Giving grouse a helping hand

BRUNO, MINN.

Russ Sewell strolled down the logging road, cradling his 28 gauge shotgun while his Brittany spaniel, Hope, searched nose-to-ground for scent.

Ruffed grouse scent.

"This is going to be excellent grouse habitat in two or three years," Sewell said, pointing to a large swath of land that had been logged recently and was thick with brush and aspen saplings.

But Sewell, 53, an avid grouse hunter and regional biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society, fears that changes occurring to Minnesota's forests will mean fewer ruffed grouse, woodcock, deer and other wildlife.

Several things are happening: There's been a general move by some land managers to create a more mature forest with less aspen and more conifers. There's less clear-cutting of forests, and an attitude by some in the public that clear-cutting is wrong.

And Minnesota's forests are being fragmented as large land owners, such as Potlatch Corp., sell off tens of thousands of acres, resulting in a checkerboard of land ownership. Land that had been open to the public for hunting now is posted closed. And those lands, once managed professionally, now might not be managed at all.

"Some think the only good forest is one that's left alone," he said. "That simply isn't true. That's not the way of nature. Deer and grouse need a successional forest. People think a clearcut is ugly. They don't realize that in a few years that's home for several nongame species, and ruffed grouse, woodcock and deer."

Logging mimics forest fires, which used to regenerate our forests, Sewell said. But now fires are extinguished.

Timber cutting provides jobs -- and wildlife habitat, Sewell argues. And typically more than 100,000 Minnesotans hunt ruffed grouse yearly.

A forest is, and should be, constantly changing, he said.

"Without manipulation of habitat types, we're going to have a decrease in the ruffed grouse population," he said. Sewell and the Ruffed Grouse Society also are concerned about a decline in hunting, a trend that won't be helped by a decline in wildlife.

He works with private and public landowners to help them manage their forests for wildlife.

Dedicated to wildlife

Sewell's fascination with ruffed grouse started more than 30 years ago as an undergraduate wildlife biology student at Ohio State University when he heard the late Gordy Gullion of Minnesota speak. Gullion, called "Mr. Grouse," was the nation's top ruffed grouse expert.

Sewell became an intern for Gullion and eventually did research with him for several years at the Cloquet Forest Research Center.

"I was enthralled with grouse and the big woods of Cloquet," he said. "Gordy was one of the most intelligent individuals I've ever met. He was a true scientist."

He's concerned about more than just ruffed grouse and woodcock habitat.

"There needs to be an ethical change so we can see land for its inherent value, rather than just its economic value," he said. "It's still a goal of living harmoniously with the land."

A good year

Sewell expects hunters to find grouse in the woods this fall. The grouse population is climbing in its 10-year, boom-to-bust cycle.

"I think we'll enjoy a pretty good year this year and the next couple of years as we hit the peak in the cycle," he said.

Sewell contracted Lyme disease last November. He ended up with a blood clot and stroke that affected his mobility and speech. (Doctors don't know if the stroke was related to the Lyme disease.)

He's undergone physical and speech therapy, and is on the rebound. He's hoping for a full recovery, but his pursuit of grouse through thick woods might be limited. He might try hunting trails from one of his horses. And he already has checked out a favorite duck hunting spot.

Meanwhile, he's grateful for what he has and where he is.

"I thank the Lord for the opportunity of being out in the land, to see everything from the tiniest butterfly to something grand like a Canada goose or deer or bear."

Or a ruffed grouse rocketing through the woods.