Spring/Summer 2010 Louisiana Insider Wildlife · P.10 State Wildlife Grant Program and the...

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In ThIS ISSue

P.1 hunter education at a Glance byJohnSturgis

P.2 how to handle Black Bear Situations byMariaDavidson

P.4 Preserving Isle Dernieres Barrier Island Refuge: A Highlight of the 2009 Whiskey Island Restoration Effort byToddBakerandCassidyLejeune

P.7 What Does DMAP have to Offer? byEmileLeBlancandScottDurham

P.8 Carrying Capacity byScottDurham

P.10 State Wildlife Grant Program and the Louisiana Wildlife Action Plan byKyleBalkumandLeAnneBonner

P.12 Monitoring Songbirds to Measure Wildlife habitat Quality byDonald“Duck”LocascioJr.

P.14 Wildlife Staff Directory

P.16 Coastal & nongame Resources Staff Directory

ReMeMBeRto tAg youR dEER tHIs sEAson

Important: Do not remove the tags from the Deer Harvest report Card until you have killed a deer; at that

point the tag is removed from the Deer Harvest report Card and attached to the animal. tags removed from the Deer Harvest report Card prior to killing a deer are no

longer valid and if lost by the hunter will not be replaced. (Duplicate tags will be available to replace lost tags at a

charge to the hunter.)

hunters must validate deer within 72 hours by calling the validation toll free number or by using the validation web site: 866-484-4805https://www1.la.wildlifelicense.com/start.php

1Spring/Summer 2010

The Louisiana Hunter Education Pro-gram has a 35-year history of makinghunting a safer sport in Louisiana. Be-gun in 1974, it has come a longway andhas gone through a number of changes tohave evolved into its present form. Theprogramwasstartedbyahandfulofnewlyhiredstaffwhoembarkedonamissionofdeveloping a structured hunter educationcourse,aswellasrecruitingandtrainingavolunteerinstructorforcethatnowstandsat1,700strong. Methods of course delivery have pro-gressedthroughtheyears.Old16mmfilmprojectors and flip charts have givenwayto computerized technology. PowerPointpresentationsandinteractivecomputerpro-gramsarenowthenorm.Claytargetthrow-ers used for live fire instructionswere solarge andheavy, theyhad to be towedonautility trailer, but arenowsmall enoughtobeloadedintothebackofapickuptruckbyoneperson(picturedabove).Studentre-cordsthatwereonceenteredintodatabasesbyhandcannowbescannedandelectroni-callysubmittedforstorage.Students,whooncehad to contact a personbyphone toregisterforahuntereducationcourse,cannow register completely on-line withouthaving to speak to a person. The internethas provided a great opportunity for ad-vancementinhuntereducation.Peoplecannowtakeahuntereducationcourseon-linein the convenience of their ownhome, aswellasaccessanumberofotherusefulre-

sources. Knowledge of hunting incidentsthatwentunconfirmedarenowinvestigatedbytrainedpersonnel,andresultsareenteredintoanationaldatabasethatisanalyzedandusedin thepreventionoffuturehunter in-cidents. The Louisiana Hunter EducationProgram has expanded through the yearsin its efforts to provide advanced traininginweaponsother thanshotgunsandrifles.Bow and muzzleloader hunter educationcourses are offered for those who enjoythechallengeofpursuinggamewithmoreprimitivehuntingequipment. Whilenewtechnologyhasallowedad-vancementsincoursedelivery,somethingsdo not change.Onebeing the crucial rolethat volunteer hunter education instruc-tors play in this important program. Thebackbone of the LouisianaHunter Educa-tionProgramhasalwaysbeenitsvolunteerswhounselfishlydedicatecountlesshoursoftheirpersonaltimetogivebacktothesportof hunting.Without their service itwouldbeafutileeffort,andtheyaretobesalutedfortheiraccomplishments. Similarly,whileweutilizenewtechnol-ogyandapproachestodeliverourmessagetomeettheculturalneedsofeachnewgen-eration,themessageisalwaysthesamebe-cause thebasicprinciplesof safefirearmshandling remains unchanged. No matterhowmanydifferentwayswefindtoteachapersontohandleafirearmsafely,westriveforthesamedesiredresults-apersonwhois a responsible, knowledgeable and safe

By John Sturgis, LdWF Education Program Manager

hunter.Inhuntereducation,weteachwhatis called the 10 commandments of fire-arms safety.These 10 commandments areintendedtoserveasguidelinesforhunterstofollowtopreventahuntingincident.Ifhunters would only observe the first fourvirtually every hunting incident could beprevented.Theyare:1. Alwayspointyourfirearmsmuzzleina

safedirection.2. Keepyourfingeroffofthetriggeruntil

readytofire.3. Besureofyourtarget,whatisinfront

andbeyondit.4. Treatallfirearmsasiftheyareloaded

atalltimes.

Remembertheserulesofsafefirearmshan-dling.Burnthemtoyourmemoryandthinkabouteverymoveyoumakewithafirearmwhen it is inyourhands.Haveasafeandsuccessfulhuntingseason.

Hunter Education at a Glance

FOR MORe InFORMATIOnSpecific information on huntereducation classes can be foundon the Louisiana Department ofWildlife and Fisheries website:http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/ed-ucation/huntereducation/

Notesmallsizeoftheelectricclaytargetthrowerusedduringhuntereducationinstruction.

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2 Louisiana Wildlife Insider

TheLouisianablackbear(Ursusameri-canus luteolus) once occurred throughoutLouisiana, southern Mississippi and east-ernTexas.Landclearingforagricultureinthe Mississippi Alluvial Valley created ahighlyfragmentedhabitat,withmorethan80 percent of the bottomland hardwoodhabitathavingbeenlost.Asaresultofthatloss and fragmentation, the three remain-ingblackbearsub-populationsweremoreor less isolatedwith little opportunity forgenetic interchange (Figure 1). The U.S.Fish andWildlifeService listed theLoui-sianablackbearasthreatenedin1992un-dertheU.S.EndangeredSpeciesAct,citinghabitat loss and fragmentationandhumaninducedmortality(poachingandroadkills)asprimarythreats.Sincethelistingin1992,great strides have been made toward ad-dressing theprimary threatofhabitat lossand fragmentation.Habitat protection andrestorationactivitieshavebeenfocusedonincreasingcontiguous forestedhabitat andprovidingforestedcorridorsbetweenhabi-tat blocks.To date, 603,696 acres of bearhabitat have been restored or acquired onbothpublicandprivatelands.

The bear populations have respondedwelltotheprotectionaffordedthroughthelisting and the additional forested habitat.Louisianablackbearpopulations through-out the state are growing and their rangesare expanding. Deer hunters can attest tothis fact. Bears are showing up in recordnumbersontrailcamssettocaptureactiv-ityatdeerfeeders(Figure2).Bearforagingactivityincreasesinthelatefallinordertoputontheweightnecessarytosurvivethefoodshortagesofwinter.Cornisabearfa-voriteand,whenplacedinareas inhabitedbybears, issuretodrawthemtothearea.The best way to avoid attracting bears toyourdeerstandwouldbetoplantfoodplotsinstead of baiting. For those hunters thatprefertousebait,itisadvisabletousesoy-beans.Forthemajorityofbears,theswitchfrom corn to soybeansmay be enough todrastically decrease the number of returnstothesite.Butthereistheoccasionalbearthatdevelopsatasteforsoybeansandcon-tinuestoreturnformore.Anotheroptionishangingthefeederoutofreachofthebears(Figures3and4).Itshouldbeatleast8feetoffofthegroundand4feetawayfromthe

How to Handle Black Bear

SituationsBy Maria Davidson, Large Carnivore section Leader

Figure 1.Blackbearsub-populationsinLouisiana.

Acuriousblackbearinspectingadeerstand.

