Author: Dan Gunderson

Sharing Prairie Chickens

  • A male prairie chicken showing off for the hens. (Photo by Dan Gunderson)

Most of the native prairie east of the Mississippi is now farmland, but there are still a few isolated spots where remnants of prairie survive… and with them a prairie icon… the greater prairie chicken, but prairie chickens need a lot of habitat… and in places such as Illinois, Wisconsin and other states, only a few hundred birds survive. One state is having better luck, and some of its birds are being moved to help revive other prairie chicken populations. The GLRC’s Dan Gunderson reports:

Transcript

Most of the native prairie east of the Mississippi is
now farmland, but there are still a few isolated spots
where remnants of prairie survive; and with them a
prairie icon: the greater prairie chicken. But prairie
chickens need a lot of habitat, and in places such as
Illinois, Wisconsin and other states, only a few
hundred birds survive. One state is having better
luck, and some of its birds are being moved to help
revive other prairie chicken populations. The GLRC’s
Dan Gunderson reports:


The prairie chickens are ghostly shapes in the grey
predawn light of this spring morning.


(sound of prairie chickens in)


The cocks cackle as they fight off other males. They
inflate the orange sacks on their necks and make a
mournful echoing sound. Tail feathers erect they strut
about trying to impress the hens, who sit quietly
watching.


This 5,000 acre chunk of native prairie in Minnesota
has never been plowed. The prairie chickens have
always lived here. Today it’s owned by the Nature
Conservancy and known as the Bluestem Prairie.
Brian Winter manages the land. This morning he’s in a
small plywood blind counting prairie chickens on their
booming ground. About 40 males are strutting their
stuff.


“In Minnesota it’s a success story and we hope it gets
to be an even more successful success story than what it is
right now.”


Genetic diversity is one of the keys to a species
survival. In many states, prairie chickens are so
isolated the gene pool becomes weak. In Minnesota
there are flocks of prairie chickens along the western
edge of the state. Brian Winter says those flocks are
close enough to keep the gene pool from getting
stagnant.


“So there’s interbreeding as birds disperse in the fall.”


(sound of chickens tussling)


“Nice fight just took place right there. The research that’s been done looking at the genetics shows the
Minnesota population is one of the best in terms of
genetic diversity.”


Brian Winter says 20 years ago there were an
estimated 2,000 prairie chickens in Minnesota.
Today the population is approaching 10,000. The
prairie chicken is stable enough in Minnesota that
there’s been a limited hunting season the past two
years. In the past few years, several hundred
Minnesota chickens have helped rebuild populations
in North Dakota, Illinois and Wisconsin. Later this
summer, Minnesota prairie chickens will be captured
and moved by the Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Society,
in an effort to save a population declining in size and
genetic diversity.


Dave Sample with the Wisconsin DNR says the state
hopes to set aside 15,000 acres of grassland for
prairie chicken habitat in the next ten years. But he
says the birds won’t survive without a genetic infusion.


“In order to increase genetics in a compromised
population you do need to bring an infusion in from
outside. You pretty much have to go where genetics
are good and bring those birds in to mix with ours.”


Sample says there’s no guarantee the Wisconsin
prairie chicken population will survive, but he thinks
expanding the genetic pool will be a big step in the
right direction.


Earl Johnson is Regional Wildlife Manager for the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He
says the prairie chicken success reflects a
conservation success. Johnson says the federal
Conservation Reserve Program has turned thousands
of acres of marginal farmland back into grassland.
That makes good prairie chicken habitat. Johnson
says Minnesota is very fortunate to have a healthy
prairie chicken population.


“What’s the long term future for the prairie chicken? I’d hate to guess, but we are happy to help any states
that want our assistance by transplanting birds.”


Johnson calls the prairie chicken the prairie poster
child. Hundreds of people come from across the
country every spring to sit in blinds and watch the
mating dance. Johnson says interest is growing every
year. At the Bluestem Prairie, the Nature
Conservancy blinds are full almost every day during
the spring. Brian Winter says people from every state
have traveled here to see the spring spectacle unique
to the prairie grassland.


Despite its success, the prairie chicken population is
only as stable as its habitat. Winter says the prairie
chicken may be the most visible prairie resident, but
what’s good for the prairie chicken is good for many
other species as well.


