Habitat – Palouse Upland Media

Northwest Outdoor Writers Association Gathered in The Dalles, Oregon

May 8, 2025May 9, 2025Brad Trumbo

The Northwest Outdoor Writers Association (NOWA) held its annual conference Friday, May 2nd through Sunday, May 4th, at the Columbia River Hotel in The Dalles, Oregon. For three days, some of the Northwest’s top outdoor writers, authors, photographers, videographers, and radio and podcast personalities gathered to discuss the future of their industry and craft.

The conference opened with a fine meal at the Portage Grill, followed by a keynote speech by author, poet, and publisher, Rick Steber, who exemplified excellence in storytelling. Rick is not only gifted in his ability to research people and history and share those stories in engaging detail, but the delivery of his many favorite interviews of historical figures (including voice impersonations) was both comical and fascinating.

Image of the twisting historic Oregon Route 30 taken from Rowen Crest with the Columbia River and the rugged Columbia Gorge in the background.

Trumbo captured this image while hiking at dawn on Rowen Crest just south of The Dalles, Oregon.

Over the following days, NOWA members sprinkled across the Columbia River Gorge to experience all The Dalles has to offer, such as the National Neon Sign Museum, hiking among the wildflowers and scrub oaks of the rugged river corridor, visiting ancient petroglyphs at Horsethief Lake, and fishing the spring Chinook salmon rodeo at Washington’s Drano Lake.

When not collecting memories, photographs, and fodder for future publications and videos, the outdoor media professionals gathered to share tips and tricks on improving one’s engagement and reach – facets of “Excellence in Craft”- and share business model ideas and successes. Excellence in Craft presentations included George Krumm, editor of Fish Alaska and Hunt Alaska magazines, who discussed how to land pitches and build relationships with editors. Brad Trumbo shared his rise in the outdoor writing and photography realm and engagement with his readers, thanks to his Llewellin setter bird dogs.

NOWA held its annual Excellence in Craft awards banquet Saturday, May 3rd, where 61 achievements were recognized, ranging from “Column of the Year” to the best outdoor photos, videos and humor pieces. The awards banquet offers an opportunity to see where talented outdoor content creators stand among their peers, provides “street cred” for marketing, and offers a fine payout for those who rank high in many categories. It’s a coveted experience for this highly talented group to share camaraderie with friendly competition.

This year’s Excellence in Craft award winners can be found here: https://nowaoutdoors.com/eic-winners-by-category/.

Black-chinned hummingbird hovering over a burgundy Columbine flower.

Trumbo’s image of a black-chinned hummingbird hovering over Columbine flowers took 1st place in NOWA’s Excellence in Craft “Fauna” photo category.

The weekend closed with NOWA President Troy Rodakowski presiding over Sunday morning’s membership and business meeting. During this meeting, Rodakowski assumed the position of NOWA’s Chairman of the Board of Directors as he passed the gavel to NOWA’s incoming President, Brad Trumbo.

With the annual conference behind them, NOWA’s new year begins with anticipation of next year’s conference, which is already being planned. Additionally, Trumbo brings new ideas to NOWA’s structure and attempts to engage younger generations as the organization adapts to the evolution of outdoor media.

Gary Lewis, award winning author, freelance writer, podcaster, and host of the Frontier Unlimited TV show, found time for trout fishing before the Sunday morning meeting.

If you’re an outdoor content creator living in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, or BC Canada and want to learn from and contribute to this charismatic and savvy collection of media professionals, email NOWA’s Executive Director, Keith Szafranski, at photogsz@msn.com. Your creativity and energy will be welcomed by this prestigious cadre.

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The Northwest Outdoor Writers Association is a society of professional outdoor communicators dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in outdoor media. NOWA strives to further the improvement of professional communications skills and encourage their ethical employment. NOWA also provides a network of professional assistance and support, keeps members informed of news and information pertinent to outdoor activities and industries, and supports the conservation of natural and recreational resources. Visit https://nowaoutdoors.com/ and find us on Instagram @NOWAOutdoors.

Steppe Outside – The Search for Washington’s Dancing Grouse

June 22, 2024June 22, 2024Brad Trumbo

Published May 18th, 2024, in the Walla Walla Union Bulletin

Rain hammered upon the camper roof throughout the night, robbing me of the restful sleep I envisioned when planning a trip to the north-central scablands. Spring in the scablands is purely magical, and I often find myself float-fishing for trout on the many good fishing lakes. This trip was something different, however.

Rousing groggily to the 4:00 a.m. alarm meant my sleepless night would soon be rewarded with a cold, wet sit in the dark. Surrounded by Columbian sharp-tailed grouse habitat, I was about to embark on my first-ever lek survey to assist the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) in monitoring one of this species’ seven fragile populations in Washington State.

We’ve all heard the adage that Columbia River salmon once returned so abundant that one could “walk across their backs.” Well, the story is similar for the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse. When the west was settled, sharp-tailed grouse numbered in the millions. Eastern Washington was largely shrub-steppe habitat and supported hundreds of thousands of the subspecies “Columbian” sharp-tailed grouse. They were commonplace. But, like the passenger pigeon, no one considered they would ever face extinction.

A tragedy of being human is that we often fail to notice a gradual decline in something so familiar until we’ve slipped past the point of recovery. The bird’s initial decline was noted as early as the 1950s, and as the vast Washington shrub-steppe disappeared an acre at a time, the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse followed.

The temperature plummeted with the falling rain, which soon turned to heavy snow. The veil of large white flakes impaired visibility on the greasy gravel road, not to mention the waves of muddy water splashing over the windshield from large puddles.

Thirty minutes later, Malika, George, and I sat in the snow overlooking a several-hundred-acre basin supporting a handful of historic and active sharp-tail “leks”. North American grasslands grouse – sharp-tails, sage grouse, and prairie chickens – use these traditional habitat areas year after year where males perform courtship rituals and compete for mates. The word “lek” combines the idea of “mating” (from the Swedish “lek”) and the notion of a “place” (from the Swedish “ställe”). In Swedish, “lekställe” directly translates to “mating ground”[1].

Sharp-tail males flash their “superciliary combs,” or sunflower-yellow eyebrows, and their “drum nape,” which are violet-colored air sacs on either side of their neck, while bowing with their tails high and wings extended, looking like a plane dropping onto the runway. They shuffle and tap their feet swiftly and click their two namesake pointed tailfeathers as they dance. Their tailfeathers clicking sounds like an old film reel movie playing as the birds spin about. In areas with strong sharp-tail populations, grasses on the lek can become beaten down from weeks of morning dancing, “hooting, clucking, and gobbling” rituals.

While I knew we overlooked an active lek, sharp-tails would only dance in my head this morning. We eagerly awaited dawn, listening for any hint of these mythical birds while snowflakes noisily pattered our synthetic jacket hoods. I had seen sharp-tails by the dozen in Montana and the Dakotas, but to see Columbian sharp-tails on their native Washington soil was a spectacle I longed to behold.

Survey protocol was to walk the lek about 45 minutes after sunrise. By then, any birds on an active lek would at least be heard if not seen, and the lek activity would be waning for the day. Flushing the birds provides more accurate counts and allows surveyors to search for scat and feathers; the feathers can be used for genetic testing. Due to the snow and no sign or sound of the birds, we left the lek without bothering to walk it as no feathers or scat would have been visible.