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3Spring/Summer 2010

treeorpole.Bearsalsoarelesslikelytoforageforgrainonthegrounddispensedfromatimedfeeder.Theyprefertobellyuptothebaratatroughoroverturnedfeeder. Bearsareextremelyinquisitiveandwillsometimesfollowahunter’s trail tothestand.Itisnotuncommonforabeartoplacehisfrontfeetontheladderandpeerupintothestandinanattempttodiscoverwhatisupthere.Thissituationcanusuallyberesolvedbystandingandmovingaboutonthestandandspeakingtothebeartoallowhimtoseeandhearyou.Oncetheircuriosityissatisfied,theyusuallygoontheirway. Another encounter that sometimes occurs is a huntermoving through thickbrushandrunningacrossabearnest.Femalesreadilynestonthegroundtopro-duce cubs. This occurs during the den season (late December throughApril).Ground nests aremost often located in slash piles, felled tree tops, blackberrythicketsandthickpalmetto.Thistypeofencounterislikelytocausethefemaletorunawayfromhernest.Thecubswillbawlloudlyinprotestatbeingabandoned.Thisvocalizationwillbringthefemalebackquicklyassoonasyouleavethearea. Evenhuntersfollowingalloftheproperprecautionscanoccasionallyencoun-terabearwhilehunting.Althoughbearsaregenerallyshyandforthemostparttrytoavoidhumans,hunting,byitsnature,placeshumansincloseproximitytobears.Whena surprise encounteroccurs, thebest courseof action is todetouraroundwherethebearisfeedingorresting.Gobackthewayyoucameandaccessyourintendeddestinationfromanotherdirection.Ifyouunintentionallyencounterabearatcloserange;raiseyourhandsaboveyourheadtoappearlargerthanyouare.Speakinanormalvoicetoallowthebeartoidentifyyouashuman.BackawayuntilitissafetoturnandWALK(DONOTRUN)away.Bearshavepoorvision,buthaveakeensenseofsmell.Theywillsometimesstandontheirhindlegswhenfacedwithsomethingtheycan’tidentify.Theyaretryingtocatchyourscenttode-terminewhattheyareencountering.Intheunlikelyeventthatabearattackoccurs,DONOTPLAYDEAD.Thatisatechniqueusedforgrizzlybears.Fightbackwithanythingavailable.Manytimesblackbearattackswerestoppedwhenthepersonfoughtbackviolently. Thebesttipforinsuringhuntersafetyandpeaceofmindistocarrybearspray.Itisreadilyavailableontheweb,affordable,easytouseandwillsendthemostcuriousofbearsrunning.Thereareseveralbrandsavailable,justbesuretobuyaproductlabeled“bearspray.”Mostcomewithaconvenientbeltholster. Themajorityofquestionshuntershaveconcernstheirsafetyaroundbears.Itisimportantforhunterstoeducatethemselvesaboutbearsandbearbehavior.Theyshouldtaketheproperprecautionsandremainawarewhileinthewoods.Youngerhuntersshouldbecoachedonhowtorespondtobearpresence,andbeprovidedwithbearsprayandtaughthowtouseit. ThegoaloftheLouisianaDepartmentofWildlifeandFisheriesbearprogramistorestorebearnumberstoasustainablelevelthatwillallowforabearseasoninthefuture.

Figure 2.(above)Deerandbearcapturedwithtrailcam.

Figure 3.(below)Raiseddeerfeederswilllimitdamagebybears.

Figure 4.Deerfeederlocatedwithinawinterplotandprotectedbyelectricfencing.

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IsleDernieresBarrierIslandsRefuge(IDBIR)isabarrierislandchainoffthecoastofLouisianainTerrebonneParish(Figure1).TheislandsoftherefugeareremnantsoftheLafoucheDeltaComplexoftheMississippiDeltaicPlainRegion.Approximately1,200to2,000yearsago, theMississippiRiver’sprimarydistributarydischargedintotheGulfofMexicoviathemoderndayBayouLafouche.WhentheriverabandonedtheLafouchelobeabout400yearsago,rapidsubsidencebegan,andmarineerosionprocessesreworkedtheland-scape causing extensivewetland/shoreline changes to occur.ThisprocessresultedinthecreationofflankingbarrierislandssuchasthefivethatmakeupIDBIR(Raccoon,Whiskey,Trinity,EastandWineislands). IDBIRisalsoknownas“LastIsland,”“IsleDerniere”or“L’IsleDerniere”andhasanextensivehistoryofsettlementand/orutiliza-tionbyhumans.FromNativeAmericans to private camps/resortsinthe20thcentury,thisareahasbeenusedforfishing,huntinganda variety of other recreational activities. For example, during the1800s,IsleDerniereswasathrivingcoastalcommunityandresortwithhotels,supportingbusinessessuchasgamblingestablishmentsandentertainmentsuchasdancing,awhirligigforchildrenandboat-ingexcursions.Itwasapopularvacationresortforthewealthyuntilitwasdestroyedbyahurricanein1856. Louisiana Department ofWildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) hasmanagedtheislandsasarefugesince1992.Therefugeisapproxi-mately 2,000 acres of beach, dune, swale and saltmarsh habitats

whichprovidemanyfunctionsandvalues tocoastalLouisiana. Itservesasimportantnestinghabitatforbrownpelicans,terns,gullsand a variety of other colonial seabirds, shorebirds and wadingbirds. Italso ishome toseveral terrestrial speciesofwildlifeandservesashabitatforavarietyofmarineorganismsandfish.Itisahighlyutilizedareaforrecreationalfishingandprovideswaveero-sionprotectiontomarshesfromtheGulfofMexico.Italsoserves

Preserving Isle Dernieres Barrier Islands Refuge

A Highlight of the 2009 Whiskey Island Restoration Effort By Todd Baker, Coastal operations Program Manager,

and Cassidy Lejeune, Coastal operations Biologist

Figure 1.LocationofIsleDerniersBarrierIslandRefuge

2009photoofRaccoonIslandbreakwaters.(Figure 3)

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asprotectionforcoastalcommunitiesbyre-ducingstormsurgeassociatedwithtropicalstormsandhurricanes. According to the National WetlandsCenter, the Terrebonne Basin, which in-cludesIDBIR,hasthesecondhighestero-sion rate inLouisiana (Barrasetal.1994)(Figure2.).Ithasexperiencedasmuchas10.2squaremilesoflossperyearoverthelastfewdecades.Barrierislandsarepartofthefinalstagesofdeltadegradationandarequite vulnerable to erosion.According toMcBrideetal.1989,theIsleDernieresbar-rierislandchainisthemostrapidlyerodingcoastline in theUnitedStates.A study byPenlandetal.2003indicatedthatIDBIRisexperiencing an average shoreline erosionrateof38.7 feetperyearon thegulf sideand8.2feetperyearonthebaysideoftheislands.DuetotheextensivewetlandlossatandinthevicinityofIDBIR,over85mil-liondollarshavebeenspentorallocatedtokeepingIDBIRfrombecomingasubaque-ousshoal. Coastal restoration at IDBIR began in1991whenWine Islandwas recreated bypumpingdredgematerialfromtheHoumaNavigationCanalontotheremnantsoftheislandwhichhaderodedtoashallowshoal.Theprojectwasfundedvia theWaterRe-sourcesDevelopmentActof1986.Thearea

waswrappedwitharockdikeandmaterialwaspumpedtoa+4feetto+7feeteleva-tion.Alsointheearly1990s,thedevelop-mentoflargescalebeach/marshrestorationprojectswereinitiatedviatheCoastalWet-landsPlanningProtection andRestorationAct (CWPPRA). In 1999, the Isle Derni-eres Restoration East and Trinity IslandsProjects (TE-20andTE-24)were created.These projects were designed to rebuildportionsoftheseislandsusingahydraulicdredge. The projects included marsh cre-ation, dune creation, sand fences to trapwindblownsandandvegetationplantings.Subsequently, the Whiskey Island Res-toration Project (TE-27) was constructedbetween1998and2000.Thisproject alsoutilizedahydraulicdredgetocreateadune/marshplatformandfill in abreachof theisland(approx.657acres).Theprojectalsoincluded installation of sand fences andvegetation plantings. In 2007, a secondhydraulicdredgeprojectwasimplementedatTrinityandEastIslands(NewCutDuneand Marsh Restoration Project, TE-37).Thisprojectincludedmarshanddunecre-ation, beach nourishment, installation ofsandfencesandplantingofnativevegeta-tion.Theprimaryobjectiveof thisprojectwas to solidify a breach between the twoislands bywidening the island in an area