“It’s going to be meadowlarks and bobolinks and
mallard ducks and a whole variety of grassland birds
that just require grassland habitat to survive, and
without it they’re just not going to be there.”


And that’s going to require larger grassland areas.
Too much of the prairie has disappeared in many
states to support healthy numbers of prairie chickens.
That means if the prairie chicken is to survive more of
the marginal farmland, the poorer quality farmland,
needs to be returned to prairie.


For the GLRC, I’m Dan Gunderson.


(sound of mating prairie chickens)

Related Links

Turtle Numbers Down; Trapping Banned

  • Joanna Schmidt, a student at Minnesota State University-Moorhead, is part of a long-term turtle research project. She's trying to find out why turtle populations are declining in the Midwest. For her research, she catches turtles and gives them an identifying mark, then weighs and measures them before putting them back in the water. (Photo by Dan Gunderson.)

Many Great Lakes states are taking steps to protect turtles. There’s a big demand for turtles in Asia and Europe. But too much trapping can damage wild turtle populations. As a result, states are placing bans or restrictions on turtle trapping. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson reports:

Transcript

Many Great Lakes states are taking steps to protect turtles. There’s a big demand for turtles in
Asia and Europe. But too much trapping can damage wild turtle populations. As a result, states
are placing bans or restrictions on turtle trapping. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Dan Gunderson reports:


(sound of paddling)


Joanna Schmidt pushes a canoe into a small slough in northern Minnesota. She paddles toward a
floating rectangle of plastic pipe. The simple device is a turtle trap. It’s about four feet long with
net in the bottom and a board attached to the side.


“We put a plank on the side and they crawl up to sun themselves and they
just fall in. It’s pretty simple. No mechanics to it. They do all the work for us.”


Joanna Schmidt is a student at Minnesota State University Moorhead. She’s
part of a long-term turtle research project. Researchers want to learn
more about turtle habitat, and why there’s been a recent decline in turtle
populations.


This slough is about a quarter mile across. It lies in a hollow surrounded
by farm fields. Chest high grass and reeds line the water’s edge. Along one end, dead,
sunbleached trees stick out of the water. It’s perfect turtle habitat.


“It’s warm, a lot of food for them, not very many predators, so they like it,
especially having the dead trees with a place to hang out and sun themselves. So this is
very typical.”


Gunderson: “Any estimate of how many turtles might live in a slough this size?”


“Not just yet. That’s what we’re hoping to get to. And that’s what the DNR would
like to know.”


There are several turtles in the trap. Most have been caught before.
They’re identified by small notches in their shells. Schmidt weighs and measures
each turtle before gently setting them back in the water.


Minnesota State University Moorhead Biology professor Donna Stockrahm is
directing this research project. She says it takes years of research to get meaningful data about
turtles. They grow very slowly and they live a long time.


Stockrahm is hoping to learn about rates of turtle mortality, growth rates,
and the optimum habitat for turtles.


She’s seen a puzzling decline in turtle numbers.


“We started this in 2001 and they marked over 250 turtles. Then in 2002
the number just dropped drastically. And there seemed to be fewer turtles
around, even turtles that you see out sunning themselves on rocks and limbs and
dead tree trunks and things like that.”


Stockrahm says she doesn’t have an explanation for the decline. She’s
waiting to see if the trend continues this year.


Turtles are in demand in Europe for pets, and in Asia for
traditional medicines. More than seven million turtles are
exported from the United States each year.


Minnesota Department of Natural Resources researcher Rich Baker says
trapping is one reason turtle populations are down.


“What we’ve learned relatively recently is that especially in northern
latitudes commercial harvest really isn’t sustainable. These populations
of slowly maturing species just can’t sustain harvest of adults from the
population.”


Rich Baker says demand for turtles is driven largely by Asian and European
markets. Baker says many Asian turtle species are endangered because of
overharvest.


Those markets are turning to North America which is a particularly turtle-rich
part of the world and the upper Midwest which is a particularly
turtle-rich part of North America. Many of the states in the upper Midwest
have actually closed commercial turtle harvest completely.”


Most Great Lakes states now ban or restrict turtle trapping. Rich Baker
says Minnesota decided to phase out commercial harvest. He says about a dozen
people make a living trapping turtles. They’ll be allowed to continue.


