Outdoors Notebook: Boulanger co-authors deer study paper, New DNR conservation officers etc. – Grand Forks Herald

A faculty member in the UND Biology Department is one of the authors of a recently published paper highlighting a research project in upstate New York that explored various options for controlling deer populations and their effectiveness in reducing damage to red oak seedlings and other native vegetation on which the deer browsed.

Jay Boulanger, an assistant professor of Wildlife Ecology and Human Dimensions at UND, is one of four collaborators to author “Red Oak Seedlings as Indicators of Deer Browse Pressure: Gauging the Outcome of Different White‐Tailed Deer Management Approaches.”

The paper was published in November in the journal “Ecology and Evolution.”

Boulanger was on the faculty at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., at the time of the study, which evaluated the effectiveness of hunting, surgically sterilizing deer and no management action in reducing the impact of excessive browsing on red oak seedlings in three adjacent management zones.

Oak seedlings, for the purpose of the 10-year study, were planted and monitored as “sentinels” of deer populations and browse intensity in the core management area.

Despite sterilization rates of more than 90% and hundreds of deer shot by hunters on Cornell lands, deer populations in the study area remained stable, and neither sterilization nor recreational hunting reduced populations enough to have an impact on seedling survival, the study found. Some 60% of unprotected seedlings still fell victim to browsing.

More effective, the study found, was a fourth option allowing volunteer archery hunters to shoot deer over bait, including at night, practices that aren’t legal for hunters in New York state.

“This resulted in a substantial reduction in the deer population and a linear decline in browse rates as a function of spring deer abundance,” the paper indicated, adding such intensive efforts will need to continue to control deer migrating into the area.

“Restoring and maintaining diverse and healthy landscapes into the future will require, first and foremost, changes in deer management,” the report concluded. “We have no evidence that this can be accomplished using recreational hunting. … Use of regulated market hunting may be an important tool in the immediate future.”

— Brad Dokken

New DNR officers hit the field

There’s a new Department of Natural Resources conservation officer in 13 communities across the state, including Warroad and Baudette, Minn., now that officers who’ve spent the better part of the past year in training have been assigned their field stations.

Marc Johnson fills the Warroad No. 2 station, and Aaron Larson is the new officer in the Baudette No. 1 station, both of which previously were vacant.

The 13 new conservation officers, who were chosen from among hundreds of applicants, bring diverse backgrounds and experiences. After training from May to September at the Conservation Officer Academy at Camp Ripley near Little Falls, Minn., they spent the past several months working throughout the state with experienced officers and assumed their initial stations Wednesday, Dec. 25.

“The training and field experience our new officers have had during the past eight months have prepared them well and we’re confident they’ll carry on the department’s proud tradition of serving our communities and protecting our state’s natural resources,” said Rodmen Smith, director of the DNR Enforcement Division.

In addition to Johnson and Larson, new conservation officers and their stations are Jordan Anderson, Wadena; Nicholas Baum, Park Rapids; Derek Daniels, Lake Benton; Ryan Hanna, Hutchinson No. 2; Calie Kunst, Remer; Emily Leeb, Morris; Mikeena Mattson, Wealthwood; Derek Schneider, Zumbrota; Adam Seifermann, St. Cloud; Brett Wiltrout, Hutchinson No. 1; and Hanna Wood, Wheaton.

There are 155 field stations across the state, each covering about 650 square miles. With the newest class of conservation officers now stationed, 17 field stations remain without full-time, dedicated coverage. The DNR plans to hold another Academy this spring.

— Minnesota DNR

North Dakota Outdoors calendar available

The 2020 North Dakota Outdoors calendar is available for ordering online on the state Game and Fish Department website, gf.nd.gov.

The calendar features color photographs of North Dakota wildlife and scenery and includes season opening and application deadline dates, sunrise-sunset times and moon phases.

Calendars also are available via mail order. Send $3 for each, plus $1 postage, to Calendar, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, 100 N. Bismarck Expressway, Bismarck, ND 58501-5095.

The calendar is the North Dakota Outdoors magazine’s December issue, so subscribers should have already received it in the mail.

— N.D. Game and Fish Department

NDGF expands contour lake maps

North Dakota Game and Fish Department fisheries personnel recently added new fishing waters to the list of available contour maps on the Game and Fish website.

In addition, maps of existing waters have been reprocessed to improve detail and quality, said Jerry Weigel, fisheries production and development section leader for Game and Fish in Bismarck.

“We have access to more tools and options to create a better map than we did back in the early 2000s when most contour mapping occurred,” Weigel said.

Contour maps recently added or improved are Fox Lake, Barnes County; Bowman-Haley Dam, Bowman County; Powers Lake, Burke County; Crimmins Lake, Burleigh County; North Washington Lake, Eddy County; Rice Lake, Emmons County; Larimore Dam, Grand Forks County; Alkaline Lake and Lake Geneva, Kidder County; Buffalo Lodge Lake and Cottonwood Lake, McHenry County; Kislingbury Lake and Lehr Wildlife Management Area, McIntosh County; Arnegard Dam, McKenzie County; Coal Lake, McLean County; Clearwater Lake, Mountrail County; Buffalo Lake, Pierce County; Hinsz Lake, Sheridan County; Dickinson Reservoir, Stark County; North Golden Lake, Steele County; and Epping Springbrook Dam, Williams County.

All contour maps are available by accessing the fishing link at gf.nd.gov/fishing, then clicking on “where to fish.”

— N.D. Game and Fish Department

Register early for hunter ed. classes

Anyone interested in taking a North Dakota hunter education class in 2020 should register early, as most classes are held the first few months of the calendar year.

Class listings are available by clicking the education link on the North Dakota Game and Fish Department website at gf.nd.gov. Classes are listed by city and can also be sorted by start date. Classes will be added throughout the year as they become finalized.

To register for a class, click on “enroll” next to the specific class and follow the instructions. Personal information is required.

To receive a notice by email when each hunter education class is added, click on the “subscribe to news and alerts” link found below the news section on the Game and Fish home page. Check the box labeled “hunter education” under the education program updates.

In addition, SMS text notifications of new classes can be sent directly to a cell phone. Text “NDGF HunterClass” to 468311 to subscribe to this feature.

State law requires anyone born after Dec. 31, 1961, to pass a certified hunter education course to hunt in North Dakota. Hunter education is mandatory for young hunters who are turning 12 years old. Kids who turn 11 during the calendar year also can take the class.

— N.D. Game and Fish Department