knowas“NewCut.”Alsoin2007,materialwas pumped from theHoumaNavigationCanal toWine Island in an effort to ben-eficially use dredgematerial towiden theisland.Unfortunately,thisprojecthadmini-malbenefitsduetothelowqualityofma-terialpumpedfromthenavigationchanneland impacts from hurricanes Gustav andIke.Overall,theseprojectswerecriticalforthelongevityoftheislands.Withoutresto-ration, the islandswereexpectedtodisap-pearby2004(McBrideetal.1989). AmajorityofrestorationatIDBIRuti-lized a hydraulic dredge to borrow sedi-ment from water bottoms to nourish thebeachandbaysidemarshesof the islands.However,adifferenttechniquewasutilizedfor Raccoon Island. In 1997, eight seg-mented breakwaters were constructed us-inglargebouldersalongthegulfsideoftheisland to reduce erosion (Raccoon IslandBreakwaters Demonstration Project, TE-29) (Figure 3). This technique proved tobea successfulwayofdecreasingerosionratesand,asasecondary/unanticipatedef-fect,resultedinthetrappingofsanddepos-itswhichincreasedthewidthoftheisland.Subsequently,eightadditionalbreakwatersand a rock groin were added in 2007 toprovideadditionalshorelineprotectionandtrap sediment (Raccoon Island ShorelineProtection/MarshCreationProject,TE-48).This project also includes a second phasethat includes amarsh creation component(60 acres) and vegetation plantings. Thisphaseoftheprojectwasexpectedtobeini-tiatedinlate2009orearly2010. In2009,thepreservationofIDBIRcon-tinuedwhenasecondrestorationprojectatWhiskeyIslandwasinitiated.OnFebruary11,theLouisianaOfficeofCoastalRestora-

By Todd Baker, Coastal operations Program Manager, and Cassidy Lejeune, Coastal operations Biologist

Figure 2.Landchange1887vs.1996(Penlandet.al.2003)

2009photoofRaccoonIslandbreakwaters.(Figure 3)

Dredgeandmaterialpumpedintodunecreationsite. LDW

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tionandProtection(OCPR)andtheEnvi-ronmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)issuedanoticetoproceedtoWeeksMarine,Inc.toinitiatetheconstructionofa$23.1millionrestorationprojectdesigned to impede theerosionofWhiskeyIsland.LDWFCoastalandNongameResourcesDivisionbiologi-calstaffcoordinatedwithOCPR,EPAandWeeksMarinepersonnelonaroutinebasisto ensure LDWF management objectivesweremet. In March 2009, Weeks Marine mo-bilized equipment (dragline, excavators,boats, barges, dredgepipe, etc.) and initi-atedtheconstructionofacontainmentdikeforthe316-acremarshcreationcomponentof theproject (Figure4).During thedikeconstruction process,Weeks also dredgedexperimentaltidalcreekswithinthemarshcreation site. These creeks were dredgedto -6’ NAVD 88 and were designed withthe idea that differential settlementwouldcausethecreekstoappearafterthecomple-tionoftheproject.Spillboxeswerealsoin-stalledinthecontainmentdiketoallowforde-wateringofthedredgematerial. Duringtheconstructionofthedikes,sixAtlanticbottlenosedolphinswereaccident-lytrappedinthemarshcreationsite.Torec-tifythesituation,WeeksMarine(viainputgovernmentalagenciesandtheNOAAMa-rineMammalStrandingProgram)dredgeda100-footbreachintheleveetoallowthedolphins to swim out of the area. Subse-quently, a 30-inch hydraulic cutter headdredgecalledthe“E.W.Ellefsen”wasusedtofillthemarshcreationportionoftheproj-ect.Whenpumpingwasinitiated, thedol-phinsleftthemarshcreationarea.Thus,nocaptureandreleaseeffortswererequired. Approximately2.4millioncubicyardsofdredgematerialfromtheGulfofMexicowerepumpedintothemarshcreationarea

toanelevationof+2.5’NAVD88(Figure5).Whilebuildingmarsh,dikeconstructionwasinitiatedforthedunecreationsegmentoftheproject.Thedikeswerecreated(inapreviously designed alignment) to containmaterial for the12,770 linearfeetofdunethat paralleled the Gulf shoreline for theentirelengthoftheisland.Thecutterheaddredgewas used to fill the dune after themarshcreationcomponentwascompleted.Approximately242,000cubicyardsofma-terialwerepumpedintothedunesitetoanelevation of +6’ NAVD 88. In September2009,WeeksMarinecompletedthehydrau-licdredgeworkandinitiatedthefinalstagesoftheprojectwhichincludedgrading/shap-ingofthedune,finalelevationsurveys,anddemobilization(Figure6). Otheractivities thatremaintobecom-pletedaretheconstructionof13,000feetofsandfences,degradingof thecontainmentdikes to +2.5’NAVD 88 on the east andwestsidesofthemarshcreationsite,back-filling of the access channel to the island,creating70-foot gaps in thenorthern con-tainment dike to allow for tidal exchangeincreeks,dispersingbermudaandgulfryegrass,andpossiblydegradingthenortherndikesonthebayshoreoftheisland.Inad-dition,OCPRhasissuedacontracttoplantnativemarshvegetationsuchasbitterpani-cum (Panicumamarum), sea oats (Uniolapaniculata), wire grass (Spartina patens),black mangroves (Avicennia germinans),smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora),seacoastbluestem(Schizachyriumscopari-um)andseashoredropseed(Sporobolusvir-ginicus).Thevegetationwastobeplantedinthespringof2010. Thankstofederalandstategovernmentcoordination, a significant amount of timeandmoneyhavebeenexpendedtopreserveIDBIRover thepast18years.Restoration

suchastheprojectshighlightedinthisarti-clehasextendedthelifespanofthesefragileislandsandprovidedgoodsandservicestothegeneralpublic.Outlookforfutureresto-ration funding ispromising,and IDBIR isoftenconsideredwhenplanningnewproj-ects due to its fragile condition. Frequentand repetitive restoration is needed at ID-BIRtopreserveLouisiana’scoastalbarrierislandresourcesbecausenaturalcausesandman’s activities have changed the normalaccretionprocessalongourcoasts.

Literature cited

Barras, J.A., P.E. Bourgeois, and L.R.Handley.1994.LandlossincoastalLoui-siana1956-90.NationalBiologicalSurvey,NationalWetlands Research Center OpenFileReport94-01.4pp.10colorplates.

McBride,R.A.,K.Westphal,S.Penland,B.Jaffe,andS.J.Williams.1989.Erosionanddeterioration of Isle Dernieres Barrier Is-landArc,Louisiana:1842-1988.AAPGBulletin73:1182-1188.

Penland,S.,C.Zganjar,K.A.Westphal,P.Connor,A. Beall, J.H. List, and S.J.Wil-liams. 2003. Shoreline change posters ofthe Louisiana Barrier Islands, 1885-1996:U.S.Geological SurveyOpen-FileReport03-398,CD-ROM.

FOR MORe InFORMATIOnForadditional informationaboutIDBIR, please call Todd Bakeror Cassidy Lejeune at 337-373-0032.

Figure 4.AerialphotoduringdikeconstructionoftheWhiskeyIslandmarshcreationsite.

Figure 6.September2009aerialphotoofmaterialpumpedintomarshanddunecreationsites.