Back at camp, we all returned to our respective mobile shelters and wiled away the day, watching the snow fall, reading, and preparing for another cold morning.

The next morning dawned frigid cold, crystal clear, and with a million shimmering stars. Malika and I went alone to the same lek as before and again awaited dawn while a chorus of wildlife warmed their voices.

“If I were a grouse, I would be dancing on a morning like this,” I said as we plopped down in the dark with our ears tuned to the sharp-tail channel.

Canada geese, mallards, and a hundred other waterfowl competed with a pack of coyotes in every compass direction for the award of “most obnoxious morning song,” but something different drifted in from our left. The low, two-pitched cluck from what sounded like a single bird somewhere in the grasses was a new sound for both of us.

“I think that’s a sharp-tail,” Malika whispered.

“So do I,” I replied while shifting to scan the lek with my binoculars.

We never spotted the birds from where we sat, but around 7:00 a.m., we strolled down onto the lek in search of scat and feathers. The sun glistened upon the frost-encrusted bunchgrasses in the 27-degree stillness. We walked more than 100 yards of what appeared to be prime lek without a speck of sign, but as Malika turned to make a pass back, the slap of upland bird wings grabbed my ears. My head snapped right so fast that I nearly pulled a neck muscle. The tell-tale flushing “chuckle” of a sharp-tailed grouse was so exciting that I yelled, “Sharp-tailed grouse!” while pointing at the fleeing bird. Moments later, a second bird lifted off, chuckling as it raced toward the horizon.

We finished walking the lek with no further sign of birds, but the sun shining warmly upon our shoulders fortified our sense of triumph. Malika was a 20-year-old college undergrad with a fresh notion of becoming a wildlife biologist. Before that weekend, she had no clue what a sharp-tailed grouse was, much less any awareness of the bird’s struggle for existence in Washington State. The experience was unique for us in different ways, although seeing a sharp-tail in Washington was a first for us both.

For Malika, it was a cool “sciency” encounter with an upland bird. For me, it was like stumbling upon delicate frost flowers or catching a glimpse of UFO-shaped lenticular clouds. These natural phenomena exist, but they are rare enough that it’s unlikely to experience them.

That chuckling sharp-tail flush echoed through my mind on the drive home. Just seven remnant populations of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse remain in Douglas, Lincoln, and Okanogan Counties. The total Washington population is fewer than 1,000 birds, and the largest individual population remains on the Colville Reservation. Columbian sharp-tails occupy approximately three percent of their historic Washington range, making habitat loss events like the September 7^th, 2020, Whiney Fire that torched over 127,000 acres a significant threat. That’s a large enough area to wipe out one of the remaining populations completely.

The Colville Tribes are deeply invested in Columbian sharp-tailed grouse conservation efforts, working alongside the WDFW, Bonneville Power Administration, and local Public Utility Districts in the upper Columbia River. According to the WDFW, the Colville Tribes began assisting with translocation efforts as far back as 1999 (possibly before) by providing birds from the Reservation to be released at the WDFW 9,000-acre Scotch Creek Wildlife Area in Okanogan County. The BPA paid for the Scotch Creek land acquisition with mitigation funds for the operation and electricity sales from Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams.

The Columbian sharp-tailed grouse is classified as “endangered” in Washington and protected from hunting. With ongoing efforts by the Colville Tribes, WDFW, and non-profits, Washington’s sharp-tailed grouse can hang on, but how long is unknown.

[1] Lek – Words For Things You Didn’t Know Have Names, Vol. 3 | Merriam-Webster

Cover Photo by the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Palouse Outdoors – Stay Safe Outdoors with a Satellite Communication System

April 6, 2024June 22, 2024Brad Trumbo

Published April 4th, 2024, in The Waitsburg Times

Hunting, fishing, and hiking always seemed vanilla to me when it comes to the potential for injury and death. That could be one reason that a passion for the outdoors hit me when I was a child. My brothers chided me for being a “sissy,” and the best escape from the ridicule was avoidance somewhere beneath the trees on the neighboring woodlots.

I began tree-stand hunting for white-tailed deer in my late teens and quickly realized the dangers of the activity. I took the proper precautions with ropes and harnesses and always let someone know when and where I was headed and returning. Aside from that, trail running and mountain biking alone in the Appalachians never appeared dangerous, partially because testing the limits of gravity or intelligence for a thrill never appealed to me. When I moved west and began wilderness hiking and hunting routinely, I realized the dangers in the backcountry, even for the careful and prepared outdoors enthusiast. Middle age likely played a role as well.

Elk and mule deer country is steep, rugged, slippery, and riddled with deadfalls. Add 60-plus pounds of quarters and backstraps to your pack and start back to camp exhausted and sometimes in the dark, and you have a recipe for trips and falls that can lead to impalement on pine branch stubs, torn ligaments and cartilage in knees and shoulders, broken limbs and ribs, and possible tumbles over cliff faces. Navigating all this alone is absurd, yet we’ve all done it and will do it again. All to secure food, experience the beauty and solace of the wilderness, and bestow honor upon the wild life we took to feed our families and memory bank by pursuing them on their terms.

Fortunately, today’s technology offers life safety for average and extreme outdoor enthusiasts via affordable, reliable, and easy-to-use satellite communications devices.

Above are screenshots of the Garmin inReach Messenger device status panel (left), an example of the text message interface (middle), and a weather forecast for a given location (right). This device is user-friendly and works through your smartphone via Bluetooth without a data connection.

Since 2011, Garmin Corporation, among others, has been producing satellite communicators that can summon emergency medical and rescue services through the touch of the “SOS” button using your global position system location coordinates. Should you experience a fall, get lost, or have Mother Nature throw a curveball, location information is transferred through a satellite network to “Garmin Response” in Montgomery, Texas. According to Garmin, “all SOS monitoring, communication, and emergency response coordination are handled at this location.”

A global emergency response system capable of reaching remote locations and saving lives. Sounds great, right? But how does it work?

“Garmin Response maintains a global database of local first responders and emergency services. As soon as an SOS activation is received, the Garmin Response team pulls up the precise location of the SOS alert, a corresponding list of emergency response organizations for that area, and a map overlay of agency jurisdictions. The Garmin Response team contacts the local organization and works with them to dispatch resources to the incident site as necessary[1].”

In 2023, Garmin coordinated emergency responses for over 10,000 SOS calls made from Garmin devices around the globe. While the number of Garmin subscribers is unknown, a breakdown of activities for which an SOS was transmitted suggests that hiking/backpacking makes up approximately 40 percent. Nearly 20 percent of transmissions are from automobile, motorcycle, and boating accidents. Hunting makes up only about five percent of SOS transmissions.

Overall, more than 70 percent of SOS transmissions could have been made from remote wilderness area situations. Physical injuries caused most SOS transmittals, while medical emergencies, being stranded or stuck (data include offroad vehicle activities), and being physically lost were the other most common emergencies.

“Responses…from New Zealand to Norway to Argentina to Canada were coordinated for plane crashes, grizzly bear encounters, sinking sailboats, skiers in avalanches, stranded divers, injured climbers, and many more¹.”

Over the past few years, getting older, fatter, achier, and spending most of my time outdoors alone were nagging at the back of my mind to get a satellite communicator. I finally pulled the trigger when a remote work trip came up shortly after my wife had major surgery. I settled on the Garmin inReach Messenger because it allows text messaging with friends and family via the Iridium satellite network. During my time in the Idaho mountains, I checked my wife’s health status routinely and could receive immediate notice from her in an emergency.

