prairie chicken

BRITTMAN said:
Pheasants are not that common in most of the prairie chicken range pheasants ... exception is the southern units especially after a mild year or two.

In MN hen pheasants are known to drop eggs in prairie chicken nests and this can be detrimental to the overall population.



Maybe pheasants (including hens) should be open along with sharptail grouse to the PC hunters holding a license.
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Yeah conservation wise, the DNR may need to decide what the priority is in that region. Chickens or pheasants. If they believe it to be a cause for population problems of course. They monitor the population there quite a bit so it may be an option should the population starts to get below their goal.
 
I heard an update about the prairie chicken in North dakota. They are not doing well. The area that might have the most, it's the sheyenne national grassland. This is in SE ND, not very far from the prairie chicken stronghold in Minnesota. They do not allow sharptail hunting, as they are worried about people accidentally popping a prairie chicken. I hope these special birds can make a comeback.
 
ND had a PC season may once or twice. Population has always struggled some. I set up a blind and photographed Boomers in the Sheyenne National Grasslands a very long time ago. The Sheyenne National Grasslands is a unique place. It is a Whitetail mecca. It is surrounded by some of the best farmland in the world.

ND also has sage grouse. There was a brief season with a season limit of one at one time, but I believe that population struggles as well and hunting has stopped a few years ago (if not longer).
 
Barnsville is on the southern edge of the MN DNR Pheasant range map. Most of the prairie chicken range is north of that...

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So I talked to the head guy from ND today. He told me with regret in his voice the prairie chickens are on the way out in ND. They even dropped protection on them in one spot. Sounds like sheyenne grassland is about their last spot, and they aren't doing great there. I asked how they have so many sharp grouse but chickens struggle. He said there's more trees now than before, and prairie chickens aren't as adaptable. Too many trees/brush and they don't thrive. Also sharpy grouse do better in cold, the furry legs and all. Reminds me of sage grouse in that they need really specific habitat.
 
I am not sure the ND biologist really knows exactly why the decrease. Much hypothesis and conjecture with no money and likely not much interest for further research. Sounds like a good opportunity for an advanced degree thesis. I am sure it is grassland and the constant fight between farming and grassland. CRP is not always great for prairie chickens because the grass choices are just not favored by the chickens. Seems like a project ... which grasslands are most beneficial to PC.

The MN prairie chickens manage to keep holding on because the east side of the old Lake Agassiz (essentially a big beach) simply cannot sustain farming ... Look at many of the MN DNR WMAs established on this old beach ... you can see huge areas of creeping woody cover and cedars. If you search back on this site - I pointed this out years ago. Every once in a while I notice that the DNR has burned out part of the WMA to revert back to grassland. If the MN DNR let's up on this the MN PC population will decrease too.

ND has (had) two very separate areas of Prairie Chicken populations whereas MN has a rather continuous block (long and albeit narrow) where the population can intermingle and expand (if for some reason the prior population becomes diminished). The MN prairie chicken population is actually pushing their range a few miles eastward and thus the expansion of hunting zones.

The Sheyenne National Grasslands is another former beachy area where farming simply is not sustainable. As far as woody cover ... I suspect on the private land areas scattered through the Grasslands that woody cover would be a preference ... DEER !
 
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UND is indeed helping the ND G&F

Future Wildlife Professionals Monitor Prairie Grouse | North Dakota Game and Fish

A bird that followed in the dusty wash of homesteaders to North Dakota more than 100 years ago and once thrived in the collage of newly planted crops and age-old native grasses, continues to scratch out an existence today in the eastern part of the state.
gf.nd.gov gf.nd.gov

Population in GF county has dropped 90% from 20 years ago.
 
One other interesting point the biologist made. He referenced historical reports of prairie chicken when they were thick as thieves all over north dakota. He wondered aloud what the percent was of chickens vs. Sharptails. Many of the old books, journals, articles etc. didn't differentiate between the two species.

He was a really nice guy and seemed knowledgeable. He knew a regional wildlife manager from MN who has much of the MN prairie chicken range. I've had some great interactions with wildlife biologists from the states in the upper Midwest. It was my major in college until the head of the program at U of M told me there's no jobs or future in it, so I switched. Something I still regret.
 
Most wildlife biologists pay their dues via internships and working at paygrades below their education (techs) especially at the Federal level. Most get to a nice career position but it takes time.

I took several upper level Wildlife management classes at my University even though it made no sense for me to do so other that I was interested in the subject.

A great debate ... do you make your favorite hobby your job/career ?
 
It is my understanding that most people believe that prairie chickens followed the settlers into ND while the sharptail was considered native to the area. The prairie chicken population went through a huge boom then bust cycle ... like many animal populations that move into a new area.

The more I think of it ... the long (albeit narrow) continuous population area in Minnesota must help keep the whole population viable. You can thank The Nature Conservancy for much of the land that is now protected.

ND has just two remote populations ... a couple of bust cycles in a remote population can be disastrous .... the MN DNR has tried to resurrect prairie chicken populations in other areas of western MN without much success.
 
Unfortunately, the state has not updated the link on this page:

Hunting license lottery

Minnesota hunting lottery information. Check the hunting seasons page for specific season and application deadline dates. Antlerless Deer and Special Hunt Lottery, Muzzleloader Deer Hunt Lottery. Bear Lottery. Camp Ripley Archery Hunt Lottery, 1st Season. Camp Ripley Archery Hunt Lottery, 2nd...
www.dnr.state.mn.us www.dnr.state.mn.us
 
I have never been drawn two consecutive years.

Last year the online site was initially inaccurate stating we were not drawn and even showed that the preference point had went up 1. Then the success letter came in the mail ... checked online and sure enough it said we were drawn.

Links to most lotteries has been down at least the last 5 days or so (since I started looking).

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Dang. Now it's 2 years in a row I didn't get a prairie chicken draw. Kinda bummed. Hopefully 3rd year is the charm. Now I'll have to go hunt sharp-tailed grouse in Montana in the heat.
 
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