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TheDeerManagementAssistancePro-gram (DMAP)was initiated in the 1980sto allow additional antlerless deer harvestopportunitywheretheseasonlimitwasnotadequate toreachmanagementobjectives.Additionally,therewasanemphasisonre-ducing the harvest of 1.5-year-old buckswhenhuntersexpressedthedesiretoshootbetterqualitybucks.Promotingdeerdensi-tiesthatareinbalancewiththehabitatandherdswithmoreevensexratiosandbetterage structures are fundamental principalsthatmorerecentlyhavebecomeknownasqualitydeermanagement(QDM). DMAP has been a very important andsuccessful program, allowing Louisi-anaDepartment ofWildlife and Fisheries(LDWF)fieldbiologistsanexcellentwaytointeractwiththepublicandeducatehuntersaboutgoodwildlife conservationmethodsand principals.TheLandownerAntlerlessDeer Tag Program (LADT) followed andwas created for smaller landowners withlessmanagement capability, but the sameneedforadditionalantlerlessdeerharvest.LADT also addresses growing nuisancedeer issues in less rural habitats, therebygiving increased opportunities to reducedeer numbers in suburban areas. DMAPenrollment started to experience adeclinewhentheLADTruleswerechangedtoal-lowlargeracreagestoparticipate. Withtherecentimplementationofstate-widedeertagging,bothprogramshaveseenadditionaldropsinparticipation.However,theneedforecologicallyandscientificallysound management of private lands hasneverbeengreater.Adequatedeerharvestis a fundamental componentofgood landstewardship,andharvestsshouldbebasedonhabitatparameters,deerpopulationanduniqueenvironmentalvariables. The goal ofDMAP continues to be to

offer interested hunters, landowners andmanagers in-depth, professional technicalassistance in managing deer populationsandtheirhabitats.Secondarily,theprogramseekstoeducateparticipantsonsounddeermanagementandwildlifehabitatprincipalsacross the state. LADTprovides basic in-formationandcontinuestooffer increasedharvestopportunityonsmalleracreagesandwherenuisancedeerissuesexist. Besidesassisting landownersandhunt-ingclubswithtechnicalassistanceinman-aging and conserving localwildlife popu-lations, the deer program gains detailedstatewideharvestinformationthatisusedtomakeinferencestothedeerpopulationsta-tus andmakemanagement decisions suchasseasonlengthandbaglimits.Managingdeer populations are vital to maintainingnative plant diversity and viability, forestecosystem health, public safety and tradi-tionalculturalrichness. DMAPclubshaveplayedavitalroleinassisting LDWF track diseases. A recentexamplewasthebloodcollectioneffort toidentify the prevalence and range of thenewstrainofbluetongue(BTV1)identifiedinsouthLouisianain2006.Statewidesam-pling efforts for chronic wasting diseasewould have consumed considerably moretime of staff biologists without willinghands fromourDMAPcooperators.Like-wise, the recently completed bottomlandhardwooddeermovementandsurvivalre-searchwouldnothavebeenpossiblewith-out thecooperationandsupportofseveralmajor landownersenrolled inDMAP.Ourongoing parish breeding chronology re-searchwillcontinue to refine thedifferentbreeding periods across the state. Land-ownerrelationshipsandDMAPcooperatorshave been vital to the success of the deerprogram,andcontinuetobeveryimportant

inattainingdeerprogramobjectives. The deer program, primarily throughDMAP, is committed to providing techni-cal assistance based on the most currentscientific principles and our personal fieldexperiences. Services offered to partici-pants enrolled in DMAP include browseandhabitatsurveysevery threeyearswithaccompanying reports and recommenda-tions designed for themanagement objec-tives that cooperators choose. Included inthe reports are annual harvest reports andharvestandhabitatrecommendations.Pre-sentationsatclubmeetingsareprovidedasrequested.Herdhealthchecksandbreedingstudies are performed as needed. LDWFprivate land biologists can assist coopera-tors with habitat and forest management,camerasurveys(toestablishpopulationin-dices)andmastsurveys(toestablishamastspecies inventory). Stomach analyses canalsobeperformedtodeterminewhatplantsarebeingutilizedduringthewintermonths,whichcanprovideinsightintohowhuntersmight improve harvest strategies. In addi-tion, pellet and track count cruises canbeestablishedtodevelopanadditionalpopula-tionindextosupplementothersurveys.Thevarioussurveysestablishbase-linedataforthepropertyand,whencollectedovertime,candocumentdeerphysicalcharacteristicsand/or population trends. The observationlogwasdevelopedanddistributedtocoop-erators aswell as other interested personstoprovideparishdeerindices.Informationgathered from these logs can track differ-ences in population levels from differenthabitats and physiographic regions overtime.Thecooperatoralsohasadirectlineofcommunication for anydisease issues anddiagnosisthatmightariseonhisproperty. The $25 enrollment and $0.05/acreDMAPfeehasnotincreasedsinceitsbegin-ning.Newresearchinintensivelymanagedbottomlandhardwoodshasrevealedthatitmaybepossibletomanagesmallerproper-tiesforqualitydeer.Managementpotentialincreaseswhenworkingwith neighboringlandowners or forming associations to in-creasethesizeofthemanagementunit. If you are interested in enrolling yourproperty inDMAP, additional informationcanbeobtained fromourwebsite (http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/hunting/programs/animals/dmap.cfm) or one of our privatelandsbiologists locatedatourwildlifeof-ficesacrossthestate.

FOR MORe InFORMATIOnYoumayalsocontactEmileLeBlanc,DMAPCoordinator, [email protected].

What Does DMAP Have to Offer?

By emile P. Leblanc, dMAP Coordinator, and Scott Durham, deer Program Leader

LDWFbiologistconductingdeerbrowsesurvey.

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The term “carrying capacity” (CC) re-fers to the number of animals that a par-ticularhabitat can supportover time. It isnot constant or simple, but is an intricatemixofanumberoffactorsthatarechang-ingallofthetime.CCcanchangedailyatfinelevelsormonthlywiththechangingoftheseasonsasenvironmentalfactorsaffecthabitat.Ona longer term, landscape levelchangessuchashumandevelopment, for-estryandagriculturalpracticesimpactCC.Deerbiologistsspendagooddealof timetrying to determine theCC for individualtracts of landswithin the different habitattypes across the state. From their assess-ments, they recommend harvest rates andthen compare them to historical data foracluborregion.Thisprocessallowsdeerbiologists tomake informed habitatman-agement and harvest recommendations tohunters,landownersandwildlifemanagers.There is no substitute for experience, in-cludingworkingknowledgeofsoils,plantsandforestrypractices.Thereisusuallynotjust one way to accomplish your goals,trulyillustratingwhywildlifemanagementhasbeencoinedas“anartandascience.”Determining CC is a perfect example ofthisadage. A very simple conceptual example ofCCistothinkofapasturewithcows.Thenumber of cows that pasture can supportdependsonthekindofgrasses,rainfall,soiltype and condition, temperature and timeofyear, tonamethebasicvariables.Eventhis simpleexample illustrateshowCC isalwayschangingbecause theseasonalCCislessduringadroughtperiodthanitwouldbe if rainfallwas providing normalmois-turelevelstothesoilandgrass.Duringthedormant season, thegrass is not growing,but the cattlemust be able tomake it onwhateverfoodisstillavailable.Thatiswhycattle producers generally have a backupplan-hay,feedorasecondaryplacetotakethosecattleifpastureconditionsdeterioratesufficientlytonolongersupporttheherd. A mixed pine/hardwood forest is farmore diverse above the soil horizon thanasimplepasture.Insteadofonlygrassandcows, there are hundreds of herbaceousandwoody plants, all competing for sun-lightandnutrients.Inadditiontotheplants,thereareinsects,amphibians,reptiles,birdsandmammals.Eachgroupofplantsandan-imalsispartofacomplexweboflife,and

each specimen in someway or another iscontributingortakingawaysomethingthatanotherrequirestosurviveinthelongterm.Whenthingsgettoocrowdedinnature,thebackupplan initially is lowerproductivityor reproduction.Nextmaybedispersaloremigrationandultimatelynaturalmortalitythrough increased predation, high parasitelevelsanddisease. Thepracticallengthoftimetoconsiderrelative to deer CC is probably at least ayear.Variationsintermsofbodycharacter-istics such as antler development,weightsand lactation rates can easily be observedintheharvestdata.Althoughitisextremelydifficulttoquantifytheimpactofanyoneoftheseitemsindividually,biologistsconsiderannual fluctuations in precipitation, mastcrops,temperature,flooding,insectpopula-

Carrying CapacityBy Scott Durham, deer Program Leader

Figure 1.Younghardwoodstandwillproducehardmastinthefuture.Masttreesareespeciallyimportantonpoorsoilsorlowproductivityhabitat.Aperiodoflowerbrowseavailabilitymustbeenduredinsomeportionsofatracttoachievethedesiredtimberstand.