Whether you’re into extreme mountain sports or leisurely hikes, carrying a satellite communicator makes good sense. With the door to summer recreation opening quickly, now is the time to prepare for your safety while escaping civilization, particularly when going solo. Hopefully, you’ll never need to summon a wilderness rescue, but come wildfire, grizzly attack, or loss of common sense due to hypothermia or elk hunting exertion-induced delirium, carrying a satellite communicator provides a lifeline when faced with the unexpected.

Packing my Garmin inReach Messenger is no different than grabbing my hunting and fishing license – it goes everywhere outdoors with me.

[1] 2023 Garmin inReach® SOS Year in Review

New Legislation Aims to Boost Walk-in Private Lands Access

November 15, 2023Brad Trumbo

Originally published at Harvesting Nature, July 7th, 2023.

Among the top “barriers to entry” for hunters is the basic need for a place to go. In the western US, large tracts of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, and states and tribes are available to the public, but this is not the case everywhere. For example, Illinois is one of the top five most populous states but is comprised of 96 percent private lands[1]. Therefore, public access to private lands plays a critical role in hunter opportunities nationwide.

Outdoor recreation is big business, contributing $778 billion to the US economy every year¹, and firearms and ammunition sales have contributed over $16 billion in conservation funds through the Pittman-Robertson Act[2]. Ensuring the American public is afforded hunting opportunities supports a cornerstone of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, which is why incentivizing public access to private lands was introduced into the Farm Bill as “Open Fields” back in 2008.

In 2018, the Farm Bill authorized what is now called the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP), which provides grants to states and tribes to implement walk-in access programs. Congress stepped up its investment in VPA-HIP, providing $50 million via the 2018 Farm Bill¹.

In September 2019, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) announced VPA-HIP funding opportunities to state and tribal governments. States and tribes were eligible to receive up to $3 million in federal dollars to be leveraged with partner funds for the expansion of recreational access on private lands. In March 2020, the NRCS announced nearly $49 million in VPA-HIP awards¹.

What makes VPA-HIP incentives more attractive is that they can be realized in addition to other Farm Bill programs like wetlands enrolled in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and the Conservation Reserve Program. Furthermore, the VPA-HIP program allows the states to assume legal liability for the public accessing enrolled lands. But the VPA-HIP program benefits may soon increase dramatically.

In April, new legislation called the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2023 was introduced by Senators Steve Daines, Michael Bennet, and Roger Marshall to strengthen VPA-HIP by tripling its funding from $50 million to $150 million over the next five years[3]. This increased investment was among the recommendations made by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s Agriculture and Wildlife Working Group i10 its “Hunter and Angler Priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill” report that was released earlier this year^3,[4].

To date, the VPA-HIP program has opened nearly one million private acres to public hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation. View the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership’s “Accessible Private Lands³” report for details, and imagine what tripling the program’s funding could do for hunter and angler opportunity.

[1] REI-VPA-HIP-Report_FINAL-11-3-2020.pdf (trcp.org)

[2] Firearm Industry Surpasses $16 Billion in Pittman-Robertson Excise Tax Contributions for Conservation • NSSF

[3] https://www.trcp.org/2023/04/03/new-legislation-help-increase-walk-access-program-acres/

[4] AWWG-2023-FB-Platform_2-15-23.pdf (trcp.org)

The Proposed “Public Lands Rule” and What You Need to Know About It

November 15, 2023Brad Trumbo

Originally published at Harvesting Nature, August 11th, 2023.

On July 5^th, the public comment period closed on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposed conservation and landscape health rule, or the “Public Lands Rule,” to make conservation a “land use” equivalent to all other land use activities like recreation and mineral extraction. Implementation of the proposed rule could be a game changer for conservation.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public lands (approximately one-tenth of the country), the stewardship of which is guided by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), unless otherwise provided by law. The FLPMA provides the BLM the authority to manage public lands for resource and ecosystem conservation. The Public Lands Rule would “…provide an overarching framework for multiple BLM programs to promote ecosystem resilience on public lands.”

The Public Lands Rule would do the following:

Apply land health standards to all BLM-managed public lands and uses;

Clarify that conservation is a “use within” the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act’s (FLPMA) multiple-use framework;

Revise existing regulations to meet FLPMA’s requirement that BLM prioritize designating and protecting “Areas of Critical Environmental Concern;”

Establish a framework to promote ecosystem resilience on public lands through the creation and deployment of conservation leases, which will allow third parties to engage in conservation and mitigation activities on BLM lands.

Each of the four points is important for enhancing and perpetuating ecosystem integrity on a vast proportion of public lands.

The application of land health standards would establish a baseline condition for public lands for which to apply effects analyses for proposed land use actions. Ensuring that proposed actions like grazing, mining, and timber harvest would maintain or improve the baseline condition consistent with conservation practices as a compatible land use would result in long-term ecosystem benefits.

Updating the Department of Interior’s land management regulations to enhance the BLM’s ability to designate Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) will better protect and perpetuate sensitive habitats and cultural resources. The benefits of protecting sensitive and scarce habitats are clear, but sensitive cultural sites are not always known or as easy to protect beyond National Parks or Monuments, for example. Concerted efforts by the BLM to gain Tribal input for the establishment of ACECs beyond routine National Environmental Policy Act requirements have the potential to protect areas of cultural significance on a much broader scale and without an act of Congress.

“Conservation leases” present a novel idea for leasing areas specifically for habitat enhancement, ecosystem restoration, and compensatory mitigation for land development actions. Conservation as a land use and conservation leases are proposed to work in concert with other approved land uses or development but have the potential to establish boundaries for resource protections and allow for on- or off-site mitigation for potential habitat damage.

The proposed Public Lands Rule as written is fairly robust, but the proposed language requires clarification.

Regarding conservation leases, the proposed language in Section 6102.4(a)(5) of the proposed Public Lands Rule aptly clarifies that “…the [conservation lease issuance] itself should not be interpreted to exclude public access to leased lands for casual use of such lands….” Plainly put, public recreation is permitted on lands under a conservation lease. However, this language requires two clarifications. The language should read “…the rule itself SHALL not be interpreted to exclude public access to leased lands for casual use of such lands….” The word “should” is dismissible and may lead to interpretations that would arbitrarily prohibit public access and recreation.

Additionally, “casual use” of public lands must be clearly defined to include appropriate low-impact recreation activities such as hiking, hunting, fishing, etcetera. Without a clear definition, interpretations of “casual use” may again arbitrarily prohibit certain types if not all public recreation on conservation leases.

To ensure the conservation lease language is appropriate for the final rule, the BLM requested The Wildlife Society (TWS) review and comment. The TWS Rangeland Wildlife Working Group led the review and provided six pages of suggested clarifications and overall support of the proposed Public Lands Rule.

For areas identified as ACECs, the proposed language would impose protections on these lands, yet the language is unclear when and how “protection” may be given to ACECs and what “protection” means. Some ACECs will be more culturally sensitive or pristine than others and should require greater restrictions on activities within those areas.

In conclusion, the proposed Public Lands Rule is a valuable effort with the potential to enhance and maintain ecosystem and cultural resource integrity in concert with other allowable land uses. The BLM will now consider the comments received and edit the proposed language where and how appropriate before publishing the final rule.