People who like to eat turtle can still get a license to trap for personal
use. But there will be no new commercial turtle trapping licenses.
Minnesota will allow turtle farms as an alternative to harvesting wild turtles.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Dan Gunderson in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Bald Eagle Soars to Recovery

  • As efforts to restore bald eagle populations succeed (this eagle was rehabilitated and released in Colorado) researchers are finding that newer populations of bald eagles are nesting closer to humans. Photo courtesy of the USFWS.

A Minnesota research project might help get the bald eagle off the endangered species list. Any state with an eagle population needs a plan to monitor and protect the birds before they can be taken off the list. Learning where eagles nest might help protect the habitat they need to flourish. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson reports:

Transcript

A Minnesota research project might help get the bald eagle off the
endangered species list. Any state with an eagle population needs a plan to
monitor and protect the birds before they can be taken off the list. Learning
where eagles nest might help protect the habitat they need to flourish.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson reports:


Jim Grier knows eagles. For 44 years he’s watched the birds and climbed
into their nests. The North Dakota State University Zoology Professor is leading the study of Minnesota eagle habitat.


(plane engine starting)


The research starts in the spring. Grier spends hours flying in a four seat
Cessna with a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources pilot, looking for
eagle nests.


“We’re gonna come real close to this one Dan, coming right around on the
right side, we’ll lift the wing. Oh man, that’s an old nest too.”


An eagle sits in tree nearby. This location is marked on a map as an active
nesting site. There are more than 700 bald eagle pairs in Minnesota.
After the nests are located and mapped, the hard work starts on the ground.


Jeremy Guinn is a graduate student. He spends weeks driving, hiking, and
canoeing to eagle nests. He typically gets to two or three a day.
As he approaches a nest Guinn peers through binoculars looking for signs of
life.


“There’s at least two up there. The other one’s hunkered down.”


A young eagle looks down from a nest high atop a cottonwood tree in a
farmer’s pasture. The adult eagles are likely fishing in a nearby lake.
Guinn conducts a detailed study of the area around the nest.


“What kind of trees they use, what kind of forest they choose to place their
nest in. How close to the water they are. And also to determine the amount
of human activity that they choose to nest around.”


Eagles are more often choosing humans for neighbors. Because eagle
populations are growing so quickly, traditional forest nesting areas are
becoming crowded. Each pair of eagles needs their own territory, so young
pairs are often forced to look for less traditional nesting sites.


“I’ve seen eagles on powerlines, in the back yard of a cabin, some even
overlooking the cabin where the nest is hanging over the roof of a cabin. And also
more wild or traditional sites as you usually think of eagle nests.”


It appears bald eagles are quite adaptable. They need a tall tree to build a
nest, and water nearby where they can catch fish. But one of the key questions
is how well they tolerate human neighbors.


Jim Grier is heading up the study. The North Dakota State University Eagle researcher says each new generation of eagles seems a bit more tolerant.


“A lot of the eagle nests now that are in closer contact with human activity,
the young birds that grow up in those nests, looking down and seeing all
the human presence around them, as long as people aren’t shooting at them or
bothering them, as long as everybody is minding their own business the
eagles basically accept humans are part of the natural environment.”


The study Jim Grier is doing should provide a better understanding of how to
make sure eagle nesting sites are protected. States must meet two challenges before the bald eagle is taken off the endangered list. There must be a plan to monitor eagle populations in the future and eagle nesting habitat must be protected.


But monitoring eagles is labor intensive and expensive.


Eagle researchers say there needs to be a more efficient way of
checking on the birds. Some say enlisting volunteers to monitor nests may be
one answer. But there are questions about the scientific validity of that
method.


Researcher Jim Grier says it might be two or three years before everyone can
agree on a plan to protect eagles in the future.


Minnesota Department of Natural Resources nongame specialist Joan Galli
says she’s not predicting when the bald eagle will come off the endangered
species list.


“This is a species where the recovery is good and the news is good and
things are going well and you would think that it would be easy to delist. And that
has certainly not been the case, it’s been quite a challenge.”


The study of bald eagle habitat in Minnesota should be completed later this
year. The Department of Natural Resources and the Federal Fish and Wildlife
Service will use the results to develop a more comprehensive plan for
managing the bald eagle across the nation.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Dan Gunderson.

