MN Grouse Hunters Down…We’ll Do Our Part!
More hunters were around in the '80s....
We’re monitoring all things Minnesota these days in anticipation of our trip to that state – aka “the aspen homeland” – in mid-October. A stat on just one state forest: 80+% aspens!
Anyhow, we ran across a somewhat sobering piece in the Duluth News Tribune, which states that:
Minnesota grouse hunters harvested just 358,000 birds last fall during the peak year of the species’ 10-year population cycle. That number is much closer to past harvests at the low end of the cycle than to those of past peak years.
Why?
Just 87,000 grouse hunters went afield in Minnesota last fall, compared to 142,000 in the 1998 peak and 162,000 in the 1989 peak.
Dang! Apparently they don’t know what they’re missing.
“…it is a decline in outdoor recreation,†said Dan Dessecker, a biologist with the Ruffed Grouse Society. “Since 1985, we’ve lost about 57% of our small-game hunters. Grouse hunting is emblematic of that.”
That pours a little water on our “we just have to cut more trees” theory of getting more folks out bird hunting. Instead, we’re betting that it’s because small-game hunting isn’t made out to be as sexy as deer hunting, for example. Hey – we’re trying! Speaking of which, the article ends with this:
Drumming counts were down 31% in northeastern Minnesota this past spring.
So what? We’re Serious. We’ll be in MN this October, doing our part to boost hunter numbers, harvest numbers and the local economy. We hope you’ll do your part too – just not in our neck of the woods!
Category: MN, Ruffed Grouse
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