Although the public comment period has ended, all public land users should become familiar with the proposed Public Lands Rule and how it may affect public access and recreation. More information and a link to the Federal Register publication are available at Public Lands Rule | Bureau of Land Management (blm.gov).

Feature Photo Credit: US Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management.

Rewinding the Kissimmee River

June 14, 2023Brad Trumbo

Published May 19th, 2023 at Harvesting Nature.

When country music artist, John Anderson, released his hit song Seminole Wind in 1992, his fans fell in love with it. Music is about storytelling, and Seminole Wind speaks of the Everglades’ history and ecological and cultural collapse.

“They made their plans and they drained the land. Now the glades are going dry.”

Anyone who has heard the song remembers these powerful lyrics. However, the true context was lost on folks that were unaware of the ecological damage that had been done “…in the name of flood control.” The Kissimmee River provides a cut-and-dried case study.

The Kissimmee River once snaked 103 miles south from its Lake Kissimmee headwaters to Lake Okeechobee. The river’s floodplain was a two-mile-wide wetland inundated by seasonal rainfall. This wetland corridor provided prime habitat for at least 38 species of waterbirds and 39 fishes. The life history of these species depended upon the wetlands¹.

The “flood pulse concept” is an ecological process involving seasonal flooding and inundation of the lands surrounding a waterbody. Flooding delivers sediment and nutrients to the land, opens spawning habitat for fishes, and creates breeding and feeding opportunities for wildlife. Seasonal flooding also replenishes the water table and shallow aquifers.

As development spread through Central Florida in the mid-1900s, the Kissimmee River’s seasonal flooding became problematic for Florida’s economic growth. The state approached the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) with a request for assistance in draining the land for development².

Between 1962 and 1971, USACE channeled the Kissimmee River, creating a 30-foot deep, 300-foot wide, 56-mile-long drainage canal. This project drained approximately 50,000 acres of the Kissimmee’s floodplain wetlands³ and effectively ended the seasonal flood pulse. Within a few years, waterfowl populations dropped by 90 percent, bald eagle numbers by 70 percent, and some fish, bird, and mammal species vanished entirely². Ironically, the canal system drained too well.

The formerly channelized Kissimmee River – photo by the South Florida Water Management District

“It messed up our water management infrastructure. Now, we drain so much water that when it’s dry, we don’t have enough water for our human needs. We over-drained, and so now we’re trying to rebuild the system where we’re going to catch water instead of wasting it when it’s wet”, said Paul Gray, Everglades Science Center Coordinator of Audubon Florida.

Beginning in the 1990s, USACE and its partners began cooperating to restore the Kissimmee River ecosystem. Coincidentally, Congress authorized the restoration in 1992 as Seminole Wind played through millions of FM radios and televisions.

More than 20 years and over $1 billion later, the restoration of approximately 44 miles of the Kissimmee River and 25,000 acres and 40 square miles of wetlands have been re-established and rehydrated^1,2. The restored floodplain and wetlands now support at least 159 bird species³.

Re-winding a river is something rare and nearly impossible to accomplish, particularly at the scale of the Kissimmee River. Fortunately, in our modern world of “engineering with nature” and “nature-based solutions” to infrastructure problems, science and technology can cooperate with the environment to balance needs and functionality. The Kissimmee River restoration is the largest functioning restoration of its kind worldwide – something the USACE and Floridians can be proud of.

[1] Kissimmee River Project – Largest Restoration Initiative of its Kind – Complete After Nearly 30 Years | Audubon Florida

[2] The Kissimmee River has been brought back to life—and wildlife is thriving (nationalgeographic.com)

[3] Kissimmee River Project restores about 40% of river’s twists | South Central Florida Life

Feature Image Credit: US Army Corps of engineers, Jacksonville District

Blue Mountain Pheasants Forever Receives 2022 National Education and Outreach Award

February 26, 2023Brad Trumbo

Shared by the Waitsburg Times and the Walla Walla Union Bulletin.

On February 18th, 2023, the Walla Walla, WA-based Blue Mountain Pheasants Forever (BMPF), Chapter #0258, was awarded the 2022 “National Chapter of the Year” for Education and Outreach, having provided 23 conservation-related events and reaching approximately 450 participants in Southeastern Washington – more than any other Pheasants Forever (PF) chapter across the nation.

“Just being nominated for this national award was an honor, but to actually receive it – to stand out among over 800 chapters – left us speechless. Taking a step back to look at what we had accomplished in 2022 illuminated just how hard this Chapter’s volunteers work, and their personal investment and the value they see in Pheasants Forever’s missions.” Said BMPF Advisory Board Chairman, Brad Trumbo.

PF, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based nonprofit known as “The Habitat Organization”, was founded in 1982 with a focus on wildlife habitat conservation. The organization relies on the grass-roots efforts of individual chapters to raise funds for and execute on-the-ground habitat projects, and recruit and educate members on conservation, firearms safety, and upland hunting. PF is the only conservation nonprofit that leaves one hundred percent of funds raised by chapters within chapter control to be reinvested in the local communities.

BMPF was founded in 1988 and has since completed approximately 75 habitat projects in Walla Walla and Columbia Counties in Washington, and Umatilla County, Oregon. Each year, BMPF sponsors a youth education and shooting program.

In 2022, BMPF started a “Women on the Wing” program to diversify their outreach and encourage more women into upland hunting and conservation. The program was wildly successful in its first year, drawing participants from as far as La Grande, Oregon, and Missoula, Montana.

BMPF is currently completing six local habitat projects and rolling out 2023 program details. To learn more about BMPF, to make a donation, and to get involved with this highly active and effective PF chapter, visit their website at www.bmpf258.org, send an email to bmpf@bmpf258.org, and find them on Facebook and Instagram (@pheasantsforever258).

ESA-Listing of the Lesser Prairie Chicken – A Tenuous Move for Species Recovery

December 3, 2022Brad Trumbo

On November 17th, 2022, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced the listing of two distinct population segments (DPS) of lesser prairie chicken – a northern DPS and southern DPS. Over approximately the past 40 years, this iconic bird of the North American Great Plains has lost 90 percent of its habitat to land use practices. Once enumerating in the millions, there are scarcely 30,000 individuals remaining across the states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas[1].

This recent ESA listing has been a long time coming, dating back to 1998 when the USFWS identified the lesser prairie chicken as a candidate for ESA listing and protections, and a 2014 ESA listing as “threatened” that was “vacated” following a lawsuit. But ESA listing may not be the best approach for protecting the species and their habitats.

Ninety-five percent of the land across the lesser prairie chicken range is privately owned, and significant conservation efforts have been made for the species over the past two decades. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), through the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative[2], has worked with nearly 900 landowners to implement conservation actions on approximately 1.6 million acres. Landowners currently have enrolled more than 1.8 million acres in the Conservation Reserve Program across the lesser prairie chicken range. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are working in concert with these conservation programs.

Conversely, the ESA protects listed species and designated “critical habitat” from “take”, which is defined as “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or attempt to engage in any such conduct”. Rather than working to make improvements for the species, the ESA works to avoid impacts to the species, including those that are short-term and temporary as a result of an action that will benefit the species in the long run (i.e. habitat restoration).