Too Much Success for Canada Geese?

  • Canada Geese take flight. Photo by Wyman Meinzer, courtesy of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Canada Geese are about as common as the green lawns they like to hang out on. But at one time they’d almost disappeared from the region. Thanks to successful wildlife management efforts, the goose is back, and now the question is how best to manage a success story that some say has been too successful. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson has more:

Transcript

Canada Geese are about as common as the green lawns they like to hang out on. But at one time they’d almost disappeared from the region. Thanks to successful wildlife management efforts, the goose is back, and now the question is how best to manage a success story that some say has been too successful. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson has more.


In 30 years, the giant Canada goose was on the verge of extinction, but the species has made a comeback that amazes biologists. There were just about enough for a gaggle when humans stepped in to help in the late 1960’s, now numbering in the millions today, the goose is a wildlife management success story that won’t stop.


“We’ve spent millions and millions of dollars to bring the population back.
Now it’s high and it’s eating everything in sight.”


Standing on the edge of a waist high soybean field on his Minnesota farm, Chad Jetvig points to a slough about a quarter mile away. It’s obvious where geese feasted on tender young soybean plants early this summer, leaving large bare spots in the field.


Jetvig says he’s always accepted some crop loss from geese as a part of farming among the prairie potholes of western Minnesota, but he says the amount damage is no longer acceptable.


“I would say in the past two years in particular, but it’s been getting worse each year, we’ve started to see huge areas. Just on this one single farm at two hundred acres that’s over 40 thousand dollars right just out of our pocket. That’s a lot of money.”


And thousands of farmers in the Midwest and Northeast U.S. have similar stories.


This year and last, Chad Jetvig has gotten a permit to shoot geese eating his crops, but he says it’s an exercise in futility.


“We came out here and shot one time and the next time you even drive by they’re gone. They’d even know the color of the pickup. If this one blue pickup we’re using came around, they seen that thing, whoosh, they’re gone.”


Only to return as soon as the coast is clear. Those keen survival instincts are one reason for the goose population explosion. There’s also plentiful food provided by farmers like Chad Jetvig, and lots of wetland nesting sites.


There are an estimated 2 million giant Canada geese in the upper Midwest and Northeast that’s far more than biologists like Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, goose expert, Steve Maxson think is ideal.


“I think a lot of biologists are wondering just how high this population can go. It’s already exceeded their wildest dreams I think and it seems even in the face of intense hunting pressure to be increasing in most areas. I guess the bottom line is we just don’t know how high this population can get.”


Biologists rely on hunting to keep many wildlife populations in check, and the Canada goose harvest has steadily increased along with the population. But Maxson says simply allowing hunters to shoot more birds is not the answer. The birds quickly learn how to avoid hunters. Then there’s the eastern prairie goose that nests in northern Canada and migrates through many states in the region. The eastern prairie goose population is much smaller and less robust than the giant Canada, and biologists fear expanded hunting could destroy the species.


The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service draft environmental impact statement due out this fall will offer several population control alternatives. They range from no action, to targeted hunting in areas where geese are in conflict with humans, to extreme measures such as, destroying nests and eggs. Steve Wilds is the Fish and Wildlife Service regional migratory bird and Chief. He says it’s critical a workable plan come out of this process. If not, he fears future management decisions will be political, not biological.


Wilds says the future of the giant Canada goose is at stake.


“So that they’ll continue to be recognized as a tremendous, beautiful part of our natural landscape and yet not something that’s going to be doing so much damage people start thinking of them as vermin rather than really neat critters.”


The Fish and Wildlife plans to take a public input on its goose management plan early next year. Steve Wild says it will be at least a year before any final decision is made on how the Canada goose populations will be managed in the future. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Dan Gunderson.