Figure 2.Densehardwoodmid-storiesmustbeinventoried.Ifundesirableregenerationispresent,appropriatemanagementactionmayneedtobetakentopromotemoredesirablespecies.

tions,predatorandcompetitorpopulations,anddiseaseprevalenceasfactorsaffectingdeerproduction,abundanceand,ultimately,harvest. Nowwe introduceanother term,“lag,”which occurs when environmental andhabitatimpactsarenotfullyexpressedun-til some point in the future. For example,an extremely dry June could increase theincidenceofhemorrhagicdiseaselaterthatsummerand fall, resulting ina25percentmortalityeventinanarea.Thedeerpopula-tion isnow lower there,possibly favoringthedeerthatremainduetolesscompetitionforfoodsources. In another example, back to back hardspringfreezesremovesthewhiteoakmastfortwoyearsandtheredoakmastforoneyear, reducing theaverageseasonalCCof

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Figure 3. Mixedpinehardwoodstandsoftenofferthemostdiversearrayofdeerbrowsespeciesintheunderstory.

Figure 4.Thispineplantationhasgoodbrowseavailability,butunlesscomplimentedwithmastbearingspeciesalongstreamsidemanagementzonesoradjoiningtracts,itwillnothavetheproduc-tivityorlong-termcarryingcapacitydesiredbymanyhunters.

deer,especiallythesecondyear,whenthereis a completemast failure.Apregnant fe-malewillgointothespringinpoorercondi-tion.Ifdeernumbersaretoohighandthereis a summerdrought, thenbrowse and itsnutrientcontentwillbeevenlower.Theremaybe lessmilk forher fawns andmorestressonthedoe,perhapsmakingheralesssuccessfulmother.Herfawnswillbesmall-er and have lower chances of survival. Ifshewereanormal3.5-year-olddoeonav-eragetogoodhabitat,sheshouldhavetwofawns.Butifshelosesoneofthem,thereisa50percentreductioninrecruitmentfromthis individual. If this happens across alargersampleoffemales,theresultswillbeanoverallreductioninrecruitmentanddeeravailable for harvest in succeeding years.Thesamedoesmaynotbreedontheirfirst,

or even second, estruscycle thenext sea-soniftheirbodyconditionsdonotimprove.The resulting late bornmale fawns likelywill exhibit poorer antler development asyoungbucksduetothelateandsuppressedstart. To understand the long-term CC of atractof landorhabitat type,anentirefor-estcyclemustbeconsidered.Evenwithinthe samesoil region,a short-rotationpineplantation that is intensivelymanaged forfast growing pulpwood or chip products,will have a different average annual deerCC than a more plant-diverse, long-rota-tionmixed pine/hardwood standmanagedfor sawtimber. The forestry managementobjectivesaredifferent,andthustheforestmanagementregimeisdifferent. Recent research in pine plantations il-

lustratesthecomplexitiesofhabitatquality.Mechanical, chemical and prescribed firetreatmentsandthetimingofthesemanage-ment techniques have varying effects onplantcompositionandbrowsequantityandquality.Broadcastherbaceousweedcontrolreduces forage biomass significantlymorethanbandedherbaceousweedcontrol(her-bicidesappliedonanarrowstripalongtheplantedtrees)(Jonesetal.2009).Whenanexoticwoodyplant,suchasChinesetallow(Triadica sebifera) or even a native likesweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), be-comedominant in the under ormid-story,management action may be necessary toimprovewildlife habitat and forest regen-eration.Selectiveherbicideandprescribedfire application can be used to increaseimportant deer forages in these situations(Mixonetal.2009). The accompanying photos from thesametractoflandillustrateavarietyofhab-itatconditionsthatarecommontoLouisi-ana. Thedepartment’sdeerprogramisdevel-opingajointresearchprojectwithLouisianaState University that will provide furtherinsight into deerCC across several of thestate’s physiographic regions. Plants thatareimportanttodeerwillbemeasuredandanalyzedfornutritionalcompositionacrossthestate(Moreland2005).Thisinformationwillhelpbiologistsanddeermanagersbet-ter understand habitat potential and assistthem in educating hunters about realisticexpectationsconcerningdeernumbers.

Literature cited

Jones,P.D.,S.L.Edwards,andS.Demarais.2009.White-taileddeerforaginghabitatinintensively established loblolly pine plan-tations. Journal of Wildlife Management73(4):488-496.

Mixon,M.R.,S.Demarais,P.D.Jones,andB.J. Rude. 2009. Deer forage response toherbicideandfireinmid-rotationpineplan-tations. Journal of Wildlife Management73(5):663-668.

Moreland,D.2005.Checklistofwoodyandherbaceous deer food plants ofLouisiana.LDWFFirsted.publication.


ThisSeptembermarksthe10thanniversaryofafederalassistancedirectiveknownastheStateWild-lifeGrant(SWG)Program.Thesegrantswereestab-lished“forthedevelopmentandimplementationofprogramsfor thebenefitofwildlifeandtheirhabi-tat,includingspeciesthatarenothuntedorfished.”These funds typically support research on speciesin decline that are unlikely to receive dependablesupportfromotherprograms.SWGreceivesannualCongressional appropriations that are administeredby the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service (USFWS).USFWS,inturn,apportionsthesefundstofishandwildlifeagenciesinthestates,territoriesandtribes.Since2002,TheLouisianaDepartmentofWildlifeand Fisheries annual apportionment has been ap-proximately$1million. AstheSWGprogramwasdeveloped,Congressstipulated that each state fish and wildlife agencythatwished toparticipatemustdevelopaCompre-hensiveWildlifeConservationStrategybyOctober2005.Inresponse,LDWFdevelopedaplanningdoc-ument,Louisiana’sWildlifeActionPlan(WAP),thatwouldguidethedepartment’suseofSWGfundsfor10years.OurWAPwasapprovedin2005,guaran-teeingthatLDWFwouldcontinuetoreceiveSWGfundingthrough2015. SWGandourWAPareseparatebutcloselyasso-ciatedelementsinvolvedintheconservationofspe-ciesindecline.StateWildlifeGrantswerecreatedtofundresearchandimplementconservationstrategiesforthebenefitofwildlifeandthehabitatsthatsup-portthem;theWildlifeActionPlanistheblueprintguidingtheuseofthosefunds.

What is inside the WAP? The455-pageWAPdescribeswildlifeandfisher-ies resources in Louisiana, explainswhich speciesand habitats may need conservation attention andprovidesseveralstrategies toprevent thosespeciesor habitats from becoming endangered. TheWAPhas fourmajorgoals: speciesconservation;habitatconservation; public outreach and education; andpartnershipbuilding.Thereare240speciesofcon-servation concern in theWAP. This includes am-phibiansandreptiles(45species),birds(69species),mammals (18 species), fish (41 species), crawfish(14 species) and freshwater mussels (30 species).