Section 9 of the ESA presents “prohibited acts” that constitute take, for which there is no exception for species listed as “endangered”. This means that every action within the endangered lesser prairie chicken southern DPS range, from a landowner grazing cattle to a habitat restoration project, will require some form of “incidental take coverage” from the USFWS.

“For more than two decades, the [USFWS] and its partners have been working together to conserve this iconic species and its habitat. Together we have developed a suite of conservation tools and plans, including Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA) and Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP), across the lesser-prairie-chicken’s five-state range to protect the species and provide certainty for industry and landowners”, reported Aislinn Maestas with USFWS Public Affairs.

The “assurances” written into CCAAs and HCPs are basically conservation measures imposed by the USFWS to “minimize and avoid” incidental take, which may or may be relevant to a given action. Depending upon what assurances are written into USFWS regulation, the assurances may require an inappropriate proportional cost for little benefit to the species, when those funds could be better used for proposed restoration efforts.

Additionally, the USFWS Ecological Services Branch is regularly understaffed and overworked, making ESA consultations inefficient to the point of stalling project proponents from taking action. This is a common scenario with federal land management efforts in other parts of the nation, where impact avoidance to an ESA-listed species or critical habitat has stalled important invasive species control efforts, resulting in further degraded habitat for the species in which the proposed management actions are intended to support.

Actions may be taken in the range of the threatened northern DPS under ESA Section 4(d). “The 4(d) rule applies all of the ESA section 9 prohibitions to the Northern DPS, but provides that farmers can continue their routine agriculture activities on existing cultivated lands. In addition, it recognizes the importance of proper grazing management, and includes an exception for those producers who are following a site-specific prescribed grazing plan developed by a qualified party that has been approved by the USFWS. Lastly, the 4(d) rule also provides an exception for implementation of prescribed burning for grassland management[3].” 

Because of the pitfalls of bureaucratic process and the vast majority of private lands where lesser prairie chickens reside, grant funding and non-profit habitat improvement projects likely provide the best opportunity for these imperiled birds.

“These new [ESA listing] classifications will impact landowners who, in the end, are going to be key to saving a species from, yes, extinction”, says Ron Leathers, Quail Forever and Pheasants Forever Chief Conservation Officer. “We believe voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs — the kind of programs we help implement on the landscape — are the greatest opportunity to positively impact lesser prairie chickens and save them.”

Voluntary landowner/non-profit and NRCS partnerships ensure that actions can be planned and implemented, cooperation and buy-in can be gained from neighboring landowners, and improvements can adapt to change on the ground. This has been proven through programs like the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative and the Sage Grouse Initiative. The ESA regulatory and impact avoidance processes work counter to this productivity.

At the end of the day, protection for the lesser prairie chicken and their habitat is a win, but will ESA protection do more harm than good by imposing potentially unnecessary process on progressive habitat restoration and beneficial land management practices? Only time will tell.

The final rule to list the two Distinct Population Segments of the lesser prairie-chicken and the final 4(d) rule published in the Federal Register[4] on November 25^th and will become effective 60 days after publication.

[1] Conserving the lesser prairie-chicken | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (fws.gov)

[2] Home – Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative (lpcinitiative.org)

[3] Lesser Prairie-Chicken Listing FAQs | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (fws.gov)

[4] Federal Register :: ESA Status of Two Distinct Population Segments of Lesser Prairie Chicken

Feature Photo – Lesser Prairie Chicken by Ryan Haggerty, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Public Domain

Body Photo – Lesser Prairie Chicken, Public Domain https://www.flickr.com/photos/larry1732/5644328619/in/photostream

Tree Removal Benefits Greater Sage Grouse Population Growth

June 19, 2021Brad Trumbo

Tree Removal Benefits Greater Sage Grouse Population Growth – Harvesting Nature

Woody plant expansion into shrub and grasslands poses a significant ecosystem issue for multiple uses. In the Great Basin of North America, pinyon–juniper expansion into the sagebrush biome is threatening the greater sage grouse, a sagebrush obligate species, as well as pronghorn, mule deer, and livestock grazing due a major shift in the vegetation community and associated ecosystem components.

According to Brianna Randall of the Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI), “More than one million acres of sagebrush grazing lands in the Great Basin have turned into pinyon-juniper forests in the past two decades alone.”

This is problematic for sage grouse because they avoid landscapes with trees, likely because trees provide raptor perching and nesting habitat. Additionally, trees crowd out and take precious water from perennial grasses, forbs, and other plants that a variety of wildlife rely on, and can effectively reduce habitat carrying capacity and suitability, causing species to relocate.

Protecting and restoring the sagebrush ecosystem is at the forefront of the Natural Recourse Conservation Service (NRCS) mission. Through the NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife program, the SGI was born and includes partnerships with other land management agencies, universities, and landowners. As a collective, these entities work to enhance the sagebrush ecosystem for cooperative wildlife and agricultural uses.

Sage grouse on the lek. (Photo credit USFWS)

Since approximately 2011, a pinyon–juniper removal effort has been underway in the Warner Mountains in south-central Oregon. Concurrently, researchers GPS-tracked 417 hen sage grouse over a 109,000-acre “treatment” area with active tree removal.

Study results published in June (Olsen et al. 2021) show that within the treatment area, sage grouse population growth rates increased approximately 12 percent within five years of tree removal compared to a population within an adjacent 82,000-acre “control” or area with no tree removal. Similarly, a 2017 SGI report identified that 29 percent of tracked hen sage grouse in Oregon returned to restored nesting habitats within four years post-restoration. Encouraging results for the future of sage grouse and the sagebrush ecosystem.

The rarity in seeing such positive population results from habitat management was summarized appropriately by Olsen et al. (2021).

“Examples of positive, population-level responses to habitat management are exceptionally rare for terrestrial vertebrates, and this study provides promising evidence of active management that can be implemented to aid recovery of an imperiled species and biome.”

References

Olsen, AC., JP Severson, LD Maestas, DE Naugle, JT Smith, JD Tack, KH Yates, and CA Hagen. 2021. Reversing tree expansion in sagebrush steppe yields population-level benefit for imperiled grouse. Ecosphere https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3551.

Sage Grouse Initiative. 2017. Conifer Removal Boosts Sage Grouse Success. Science to Solutions Series Number 12. Conifer Removal Boosts Sage Grouse Success – Sage Grouse Initiative

WDFW takes Important Step in Post-fire Habitat Recovery

November 13, 2020November 16, 2020Brad Trumbo

Wildfires that tortured the Pacific Northwest in September did a number on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area (Swanson Lakes), located about 10 miles south of the town of Creston.

Swanson Lakes is a 21,000-acre tract of native grasslands nestled among the channeled scablands of the Columbia Plateau. Shrub-steppe and riparian/wetlands comprise the dominant habitats and much of the area is rangeland, with some old Conservation Reserve Program fields. The undulating landscape is characterized by numerous pothole and rim rock lakes and one intermittent stream.

Z Lake in the Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area is one example of the unique channeled scablands and shrubby habitat. Photo courtesy of WDFW.

In western habitats, wildfire threatens native vegetation in two ways. First, given our rangeland’s generally unnatural fire cycles from fire management and encroaching invasive species, wildfires often burn much hotter than they would in pristine habitats. Fires that are too hot scorch the seed bank and possibly the underground root structure of native shrubs like sagebrush, damaging the plant’s potential to regenerate. Second, invasive weeds are incredibly prolific and competitive. In the case of the earth being blackened down to bare soil, weeds can quickly flourish, outcompeting native plants, often by simply covering the area, effectively shading out the native species.