FARMERS CONCERNED ABOUT NEW FARM BILL (Part 2)

This fall, Congress is expected to debate how much to spend on a new farm bill, and there may be sharp disagreement over what programs should be funded. Traditionally, the money has been used to supplement farmers’ income. But now, environmental groups are increasingly demanding, and getting more money for conservation programs. In the second of a two-part series, the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson reports that many farmers are concerned about organizations with no agricultural background shaping farm policy:

Transcript

This fall, Congress is expected to debate how much to spend on a new farm bill, and there may be sharp disagreement over what programs should be funded.
Traditionally, the money has been used to supplement farmers’ incomes. But now, environmental groups are increasingly demanding, and getting more money for conservation programs. In the second of a two-part series, the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson reports that many farmers are concerned
about organizations with no agricultural background shaping farm policy:


As the fall harvest winds down, Ken Lougheed has more time to catch up on the farm bill debate. He’s not happy about the possibility of more government imposed conservation programs.


“Farmers have been very good stewards of the land for years. We have to live in the same communities, we have to drink the same water, breathe the same air. We’re probably more aware of what’s going on than a lot of environmental groups are.”


Lougheed farms several hundred acres on the Minnesota North Dakota border near Fargo. He says he’s seen what happens when environmentalists help write farm legislation. He points to a wetland protection program known as “Swampbuster” as an example of well-intentioned but intrusive government. Lougheed says a bureaucrat who’s never set foot on his farm decides where wetlands are located. And with that decision, parts of his land are taken away from farming. Lougheed says that makes him feel helpless, and angry.


“We need to have more common sense in these issues. Because it’s nonsense, there’s no common sense involved in it and we need to have more common sense.”


Lougheed says he’s never actually talked to an environmentalist, but he’d welcome the chance to seek common ground on conservation issues. But if the current farm bill discussion is any indication, that common ground may be difficult to find. Environmental groups want to shift funding from traditional farm commodity programs to conservation. Most farm groups staunchly oppose that idea, arguing new conservation initiatives should have new funding. There’s also disagreement over which conservation programs to fund. The House favors expanding the Conservation Reserve Program that pays farmers to take environmentally sensitive land out of production. But in the Senate, Ag Committee Chair Tom Harkin of Iowa is pushing the Conservation Security Act. That legislation would pay farmers to incorporate as yet undefined stewardship practices into their farm operation. Farmers fear that would, as one put it, let the environmentalists run the farm. Minnesota Seventh District Congressman, Collin Peterson, sits on the House Ag Committee and knows the middle ground on this issue can be hazardous. He’s been criticized by some of his farm constituents for voting in favor of expanded conservation programs, and painted as anti-environment by some environmental groups.


“You get those two groups on the extremes, in a lot of cases clashing, and the people in the middle are just keeping their heads down.”


Peterson says the fear some farmers have of environmentalists is well founded. He says environmental groups have a variety of political viewpoints, ranging from moderate to extreme; but he believes most have little real understanding of agriculture.


“They sit in their ivory tower and say, well, you guys are getting all that money. We’re paying you all that money, then we’re gonna have our way. The biggest problem is these groups are based in the urban areas. It’s not their fault, they just don’t understand. ”


But Peterson says farm interests must learn to compromise with environmentalists. That’s because farm state lawmakers no longer have the political clout to pass a farm bill without votes from urban members. And those urban members often represent environmental positions. But Peterson says, like abortion and gun control, environmental discussions often can’t get past ideology.


“The problem I have is you’re not even debating what the real issue is. They’re out there on their ideological extremes and they’re raising money and getting people stirred up and we never have the debate about the middle where we could get something done and make things better for people.”


At least some farm organizations say they are willing to compromise.
Minnesota Farm Bureau President Al Christopherson says it’s clear the days of farm groups writing the farm bill are over. They need support from environmental interests to pass legislation. But he says most farmers would be happy just to have Congress decide on conservation priorities and stick to them.


“Farmers have a very difficult time adapting to them if A; they’re not understood, B; they don’t make sense, and C; there’s a whole lot of shouting in the wings about what we ought to be doing.”


Christopherson says the cacophony will only get louder and the confusion greater as a dwindling farm population continues to lose political clout in Washington, and other interests vie for a piece of the agriculture budget.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Dan Gunderson.

