Maybe this is too simplistic (especially after all of the in depth analysis) but is it a coincidence that grouse and whip-poor-will populations have declined as turkey and deer populations have increased? Sent from my iPhone > On Oct 4, 2015, at 11:27 AM, Bill Whan <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Folks-- > A reply to Nancy Howell's post of yesterday. I want to make few points > about the plight of the ruffed grouse, points that seem too often > ignored. First of all, I think reasonable people would agree that > descriptions and assessments of this bird's ideal habitats should > properly be based on its natural survival and behavior in days long long > ago, before we altered them. That means starting with Audubon's > observations, and going back, not forward, from there. > As forest practices were professionalized and adopted by governmental > agencies, most interventions on behalf of forests came to be ruled by > professional silviculture, which meant several things. We were told that > forests were best properly controlled by human interventions; that > monetary profit must play a central role (if only to fund more > silviculture), and that--along with income from logging-- hunting > and/trapping would provide funds for operations as well as a rationale > for maintaining "wild" forest surroundings. These practices > have--barely--prevented the complete eradication of wild forests, but > have employed some strange and untenable dogma. > One of the points of what I said was to illustrate how what experts > had to say about grouses* has changed over the past 150 years. > The early observers seem to have viewed the grouse as a denizen of the > old forests, in which certainly fires, floods, etc. caused local > eradication of intact old growth from time to time, to which the birds > adapted because they had done so for millenia. Observers of more recent > times--now that undisturbed old growth is a very rare thing--have > adopted a new doctrine which too conveniently accommodates--and even > endorses--the harvesting of valuable timber. And this bias has changed > the official view of the habitat requirements for this species, and > others. And it has contributed to its loss. It is wondrous to realize > what is meant when we "manage" natural settings. When you care most > about income, grouses don't count as much as sales of mature timber. And > when they're gone, you don't have to care at all. > Yes, it is hard to get ordinary folks to understand why silviculture is > the right way to go--for grouses and other fauna--and for good reasons. > Bill Whan > Columbus > > *I write "grouses" instead of "grouse" because I cringe at the use of > the collective plural, which reduces animals to prey rather than > species. Howell, lamentably, writes "raccoon" and "turkey" in her post > of yesterday, rather than "raccoons," and "turkeys" as if they were mere > commodities. > > > > > > > >> On 10/3/2015 11:20 AM, Nancy Howell wrote: >> Birders, >> >> Seems as though there is a similar lament about seeing grouse in the >> past, but not a lot of sightings presently. I have included a website >> that has a lot of information on species, other than ruffed grouse, >> that benefit from shrubland/young growth forests. Managing forests >> through controlled burns, timbering, brushhogging - while we see as >> destructive, open up areas for other species, but it needs to be done >> in a careful manner. >> http://www.youngforest.org/sites/default/files/Under_Cover-010412_FINAL.pdf >> (it does take a long time to download, many pages and photos) Deer >> certainly like this habitat as well and deer have made a huge impact >> on so many species, plant and animal. Raccoon predate on wild turkey >> eggs and young, yet there seems to have been an increase in wild >> turkey in Cuyahoga Co., OH. I also have a feeling that suburban wild >> turkey (along with deer) are being fed by people ... >> >> I'd love to see ruffed grouse either return or increase in number in >> the Cleveland Metroparks and into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park >> ... and surrounding park systems. Getting the public to understand >> some forest and wildlife management is another story. >> >> Nancy J. Howell Museum Educator/Docent Coordinator The Cleveland >> Museum of Natural History 1 Wade Oval Drive Cleveland, OH 44106 T >> 216.231.4600 x. 3225 F 216.231.9960 [log in to unmask] >> [cid:00BB6585-B5CE-4CB8-8B68-4755EFEF1CDA] > > ______________________________________________________________________ > > Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. > Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. > Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. > > > You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: > listserv.miamioh.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS > Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] > ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. 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