Fortunately, WDFW was poised to respond, leveraging funds in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to quickly apply native grass seed mix to the charred Swanson Lakes landscape. Aerial seed drops covered about 930 acres on October 22^nd, scattering two varieties of bluebunch wheatgrass, Idaho fescue, Sandberg bluegrass, and prairie dune grass across Swanson Lakes and a portion of adjacent BLM lands, said Mike Finch, WDFW Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area Assistant Manager.

Fall is not the ideal season to sow grasses, but the timing could not have been better. The WDFW and BLM made the seed drops in October to ensure native seeds were available to germinate on the exposed soil ahead of any invasive species seeds. Additionally, wet snow that fell October 23^rd and 24^th worked well to soak the seed into the soil surface, increasing the likelihood of establishment through good seed-to-soil contact. The WDFW plans to return with machinery in drier conditions to scratch the seeds slightly deeper into the soil surface.

Finch mentioned that Swanson Lakes was one of three areas receiving fall seed drops. The areas were prioritized for immediate reseeding due to their deeper soils, being more likely to establish and sustain healthy native grasses by allowing roots to grow down into moist soils for good summer survival. Understanding site conditions and prioritizing restoration efforts is important for project success and the best use of resources, particularly with the cost of native grass seed as high as $200 per acre, plus application time.

Native grass seed being dropped in Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area, October 22^nd. Photo courtesy of Mike Finch, WDFW.

Native shrub-steppe communities are a critical part of the ecosystem in the arid west, providing food and shelter for a wide variety of wildlife. The sharp-tailed grouse, for example, is an iconic western prairie grouse species that thrives in shrub-steppe habitat. Precisely why maintaining quality native habitat in Swanson Lakes is of critical importance. The area was acquired by the Bonneville Power Administration, primarily as a wildlife mitigation project for Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, a state “threatened” species.

By leveraging funding and relationships with the BLM, and making smart decisions on the use of available resources, WDFW can sustain unique and important shrub-steppe habitat areas like Swanson Lakes to benefit wildlife and the public user well into the future.

Raising Pheasant from the Ground Up

June 10, 2020Brad Trumbo

Sustainable farming practices to benefit wildlife is a topic for discussion in grain capitols across the country. To the farmer, the mention of sustainability may trigger consideration of production and bottom line. To the biologist, thoughts of crop rotation and managed fallow lands provide wildlife food, water and shelter. And to the economist, efficiency and bang-for-the-buck in the form of yield versus effort/acreage sewn would likely provoke a back-of-the-napkin chart explaining the benefits.

So how does one actually define sustainable farming? A combination of all of the above. Sustainable farming includes economics, reducing production acreage to focus on the most productive for maximum yield. The less productive ground can be leased into CRP or to an NGO like Pheasants Forever to manage for wildlife.

To take it one step further, habitat-minded agriculture may provide a mix of no-till planting and forage and cover crops built into rotation schedules. This permits soil replenishment and works to combat invasive species by providing different plant competitors, insects, and invasive plant treatment options. Forage or cover crops can be sewn alongside winter cover like cattails and other wetland habitats to reduce energy expense and vulnerability critters may experience when seeking food and cover in winter. Pollinators benefit as well.

Sounds great, right, but are the benefits actually attainable? Absolutely. Case-studies have proven the benefits to the farmer and wildlife through these sustainable practices. Midwest farms have shown production of preserve-scale wild pheasant through habitat-minded farming practices while maintaining or increasing their bottom line. And who out there would argue that they don’t enjoy wildlife like upland birds? If you answered “no one”, we couldn’t agree more!

If you find this encouraging from any perspective, reach out to your local Pheasants Forever or Quail Forever Chapter. In southeast Washington/northeast Oregon area, contact us at bmpf@bmpf258.com for more information.

Pushing the Limits – Emphasizing the Hunt over Harvest and the Role of Social Media

February 16, 2020February 16, 2020Brad Trumbo

I got my first lesson in conservation as a boy, the age of four. Well, maybe not my first lesson, but the first I could remember. My grandfather would carry me atop his shoulders in the farmland woodlots of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, as we hunted squirrels with a .22 caliber rifle. And there was no shortage of squirrels.

The bag limit was six in those days, but we never once killed more than three. When I asked grandpa why we would stop hunting before taking our limit, he replied “We only take what we can eat. Leave a few for the next hunt.”

The harvest is the obvious measure of success, and taking a limit of any game provides a rewarding sense of pride and accomplishment. But should the measure of success be the harvest of game, and should we portray taking a limit as the Holy Grail of a hunt?

⇑⇑ Lynnhill’s Finnigan with our first ever limit of Washington roosters. ⇑⇑

Poetry in Motion

Sailing across the Palouse, my Llewellin Yuba’s vigorous tail feathering wafted in the breeze, as did her soft, black ears as she bounded. The day was blossoming with the promise of a rare, bluebird morning in late fall. Rich, golden sun rays shown thick across the chilled landscape as if viewed through a Mason jar of honey.

Bounding toward the cusp of the ridgeline, Yuba slowed to a halt, crept up a few feet, and locked into the most beautiful point a setter fanatic could ask for. With tail held high, sunlight streaming through her feathering, her gaze set hard on the short grasses ahead. Approaching the edge, the backdrop was breathtaking. A narrowly carved valley opened up with the dappling of milky green sage and rabbitbrush among the variety of fawn-colored grasses, spent vetches, and basalt outcrops set against the cotton candy pink of the distant horizon with a blue ribbon on top.

Shuffling into Yuba’s fixed gaze, a covey of Huns levitated from the bunchgrass, then bailed over the ridgeline like a cinnamon cloud burst. Mesmerized by the moment, my Fox double trained on the stragglers a little too late. The entire covey floated into the next draw as we looked on from behind, the sun warm against our backs.

Moving on in search of singles and roosters, not a bird one reached my vest that morning. I didn’t care. I got exactly what I went for.

⇑⇑ Yuba with a bird pinned. This is what every pointing dog owner lives for. The result of the point is mere icing on the cake. ⇑⇑

Sweetening the Pot

In my Uplander Lifestyle blog post, “Anticipate the Flush“, I made a firm statement on the climax of an upland bird hunt.

“Probably the most rewarding experience of bird hunting is approaching for the flush and seeing confidence ablaze in the dog’s eyes. When her whole body is locked and loaded, she glances up at you, then back to the precise location as you approach. Both hunter and pointer anticipating the flush.”

The hunt itself, that poetry in motion cast on a perfect canvas, calls upland hunters more than any other in my experience. And the stats don’t lie here either. Project Upland’s fall 2019 survey elucidated that approximately 75% of ALL uplanders are drawn to the prospect by the dogs. Its more than a game. It’s a partnership between hunter and canine. The search for that moment of purity, perfection and connection can only be found in the uplands.

⇑⇑ Releasing the dog is to embark on an upland journey together. Each day is new with various challenges, success and failures. Birds are a bonus. ⇑⇑

More often than not (for most bird hunters), the hunt results in bird(s) in the vest. But is a bird in hand really worth two in the bush? I proffer that it merely sweetens the pot. It’s not necessarily the bird that draws us afield, but the orchestration of the hunt. One could argue that the hunt is meaningless without the bird, and with that I agree. But I am not the only uplander who would volunteer with alacrity for a catch-and-release opportunity. To marvel over the bird and a job well done, then simply return it to Mother Nature to be hunted again another day.