Snowmobile Maker Revs-Up Cleaner Machines


Snowmobiling is big business in the Great Lakes. So recent efforts toban snowmobiles from national parks, in part because of the pollutionthey create, have found very vocal critics in the region. A recentlyfiled lawsuit is challenging the ban. While that case makes its waythrough the courts, one snowmobile manufacturer has begun production ona machine it says addresses the problem of pollution, as well as noise. Arctic Cat says the machine is quieter and cleaner, and willrevolutionize the industry. However, environmentalists describe the newsnowmobile as nothing more than window dressing. They say the machineis simply designed to convince the government to lift their park ban. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson reports:

Transcript

Snowmobiling is big business in the Great Lakes. So recent efforts to ban snowmobiles
from national parks, in part because of the pollution they create, have found very vocal
critics in the region. A recently filed lawsuit is challenging the ban. While that case
makes its way through the courts, one snowmobile manufacturer has begun production
on a machine it says addresses the problem of pollution, as well as noise. Arctic Cat says
the machine is quieter and cleaner, and will revolutionize the industry. However,
environmentalists describe the new snowmobile as nothing more than window dressing,
and they say the machine is simply designed to convince the government to lift their park
ban. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson reports:


When Arctic Cat recently unveiled its new sled, CEO Chris Twomey and several hundred
employees wore green t-shirts to symbolize what they say is the company’s
environmental commitment.
The assembly line at the Thief River Falls Minnesota plant stopped as workers gathered
around one of the new four stroke machines.


“Here we go quiet everybody. (machine starting) terrific job everbody
applause fades.”


The employees provided an enthusiastic audience for Ed Klim, President of Michigan
based International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, the group that is suing the
National Park Service to stop the proposed snowmobile ban.


“I don’t have to tell you that recently we’ve been attacked by some
naysayers and extremists that are loose with the facts. They use fuzzy math.”


Klim says it’s time for environmentalists to stop opposing snowmobiles and start working
with the industry.


“I say the naysayers and extremists have cried foul long enough. (applause)
It’s time for the extremists to stop the shrill and come here and discover what the
snowmobile industry has accomplished and what the industry is developing for the
future.”


The snowmobile industry is under criticism from environmental groups and government
agencies for building machines that produce high noise levels and air pollution. However,
because there are no federal regulations or testing, each side produces its own statistics to
support its views.


But Arctic Cat CEO Chris Twomey insists this new machine is in response to customer
demands, not environmentalists or the government.


“If we were only doing this in response to the government. We wouldn’t
have done anything yet since the government hasn’t told us what it wants.”


The federal government is still working to develop emission and noise regulations for
snowmobiles, but it may be several years before standards are in place.
Twomey predicts the new sled will meet those regulations, and he says snowmobiles will
only get cleaner and quieter.


He eagerly demonstrates the new technology on the snow covered front lawn just outside
his office. First a standard two stroke engine which burns a mixture of gas and oil and
emits a cloud of blue smoke.


Then the new four stroke machine which burns gasoline like an automobile engine and
produces no noticeable exhaust


While the company insists the new machines are aimed at individual customers, the first
50 produced were shipped to Yellowstone Park.


Twomey says he doesn’t know if the new machines will change the minds of government
officials, or environmental groups. But he argues an outright snowmobile ban in National
Parks is unfair.


“Should there be reasonable restrictions? Absolutely. Should people be
allowed to denigrate the park in any way? No, but you can’t use phony statistics and
scare tactics to stop a whole group of people who want to use the park in a
reasonable way.”


Meanwhile, the new snowmobile gets no praise from Jon Catton. He’s spokesman for the
Greater Yellowstone Coalition, a Montana conservation group.


“It is not enough to go from an outrageously polluting machine to a
horrendously polluting machine. And we should not in that kind of a transition start
adopting terms like cleaner or certainly clean machine, when the snowmobiles
Arctic Cat is producing are anything but.”


Catton says his group and others will continue to fight allowing any snowmobile use in
National Parks.


The snowmobile industry may also face an uphill battle with the Federal government. A
Park Service official says a cleaner, quieter sled will not automatically get the
government’s blessing.


But the snowmobile industry recently won a temporary victory when Congress ordered
the National Park Service to delay the rulemaking process for restricting snowmobile use
in parks.


Arctic Cat CEO Chris Twomey meanwhile, says whatever the long term outcome of that
dispute, his company will continue moving ahead with development of cleaner ,quieter
machines. He expects the new sleds to take over about 30 percent of the U.S. snowmobile
market. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Dan Gunderson.