ProposalsforSWGfundingmustaddressconservationstrategiesandresearchpri-oritiesforwildlifeandfisheriesspeciesofconservationconcernlistedinWAP.

What have we done so far?SinceourWAPwasapproved,wehavefundedmorethan50independentprojectsfocusedonLouisiana’sspeciesofgreatestconservationneed.Weattempttoawardabroadarrayofprojecttypesaddressingdifferentspeciesandhabitatsofconcern.Theseprojectshaveprovidedanswerstoquestionsaboutthedeclinesofwildlifespecies,definedthehabitatrequirementsofspeciesofconcernandincreasedhabi-tatthroughmanagementtechniques.LDWFiscommittedtocontinuingwiththeseobjectivesthrough2010.Wehaveapproved12newprojectsforfundingthusfar.Thisnewresearchwillbecomprehensive,witharangeofconservationobjectivesthatincludesamphibianmonitoring,grasslandrestorationandendangeredspeciesmanagement- includingthereintroductionofaLouisiananative, thewhoopingcrane.

examples of SWG funded projects

“Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship Study” (SWG No. T-30) LDWFmanagesapproximately1.4millionacresofwildlifemanagementareas(WMAs)andrefugesthroughoutthestate-muchofwhichisforested.Ourfor-estrymanagementpracticesmayaffectmillionsofindividualbirds.Therefore,theobjectiveoftheongoingMonitoringAvianProductivityandSurvivorshipStudy(MAPS)istoassesstheeffectsofLDWF’ssilviculturepractices(i.e.,shelterwoodharvest,group/individualselectionharvestandno-harvest)onbreedinglandbirdpopulationsinabottomlandhardwoodecosystem.TheresultsoftheMAPSstudy

State Wildlife Grant Program & the Louisiana Wildlife Action Plan

By Kyle F. Balkum, Biologist Program Manager, and LeAnne Bonner, state Wildlife grants Coordinator

Coverofthe2005LouisianaWildlifeActionPlan

11Spring/Summer 2010

will be used to guide our forest manage-mentdecisions. To accomplish this objective, LDWFoperatesbirdbanding stationsduringbirdbreeding seasons. The banding stationsare located at Sherburne and Pearl RiverWMAs, which offer superb habitat formanynongamebirdspecies.Fourteenspe-ciesofnongamebirdslistedintheWAPasspecies of conservation concern regularlyutilize both WMAs (e.g., yellow-billedcuckoo, wood thrush, prothonotary war-bler,Swainson’swarbler,paintedbunting)(Figure1). In2010,LDWFiscompletingthesev-enthyearoftheMAPSstudy.Aminimumof10yearsofMAPSbandingisdesirableto determine avian population response.In addition to assessing local populationtrends, we participate in the nationwideMAPS program, which also allows re-searcherstoassessregionalbreedingland-birdpopulationtrends.

“Locality Data for Bats in Northeastern Louisiana” (SWG No. T-10-3 – Completed in 2009)Rafinesque’s big-eared bat and the south-easternmyotisaretwospeciesofconcern,both in Louisiana and the southeasternUnited States. From July 2008 throughJune2009,15siteswithinLouisianawererepeatedly searched for bats and signs oftheir presence. During these surveys, 63newroostsiteswerediscoveredinUnion,OuachitaandCaldwellparishes.Althoughoneroostwasdiscoveredinanabandonedwell, roost sites were typically found inwatertupeloandbaldcypresstreecavities.Theinformationgatheredabouttheseroostsites helps the LDWF further understandthepopulationstatus,distributionandhabi-tat requirements of these species inLoui-siana.This studywas part of an ongoing,long-termprojectconductedbytheLouisi-anaNaturalHeritageProgramtoinventorymanyrarespeciesthroughoutthestate.

“A Survey of Fishes Inhabiting the Pearl, Tchefuncte and Tangipahoa River Sys-tems in Louisiana” (SWG No. T-49 – Completed in 2009) Ofthe41speciesoffisheslistedasspe-ciesofconservationconcernintheWAP,14occurredhistoricallyinriversystemslocat-edintheSoutheasternPlainsandSouthernCoastal Plain ecoregions of southeasternLouisiana (including all or parts of Liv-ingston,St.Helena,St.Tammany,Tangipa-hoaandWashingtonparishes). Inorder todocument thecurrentdistributionandsta-tusofthesespecies,theTangipahoa,Tche-functe, Pearl, Bogue Chitto, PushepetapaandBogueLusariversweresampledusingseinesandelectro-fishinggearin2007and2008.A totalof74 specieswerecapturedandidentified.Fourofthespeciescollectedare listed as species of conservation con-cern: gulf sturgeon in the Bogue Chitto;

bluesuckerinthePearlRiver;frecklebellymadtominPushepetapaCreek;andflagfinshinerinBogueLusaCreekandtributariesoftheBogueChittoRiver(Figure2).

“Herpetofaunal Surveys on Wildlife Man-agement Areas” (SWG Nos. T-03, T-05, T-06, T-17, T-24, T-26 – Completed between 2005-2008, SWG Nos. T-78, T-85 – Current) SixSWGprojectshaveincludedherpe-tofaunal (i.e., reptiles and amphibian spe-cies)surveysofbottomlandhardwoodeco-systems onWMAs.A total of 20WMAswere surveyed from 2003 to 2006. Mostof these projects gathered baseline sur-vey information essential to the develop-mentoftheWAP.Thecommonobjectivesof theseprojectswere to estimate relativeabundance, speciescompositionandhabi-tatutilizationofamphibiansandreptilesonWMAs.Theprojectsalso resulted innewspeciesoccurrencerecordsforseveralpar-ishes. The studies utilized several surveyandsamplingmethods,includingvisualen-counters,Anurancallsurveys,driftfences,pitfalltraps,funneltraps,coverboardsur-veysandaquatictrapping(Figure3). In2010,wehavebeguntwonewstud-ies focusing on herpetofaunal diversitythrough much of Louisiana. Researchersplan to sample aquatic herpetofauna invariouswetland types onBoeufWMA toevaluate species diversity as it relates tohabitat type andquality. In another study,LDWFwillsamplearangeofreptilesandamphibians from various sites throughoutcentral and eastern Louisiana, developinglong-term monitoring stations to help usevaluateanychangesindiversityandrich-nessasrelativelyunalteredlandscapesareexposedtodevelopmentorfragmentation.

Conclusion Since itsstart, theStateWildlifeGrantProgram has funded more than 80 proj-ects in Louisiana.The initial years of theprogramhave providedmuch informationconcerningspeciesaboutwhichweprevi-ouslyknewverylittle.ThatknowledgelaidthefoundationfortheWildlifeActionPlan.Withtheplaninplace,anoutlinenowex-ists that will guide research andmanage-ment decisions with the ultimate purposeofpreventingwildlifeandfisheriesspeciesfrombecomingendangered. LDWF’smissionistomanage,conserveandpromotewiseutilizationofLouisiana’srenewable fish andwildlife resources andtheirsupportinghabitatsforthesocialandeconomic benefit of current and futuregenerations.StateWildlifeGrants and theWildlifeAction Plan have become an in-creasingly important part of that missionduring this first 10 years of research andconservation, and LDWF only anticipatesgreaterachievementsthroughSWGasthisprogramcontinuesintheyearstocome.

FOR MORe InFORMATIOnFor further information, pleasecontact LeAnne Bonner at 225-765-0239orvisitLDWF’sweb-siteatthefollowingaddress:http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/ex-perience/wildlifeactionplan/.

Figure 1. A white-eyed vireo waits to beremovedfromaMAPSmistnet.Mistnetsare made of fine thread whichmakes thenets essentially invisible to flying birds,ensnaringthosethatattempttoflythroughthenets.

Figure 2.LDWFInlandFisheriesDivisionhoopnetsampling.