Enduring the Social Scene

Social media is a blessing and a curse. The incredible photography is inspiring and evocative, but brilliant displays of the harvest can unintentionally overemphasize the kill. And for upland bird hunters, pushing a limit sets a high bar, particularly for those new to the field.

Hunting wild birds on public land is a challenge in itself. The vast majority of my hunts end with a single bird; the next most common result being bird-less. I rarely take multiple birds or a mixed bag. That’s not to say that my opportunities are really that rare. Wingshooting ability is certainly at play. But an end-of-the-day photo of a dog sitting behind a tailgate stacked with birds is an unlikely outcome on public lands, generally speaking.

Every uplander revels in the moment, cradling in hand the most beautifully plumed species the uplands have to offer, particularly when taken over flawless dog work. But emphasis on harvest can reduce the significance of the hunt itself.

The instant gratification of social media and the desire the be “Instafamous” puts tremendous pressure on performance. What’s more is that for an up-and-comer to the upland realm, social media has the potential to stunt one’s confidence in their young dog, etc. Once new to the upland scene myself, seeing other folks in my area continually posting photos of birds and boasting limits set me back a couple years in having 100% confidence in the ability of my setters. Only after some particularly good hunts in the same season did I understand that when my girls weren’t finding birds, there were no birds to be found.

⇑⇑ Setters doing setter things. No better reason to take up upland hunting! ⇑⇑

Occupy the Canvas

Worry not of the success of others on social media. The best uplanders out there offer a holistic approach to upland hunting from the significance of carrying an heirloom shotgun, to the memories of grouse camp, hunting with family, and a stylish canine on staunch point.

Utilize social media to seek the inspiration and learning from your upland brethren. Revel in their successes and reach out to expand your knowledge and opportunities.

Never lose sight of the significance of the hunt. Boots on the ground behind your own dog or among your favorite coverts with that particular, familiar scattergun in hand is the setting for any work of upland art.

Push the limits of your body and the terrain (with your dog’s conditioning and health in mind). Cherish the days afield with an empty vest or meager single as much as the truly epic moments. Immerse yourself in the beauty and innocence of Mother Nature’s canvas. Chase the Flush!

⇑⇑ A picture is worth 1,000 words. Yuba has a rooster pinned here. Her tail feathering was so full of houndstongue seeds that it hurt too bad to present a high flagging tail on point. Her eyes told the whole story, and capturing this image was worth far more than the rooster my buddy bagged over her just moments later! ⇑⇑

Can Hunting Keep us Human?

December 22, 2019December 22, 2019Brad Trumbo

Paula Young Lee poses the question in the High Country News. If this strikes you as a philosophical diatribe, you may be correct. But in an era where hunting is increasingly despised (read: misunderstood), the deeper meaning behind such ecosystem interaction at the human level of cognizance is indeed ponderous.

Hunting’s broader importance to human existence reconnects the severance between human life-history and the complex society we have developed. Humans operate under the disillusion that humans are superior to the natural ecosystem, having no association with the natural world or ecosystem function. But the hunter views things differently.

⇑⇑ Above: the author with a cow elk, his first, taken on the Idaho winter range, December 2018. Hard earned and well respected. The tags for this special draw hunt have since been stripped from the public and given to private landowners as depredation tags. ⇑⇑

“It may seem like sophistry to argue that hunting protects wildlife, but the act of hunting encompasses far more than shooting a wild animal, and it neither starts nor ends with a death. The hunt itself is part of a much larger continuum.”

Diving deeper into the meaning of the hunt, Lee discusses the spiritual connection between hunter and prey, and that the hunter views wild game as a blessed gift. Lee reinforces her point of the larger continuum through an economics analogy related to the gift of wild game.

⇑⇑ Above: A successful valley quail hunt with two hens falling to a pointing dog and swift gun work. This interaction with the canine and upland bird plays a crucial role in spiritual rejuvenation for the hunter, who, in turn, gives back to conservation. ⇑⇑

“In a gift economy, the act of giving compels the person who receives the gift to reciprocate. A gift can be refused, but that refusal has consequences. Hence, ethical hunters reciprocate by protecting the wilderness, giving of themselves to ensure that the forest stays the forest….”

Hunting maintains our connection with and works to conserve our place in the ecosystem, and the ecosystem itself. The preservation of human nature.

Upland Stewardship Begins at Home

October 24, 2019October 24, 2019Brad Trumbo

What’s the #1 threat to habitat on undeveloped public lands? If you guessed invasive plant species, you get a gold star for the day. Overall, habitat lost to civil development is a critical threat to fish and wildlife, putting tremendous importance on conservation and management of those precious public acres still intact.

Managing public land is important to provide habitat suitable for wildlife species and is accomplished through taxpayer and sportsman’s funds. For federal lands, this means congressional appropriations must be approved for specific geographic areas and funding limits.

While public lands, both state and federal, are at much lower risk of civil development, the economics of habitat management is a major driver in our ability to maintaining high quality habitat, and here is why.

Invasive species are incredibly competitive and successful at overtaking desired native species. With no natural predator controls (i.e. herbivory and parasitism) and an adaptive edge to the climates in which they occur, many species can create monocultures in short order. What’s more is that the increasing cost of invasive species control detracts from government ability to fund general habitat management and enhancement.

Once established, eradicating an invasive plant is incredibly difficult and extremely costly, in the billions of dollars nationwide, annually. Our ability to control invasive species on public lands can change dramatically with political leadership. And when natural resources budgets are cut, our ability to effectively maintain habitat is hamstrung.

Early Detection and Rapid Response is the normal mode of operation for habitat managers, but budget cuts cause vulnerability in on-the-ground effectiveness. Labor cuts can reduce the number of employees and hours spent afield performing Early Detection monitoring. Supply cuts can reduce the available tools to implement Rapid Response once invasive species are detected, as well as reduce the overall time or acreage that biologists can treat.

High-quality habitat is not just nice to have for an easy, clean hunt. It’s a must for sustainable upland bird species and hunter opportunity. Its easy to assume that habitat management and controlling invasive species lies in the hands of qualified biologists, but make no mistake, quality habitat starts at home with you, the general public.

⇑⇑ The seat cover in my Tundra harbors a number of invasive species ⇑⇑

As our talented canines careen across the grasslands searching for sharptails or cut through brush following a running grouse trail, their fur picks up invasive weed seeds that can be easily spread to otherwise weed free areas. Tailgate checks and post-hunt spa treatments (for those of us who own long-haired pups like setters and Munsterlanders) are necessary to remove to potentially harmful grass awns and bur-like seeds.

Most importantly, uplanders that embark on rooster road trips would be remiss if they failed to clean the nooks and crannies of their bird hunting chariot prior to driving half way across the nation. A single germinated seed from a nasty invader like cheat grass (Bromus tectorum) can quickly threaten native species and impact habitat suitability.

Be sure to clean out the truck bed, pet crates and blankets, truck seats and seat covers, spray down floor mats and vacuum the crevasses that can harbor seeds.