Slowing the Decline of Grassland Songbirds

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says grassland songbird populationsare declining more rapidly than any other North American species. That’s primarily because nesting habitat has been destroyed byagriculture and urban sprawl. Now, researchers in Minnesota arecombining old fashioned legwork and high tech equipment in hopes oflearning ways to stabilize the population of prairie songbirds. TheGreat Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson reports:

Transcript

The US Fish and Wildlife Service says grassland songbird populations are
declining more rapidly than any other North American species. That’s primarily
because nesting habitat has been destroyed by agriculture and urban sprawl.
Now, researchers in Minnesota are combining old-fashioned legwork and high
tech equipment in hopes of learning ways to stabilize the population of prairie
songbirds. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson reports.

(Sound of disappearing birds)

The sun tries unsuccessfully to burn a hole in the fog as a government issue
sport utility vehicle pulls to the side of a narrow gravel road in northwest
Minnesota.


Early morning traffic hums by on U-S highway two providing background for the
the unseen birds who’s gentle calls fill the morning air.


“We have an extra mosquito head net if you’d like one.”

Christine Vatovic and Katy Brennan are veterans of these early
morning jaunts. They’re research assistants and their job is to find and monitor
the nests of secretive prairie songbirds.
Climbing over a barbed wire fence, they swish through the knee high
dew covered grass, looking for a small plastic flag that marks a nearly invisible
nest, on the ground under the thick vegetation.


“Oh wow, just hatched, I’ve never seen one that young before.”

The naked clay colored sparrow nestling is no bigger than a nickel and nearly
invisible against the dry brown grass of the nest.


The odds are about 50-50 this baby bird will be eaten before it’s old enough to fly
away from the nest.


Researchers believe as the birds nest on smaller grassland areas that remain
among the farm fields, they may be more susceptible to predators.
But what animals eat songbirds, and how often are nests destroyed. Until
recently those questions remained mostly a mystery.
After all, it’s tough to watch a nest that can’t be seen an arms length away.


Enter researcher Pam Pietz


“And this little thing is a black and white ccd board camera.”


The camera is about an inch and a half square, with a camouflage paint job.


“These are similar to the cameras used in security systems but have
been modified for outdoor use with waterproof housing and also for night
vision.”


A small cable runs to a battery powered VCR about 50 yards away. The system
captures four frames per second, 24 hours on each video tape.


Over the past three years the cameras have captured 70 predator attacks on
grassland songbird nests,
providing a wealth of information for researchers, including the identity of some
unexpected predators.


“The white tail deer is one of the most surprising to people because I
don’t think people expect deer to eat meat.”


The cameras have documented four cases where deer eat the young birds. The
tapes also show ground squirrels, mice, fox, badger and many other predators
taking nestlings, and sometimes
eating the parents too.


Pam Pietz says as a bird lover it’s sad to watch the nestlings destroyed
but as a scientist it’s a thrill.


“I mean you feel like a bit of a peeping tom here. You’re looking at
things few people have ever got to witness and it’s exciting to view those
events as macabre as they may be.”


Pietz says she doubts any predator specifically hunts prairie songbirds. Because
so many different predators show up on camera, she thinks in most cases they
simply happen upon the well hidden
nest and take advantage of the free lunch.


That means it’s unlikely songbirds can be protected from predators by fencing
nesting areas or trapping specific predators.
Pam Pietz says that leaves one obvious solution.

“If you have very little habitat for them to nest and they’re hit hard by
predators then you have a problem. As we’ve said managing the predators
is not likely to work for songbirds so the only hope for maintaining their
populations is making sure there’s adequate habitat.”


Experts say? Prairie songbirds are adaptable, they will quickly move in when
farmland is planted with conservation reserve program grasses.
It appears the birds are most successful in larger grassland areas, researchers
hope to learn how to manage habitat so the disappearing prairie songbirds will
have a chance flourish in the future.

For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Dan Gunderson.