Figure 3.TheGulfCoastmudsalamander,uncommon throughout its range, is listedasaspeciesofconservationconcernintheWAP. A new herpetofauna survey (T-85)will includeknownareasofoccurrence tofurther document its population status inLouisiana.

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Louisianaishometonumerousspeciesofwildlifethatutilizeavarietyofhabitats.Aswildlifemanagers,itisimportanttorec-ognizetheirindividualhabitatrequirementsandunderstandthatspecificforestmanage-ment practices may benefit some specieswhile being detrimental to others. Somespeciesrequireshrub/scrubhabitatlikethatfoundinyoungplantationsortheresultoflargescalenaturaldisturbances,whileotherspeciesrequireopenpark-likehabitatfoundinclosedcanopymatureforests.Mostspe-cies thrive in forested habitat somewherebetween these two extremes, requiring acombinationoftheseverydifferenthabitattypesatdifferent timesof their life cycle,differenttimesoftheyearorevendifferenttimesoftheday. Forexample,wildturkeyequallyutilizeaclosedcanopyforestwithanopenunder-storyoflowgroundcoverforbroodhabitat,buthavehighersurvivalrateswhenescapecoverofdenseunderstoryisnearby.Duringthenestingseason,turkeyhensselectareasof dense understory and awell-developedmidstory. These areas provide overheadcover forprotection fromavianpredators.American woodcock spend their daylight

By Donald “Duck” Locascio Jr., Wildlife Biologist/Forester

hoursinareasofextremelydensemidstoryandunderstorybutmovetoopenareasandfields during the night to forage.Wildlifemanagers must have an understanding ofeach species’ habitat requirements aswellasthetechnicalskillstocreatethedesiredhabitatconditions. No group ofwildlife demonstrates theimportanceofandneedforadiversehabi-tatmorethannongamesongbirds.Forestedhabitat that is structurally diverse holdshighernumbersofbirds andagreaterva-rietyofspeciesthanahomogeneousforest.Many species of songbirds experiencingsharp declines in theMississippiAlluvialValley (MAV) are disturbance dependent.Birds such as Kentucky, Swainson’s andhooded warblers are dependent on com-plex,multi-layeredvegetativecoverresult-ing fromnatural disturbances such as tor-nadic events and hurricanes which causetreefallgapswithinacontiguousforestedlandscape.Forestmanagementthatmimicsthese natural events benefits these song-birdsandenhanceshabitatforawidearrayofwildlife found inbottomlandhardwoodhabitat. By managing hardwood timber-lands using uneven-aged management, a

morediverseforestisproducedwhichsatis-fiesthehabitatrequirementsofthegreatestnumberofusers. Tobetterunderstandtheinfluencestim-bermanagementhasonwildlifeandtoim-prove the effectiveness of such activities,LouisianaDepartmentofWildlifeandFish-eries (LDWF)biologists continually studywildliferesponsetotimberharvestsonourwildlifemanagementareas(WMAs).IntheMAV,twomethodshavebeenimplementedtomeasuretheresponseofsongbirdstosev-eral forestmanagement techniques.Biolo-gistssamplebirdusagebyconductingpointcounts,andtheyparticipateinamulti-stateresearchprogramcalledMonitoringAvianProductivityandSurvivorship (MAPS)onseveralWMAs. Point counts involve recording birdsobserved, whether visually or audibly, atpredetermined points in a forested standover10-minute intervals.Avarietyof for-est habitat characteristics are recorded ateachpoint.Pointcountsareestablished inseveral managed stands annually as wellas natural stands which have received nocommercial timber harvest. Bird densityanddiversitycanthenbecomparedacrossthevariousforesthabitatsfoundonLDWFWMAs as a result of timbermanagementandnaturalprocesses. MAPSisatoolbiologistsusetoevalu-ate bird response to habitat management;however, MAPS also allows managers toassess theproductivityofbirds.AtMAPSstations,birdsarecapturedusingmistnets,bandedandreleased.Uponcapture,allbirdsareaged,sexedandweighed.Thebreedingstatusofeachbird isalsodetermineddur-ingtheinitialcapture.Byrecapturingindi-vidualsatalatertime,managerscanassessspecies health, evaluate productivity, de-termine species density and examine theiraffinity toaparticular site.Thecaptureofyoungbirdsduringthespringallowsman-agerstodeterminetheproductivityofstudysites,aswellastracksurvivorshipofyoungbirdsovertime. Songbirdsareoftenthefirsttorespondtochangesintheirenvironment.Bystudy-ingdisturbance-dependantsongbirds,wild-lifemanagerscanassesstheproductivityofhabitat forallwildlife that thrive in struc-turally diverse forests. By manipulatingforesthabitatthroughtimberharvest,man-agerscancreatedesiredhabitatconditionsacrosslandscapesforthegreatestdiversityofwildlife.

Monitoring Songbirds to Measure Wildlife Habitat Quality

ApreviouslybandedWhite-eyedVireoisrecapturedinamistnetlocatedonPearlRiverWMA.ThedamagingwindsofHurricaneKatrinadestroyedmuchoftheforestcanopywhichhasprovidedexceptionalhabitatforthisspecies.

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Species commonly encountered during point counts and at MAPS stations on LDWF WMAs

EasternTowheeWoodThrushNorthernCardinalIndigoBuntingPaintedBuntingOrchardOrioleYellow-billedCuckooRed-belliedWoodpeckerPileatedWoodpecker

AcadianFlycatcherGreatCrestedFlycatcherEasternWood-PeweeWhite-eyedVireoRed-eyedVireoCarolinaChickadeeTuftedTitmouseCarolinaWrenBlue-grayGnatcatcher

NorthernParulaAmericanRedstartProthonotaryWarblerSwainson’sWarblerKentuckyWarblerCommonYellowthroatHoodedWarblerYellow-breastedChatSummerTanager

Swainson’swarbler,aspeciesofhighconservationimportance,breedsinbottomlandhardwoodforestsconsistingofdensemidstoryandunderstoryvegetation.

Hoodedwarblersareaspeciesofdisturbance-dependentwildlifewhichinhabitlargecontinuousforestwithanextensiveshrublayer.Thesebirdsnestinsmallgapsofverythickunderbrush.

Theyellow-breastedchatprefersdense,shrubbyvegetativehabitatwitharelativelyopencanopy.Itisthelargestofallwood-warblers.

Mistnetsareerectedinclearedlaneswithintheforesttocapturebirds.Eachnetis10feettalland90feetlong.Netsarevisitedfrequentlytocollectcapturedbirdstobebanded.

Ared-eyedvireoiscaptureinamistnetintheAtchafalayaBasin.Red-eyedvireosarefoundinmature,openforestwithaclosedoverstorycanopy.

Wildlifebiologistbandbirdsandrecordvaluableinformationwhichisusedtoevaluatethehabitatqualityforeachspecies.

AnAmericanredstartisbandedandreadyforrelease.Redstartsrequireamultilayeredforestwithawelldevelopedshrublayer.

