made and passed to make the grouse closure date in Zones A and B Dec. 31.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].
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