Prairie Under Siege

A hundred fifty years ago, seemingly endless prairie covered much of theMidwest. All that remains across the entire region is one half of onepercent of the original native prairie. Now, in Minnesota, one largearea is under siege. And federal, state and county officials, miningcompanies, and environmental groups are wrestling with the question ofwhat’s more important: rare native prairie, or the rich gravel depositsbeneath the prairie. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gundersonreports:

Transcript

A hundred fifty years ago, seemingly endless prairie covered
much of the Midwest. All that remains
across the entire region is one half of one percent of the
original native prairie. Now, in Minnesota, one large area is under siege.
And federal, state and county officials, mining companies, and
environmental groups are wrestling with the question …what’s more
important …rare native prairie, or the rich gravel deposits beneath the
prairie. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Gunderson reports:


(Sound of prairie)

Standing atop the eastern shore of ancient glacial Lake Agassiz it’s not difficult to
imagine water rather than flowing fields of grain stretching to the horizon. The
prairie atop this ridge has been evolving since the lake receded from this beach
some nine thousand years ago. It’s considered one of the best dry prairies in the
world, and is home to several endangered or threatened plants and animals.


(Sound of truck)


However, A truck rumbling by in a cloud of dust is a reminder prairie is not the
only important resource here. Some of the richest gravel deposits in Minnesota
lie beneath this ground. Piles of gravel dot the prairie landscape.


The prairie is a subtle landscape, experiencing its unique plants and animals
takes time and patience.

(Sound of Prairie Chickens)


In early spring the strange spectacle of the prairie chicken mating dance echoes
across this ridge at sunrise.
In the fall, large flocks of sandhill cranes gather to begin their annual migration.
In summer, it’s home to dozens of relatively rare plants and animals.


{Sound of walking through grass}


As Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Prairie Biologist Peter Buessler
walks across a 160 acre prairie plot, surrounded on three sides by gravel pits,


“Just a second. There goes a regal frittelary, which is a rare butterfly.”

The state of Minnesota has identified 17 rare animals and 19 rare plants on this
site.
Researchers have been collecting insects here for six years and expect to
identify more than two thousand species, some as yet undiscovered.


The most notable insects here are the endangered eulers arctic and dakota
skipper butterflys.


This prairie was part of the nearly 20-thousand square miles of prairie that once
covered western Minnesota. Most of the prairie became farmland, only a few
fragments remain. This beach ridge escaped the farmers plow because it was
too dry and rocky, considered wasteland. But in the past 50 years gravel mines
have inexorably chewed up much of? the remaining prairie.


“I wish I’d a won the lottery back in the 1970s. That woulda been
great.”


Richard Pemble is a biologist at Minnesota State University Moorhead. In the
early 1970’s he helped complete the first survey of remaining native prairie sites.
He says nearly half of the areas identified
then as important, have since been destroyed.
He says it’s much like an architect watching historically significant buildings fall to
the wrecking ball.


“As a biologist I feel the same way as I see places I know as a
professional are so important are so significant and so unusual, to lose
those just makes your stomach churn. It’s really hard to take.”


The Department of Natural resources and private groups such as the nature
conservancy have purchased and preserved some prairie but state Prairie
Biologist Peter Buessler says the state cannot stop the destruction of what
remains .


“To save prairie you have to negotiate because us as citizens, the
public in general have not created a law that says prairie is endangered.”

Intricate negotiations over the future of the Felton prairie complex are underway .
A long term land use plan is being developed by the U-S Fish and Wildlife
Service, the D-N-R, private mining companies, and Clay county which owns
much of the land and the nearest gravel mine,


The plan will focus on county owned land, but it will likely also guide how the
county regulates private development in the future.

Private gravel company officials declined to be interviewed or were unavailable
for comment.


County commissioner Jon Evert represents Clay County. He says he’s committed
to reaching an agreement both sides can live with, but he admits not all county
officials share his viewpoint.


“Its one of those issues that seems to many people kind of
ridiculous that we’re going to stop taking mineral resources that are
essential for the continuation of civilization in this area to protect a few
butterflies. But it’s more than that. It’s an ecosystem that cannot be
replaced.”

As gravel resources diminish in the next twenty years there will likely be
increasing pressure to mine the high quality gravel under the Felton Prairie.
Prairie Biologist Peter Buessler says there will always be a danger the prairie will
be destroyed unless it receives permanent protection.


Buessler says small encroachments on the prairie are difficult to stop but the
long term effect may be disastrous.

The future of the Felton prairie complex and the gravel beneath it is expected to
be decided be decided by next year when a long term land use plan is
completed.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Dan Gunderson.