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James LaCour, DVMWildlife [email protected]

Scott DurhamProgram [email protected]

Fred KimmelDirector, Education & Technical [email protected]

Kenneth RibbeckChief of [email protected]

Scott LongmanDirector, Habitat [email protected]

Emile [email protected]

John RobinettePrivate Lands Program [email protected]

LDWF WILDLIFE DIvISIOn StAFF

Judith HeintzeAdmin. Program [email protected]

Linda AllenAdmin. Program [email protected]

Randy MyersWMA Program [email protected]

BATOn ROuGe ADMInISTRATIve STAFF

Office of WildlifeP.O. Box 98000

Baton Rouge, LA 70898

225-765-2346225-765-2350

DeeR PROGRAM

FOReST STeWARDShIP

PROGRAM

Cody [email protected]

eDuCATIOn PROGRAM

John Sturgis Program [email protected]

Jonathan LeBlancEducation [email protected]

GeOGRAPhIC InFORMATIOn

SySTeMS

Scott ArmandGIS [email protected]

Brad MooneyGIS Lab [email protected]

WATeRFOWL PROGRAM

Larry ReynoldsProgram [email protected]

Paul LinkN. [email protected]

LARGe CARnIvORePROGRAM

Maria DavidsonProgram [email protected]

Mike HookerLarge [email protected]

SMALL GAMe &TuRKey PROGRAM

SAFe hARBOR PROGRAM

Eric [email protected]

Travis DufourMAV [email protected]

Jason OlszakMAV [email protected]

PRIvATe LAnDS BIOLOGISTS

Minden (Gulf Coastal Plain)

Jimmy ButcherGCP [email protected]

Jeffery TavernerGCP [email protected]

John HanksMAV [email protected]

Monroe (Miss. Alluvial valley)

Pineville (Gulf Coastal Plain & Miss. Alluvial valley)

John LeslieMAV [email protected]

David HaydenGCP [email protected]

David BreithauptMAV [email protected]

Opelousas (Miss. Alluvial valley)

Lake Charles (Gulf Coastal Plain)

Kori LegleuGCP [email protected]

hammond (Gulf Coastal Plain)

Jimmy ErnstGCP [email protected]

Mike PerotGCP [email protected]

Jimmy StaffordProgram [email protected]

Cliff DaileyMAV [email protected]

Matti DantinWildlife [email protected]

Mitch SamahaWildlife [email protected]

Chad MooreWildlife [email protected]

Todd BuffingtonWildlife [email protected]

Mike BurnsWildlife [email protected]

Bill BreedWildlife [email protected]

Dana NorsworthyWildlife [email protected]

Bradley BrelandWildlife [email protected]

Theresa CrossWildlife [email protected]

Kenny HebertWildlife [email protected]

Wendell SmithGCP [email protected]

Angela CapelloWildlife [email protected]

Gene CavalierWildlife [email protected]

Cheryl FischerWildlife [email protected]

Daniel HurdleWildlife [email protected]

Wayne HustonWildlife [email protected]

Karen EdwardsWildlife [email protected]

WILDLIFe MAnAGeMenT AReA BIOLOGISTS

Monroe (Miss. Alluvial valley)

Jerald OwensMAV [email protected]

Charlie BoothMAV [email protected]

Lowrey MoakMAV [email protected]

Czerny NewlandGCP [email protected]

Steve SmithMAV [email protected]

Pineville (Gulf Coastal Plain & Miss. Alluvial valley)

Opelousas (Miss. Alluvial valley)

Tony VidrineMAV [email protected]

Johnathan BordelonMAV [email protected]

hammond (Gulf Coastal Plain)

Chris DavisGCP [email protected]

Minden (Gulf Coastal Plain)

Jeffery JohnsonGCP [email protected]

Lake Charles (Gulf Coastal Plain)

WILDLIFe eDuCATORS

Baton Rouge Booker Fowler Bourg Buckhorn WMA

Lacombe Lake Charles Minden

new Orleans Monroe Pineville

Opelousas Waddill Outdoor Refuge

WMA FOReSTRy PROGRAM

Tommy TumaProgram [email protected]

Buddy DupuyBiologist [email protected]

Fred HagamanBiologist [email protected]

Wayne HigginbothamBiologist [email protected]

Duck LocascioBiologist [email protected]

Matt ReedBiologist [email protected]

Ed TrahanBiologist [email protected]

Christian WinslowGCP [email protected]

COAStAL & nOnGAME RESOuRCES DIvISIOn StAFF

Mike CarlossAssistant [email protected]

Robert LoveChief of [email protected]

Buddy BakerAssistant [email protected]

Connie DunnAdmin. Program [email protected]

BATOn ROuGe ADMInISTRATIve STAFF

Office of WildlifeP.O. Box 98000

Baton Rouge, LA 70898

225-765-2811225-765-2812

Programs:Alligator,Fur&MarshMgmt.,RockefellerRefuge&WhiteLakeandCITES

Programs:CoastalOperations,HabitatConservation,MineralResourcesandCWPPRA

Lance CampbellBiologist [email protected]

Noel KinlerProgram [email protected]

Ruth ElseyBiologist [email protected]

ALLIGATOR MAnAGeMenT & ReSeARCh PROGRAM

Phillip [email protected]

Tonya SturmanCouncil [email protected]

Edmund MoutonProgram [email protected]

FuR & MARSh MAnAGeMenT PROGRAM

Kyle BalkumProgram [email protected]

hABITAT COnSeRvATIOn

PROGRAM

Matt WeigelScenic Rivers & Wetlands [email protected]

Keith CascioBiologist [email protected]

Chris DavisScenic Rivers & Wetlands [email protected]

SCenIC STReAMS & envIROnMenTAL

InveSTIGATIOnS PROGRAM

Mike WindhamProgram [email protected]

Vaughn [email protected]

MIneRAL PeRMIT & MITIGATIOn PROGRAM

Chris [email protected]

Gary LesterBiologist [email protected]

Beau [email protected]

nATuRAL heRITAGe PROGRAM

Michael [email protected]

Jeff [email protected]

Nicole LorenzData [email protected]

Keri LandryEndangered Species [email protected]

Carolyn MichonAsst. Data [email protected]

Jeb LinscombeWaterfowl Biologist (Rock. & White Lake)[email protected]

Amity BassBiologist [email protected]

Jon [email protected]

Cassidy LejeuneBiologist [email protected]

Todd BakerProgram [email protected]

Shane GranierBiologist [email protected]

COASTAL OPeRATIOnS (State Wildlife, Marsh Island, Isle Dernieres Barrier Islands and St. Tammany refuges. Atchafalaya Delta, Pointe aux Chenes, Lake

Boeuf, Salvador, Timken, Biloxi and Pass-a-Loutre WMAs.)

Jarrod [email protected]

Guthrie PerryProgram [email protected]

Tom HessBiologist [email protected]

ROCKeFeLLeR ReFuGe COASTAL OPeRATIOnS

Brac SalyersBiologist [email protected]

Carrie [email protected]

Wayne [email protected]

WhITe LAKe COASTAL

OPeRATIOnS

This public document was published at an average cost of $. Approximately copies of this document were published at an average printing cost of $. The total cost of all printing of this document averages $600.40. This document was published for Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, 2000 Quail Drive, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70808, by LSU Printing Services, to provide information on the Office of Wildlife. This material was printed in accordance with the standards for printing by state agencies established pursuant to R.S. 43:31. Printing of this material was purchased in accordance with the provisions of Title 43 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes.

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Elderberry(Sambucus)iscommonplantfoundthroughoutLouisianathatprovidesfoodformanysongbirds,gamebirds,squirrelsanddeer.Peopleusetheberriestomakewine,piesandjellies.

Inthe1960s,theareainthisphotowasacottonfieldonRedRiverWMA.Today,astandof30yearoldcherrybarkoaks,whichwereplantedbyhand,growcreatingahardwoodforestthatsupportsmanywildlifespecies.

PresortedStandard

U.S. PostagePAID

Baton Rouge, LAPermit No. 733

LOuISIAnA WILDLIFe InSIDeRLouisiana Department of Wildlife & FisheriesOffice of WildlifeP.O. Box 98000Baton Rouge, LA 70898

Landowners for Wildlife

LDWF Field OfficesHammond 985.543.4777Lake Charles 337.491.2575Minden 318.371.3050Monroe 318.343.4044Opelousas 337.948.0255Pineville 318.487.5885www.wlf.la.gov

Professional assistance is available. LDWF Private Lands Biologists are available to help LandOwners and Managers develop wildlife resources on their property. Simply contact the nearest Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries office to receive assistance.

Put the RIght stuFF In the RIght PLAce

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Land

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Spring/Summer 2010 Louisiana Insider Wildlife · P.10 State Wildlife Grant Program and the...

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Transcript of Spring/Summer 2010 Louisiana Insider Wildlife · P.10 State Wildlife Grant Program and the...