⇑⇑ Cleaning vests, kennels, truck beds, and interiors is critical ⇑⇑

If your truck cap has a carpet liner, inspect it with scrutiny. Your dog will shake in the truck bed, flinging weed seeds onto the ceiling and anywhere else they may attach, simply waiting to be offloaded in an otherwise clean area 1,000 miles from where they were picked up.

And the cleaning spree should not end with the truck and kennels. Our vests and clothing can trap a terrifying number of seeds. When was the last time you check your hunting vest pockets for seeds? Hundreds of grass seeds can gather in vest pockets as we traverse the prairies. Dog vests can capture a number of species as well, like bur chervil (Anthriscus caucalis), which wreaks havoc on native grasses and even competes with yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) in the arid west.

⇑⇑ A water bottle pocket of my hunting vest captures many seeds and plant debris ⇑⇑

Conservation and habitat management are influenced by each and every one of us. Its your duty as an uplander to exercise your stewardship abilities and battle the spread of invasive species. The future of our public natural resources and habitat depend on it.

Grass Awns and Gun Dogs

July 7, 2019July 7, 2019Brad Trumbo

Have you ever stopped to consider the impact upland bird hunting has on your gun dog? Birds hunters are well aware of the physical exertion on ourselves, whether its pounding the prairie for sharptails and pheasant, or pushing through draws of aspen for ruffies. But I often ponder how many hunters really understand the effort a gun dog puts into a hunt, or the stress they endure.

Upland bird hunting is a full-contact sport for a your dog. No, there are no physical altercations with other dogs (generally…), although one of our feathered quarry may be run down and tackled on occasion, but the conditions endured by a gun dog in the field are downright hazardous.

In the grouse coverts, thickets of woody shrubs and aspen, prickly hawthorn, and windfalls stand to challenge your dog’s stamina, but can also poke, pinch, scratch, and gouge. In the southwest quail country, cactus, mesquite, barbed wire, venomous critters, and a hot, dry climate stand to work your dog into the ground. The rolling prairie appears to be the most benign of the common western settings, but are you aware that your hunting companion covers three to seven times the ground you do in a day’s jaunt, not to mention porcupines, badgers, and even grizzly bears on the plains of the Rocky Mountain Front?

Gun dogs are prone to exposure to a variety of habitats in pursuit of upland game across a given season, but among the plethora of potentially harmful phenomena in the field, grass awns stand among the top contenders for most harmful. While there are a number of precautions and post-hunt measures one can take to ensure the well-being of your fur baby, grass awns can go undetected, wreaking havoc on you pup’s health.

Two common, menacing grasses: foxtail barley (left) and cheat grass (right).

Grass awns are responsible for a number of unexplained illnesses, and even deaths among gun dogs annually. But how can a grass seed be so injurious? In the western US, several grass species including cheat grass (Bromus tectorum), foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum), and cereal rye (Secale cereale), which are largely invasive grass species, form barbed tails on their seeds or awns. The awns attach to the dog’s fur, and the sharp point of the awn may work its way into the skin between toes, in ears, eyes, mouth, nose, arm-pits, etc., and the awn barbs continue to work the awn deeper into the tissue until it can enter the interior body cavity or muscle tissue.

The awn may carry bacteria as it enters the dog’s body, and/or it may carry bacteria that are normal inhabitants of one part of the body, usually the mouth, into other parts of the body where it is abnormal, establishing an infection, typically in the form of an abscess.

As we approach and enter upland bird seasons, late summer through fall, grasses dry out and the awns loosen, becoming prone to drop. The best advice? A careful tailgate inspection of your dog before leaving the field may allow removal and avert any illness. But, with awns that have been ingested, odds are that the damage is already done by the time you and your dog leave the field. Routinely check your dog for swellings, particularly at the lower rear sections of the rib-cage, a prime site for abscess development.

What to look for:

Hair: Matted hair that may eventually lead to sores against the skin if not removed.
Ear canal: The dog shakes the head, scratches or rubs the ears, holds head at a slightly tilted angle.
Between the eye/eyelid: The eyes of the dog get inflamed, sometimes including discharge or tears.
Nose: The dog sneezes, paws at the nose, and may experience nasal discharge
Gums, Tongue, Mouth: If swallowed, grass awns may stick to the back of the throat causing inflammation and swelling.
Lungs and Other Organs (inhalation or migration): The dog shows signs of serious sickness, coughing, short breath, and vomiting.
Rectum and Anal Glands: dog abnormally licking or scooting on the ground, trying to defecate often or for prolonged periods.

Zeta at the vet, June 2019, to have cheat grass awns removed from both anal glands.

Learn to recognize hazardous plants, and be watchful where you are hunting, training, or just exercising your dog. Typically, a simple tailgate inspection post-hunt or run to remove awns before they have the chance to penetrate the skin and begin to migrate will eliminate problem awns, but inspection may not always reveal hidden awns immediately. A best practice is continued monitoring of your pup’s behavior after hunting through dangerous grasses. Being mindful of the vegetation in your hunting or training areas, coupled with thorough inspections will keep your four-legged partner pointing or flushing long into their upland career.

Seven Years a Bird Dog Dad

June 16, 2019June 16, 2019Brad Trumbo

I moved to the southeast Washington State in 2011 shortly after finishing graduate school. It was the first time I had lived in pheasant country. That fall, I harvested my first two roosters thanks to an old yellow lab who was flushing for hunters that happened to pull into the same parking spot at the same time. The feeling of holding that first big, beautiful rooster, admiring his plumage and impressive tail will never betray memory, save for dementia in my older years.

My wife, Ali, was living in California at the time and trying to make her way to Washington. At the notion of hunting pheasant, she insisted on a bird dog pup and began poring over websites and magazine articles, researching different breeds and their characteristics. She is a bit of a sucker for good looks, mild temperament, style, and grace (and somehow wound up with me), and these traits led her to setters. She finally landed on a Llewellin setter, about which I knew nothing. I was not really interested in a bird dog at the time, but her persistence and disregard for my input (a timeless tradition) resulted in an orange belton pup we call Lynnhill’s Finnigan, Finn for short.

True to Stockholm’s Syndrome, we fell in love with this beautiful, tiny, spawn of Satan. She was the worst behaved puppy I have ever had the misfortune of raising. Bold in her infant months, anxious and terrified the rest of her first year. She refused to be house-broken or crate-train, and shredded everything including mattresses, wall trim, and any other furniture well into her thirteenth month. She screamed for dear life every time we left the house, literally the entire time we were gone, according to neighbors. She was flat not trainable. I didn’t even consider training her to hunt until she was about eighteen months old. The one thing she did well was walk on a leash, so I took her to a park outside of town most evenings and weekends where quail and pheasant were common to keep her excited about being afield.

Upon finally deciding to introduce basic commands, Finn was easily bored, like most pups, but contrary to my immediate assessment, she was sharp, and picked up the commands quite well. All hope was lost, however, when Ali arrived home from work one evening with a pair of white pigeons. I built a small enclosure in the barn on the farm we were renting, bought a pair of kick traps, and began hiding the birds in the grass and brush around the farm.

Walking Finn on a check-cord, we always began our approach downwind of the bird. Finn would cover the area impressively well, but would never honor the scent. She could smell the bird. That much was clear. Her head would snap into the scent cone, but she continued to sail aimlessly as if being forced toward the bird against her will. In vain, we tried nearly everything we could to get Finn to stop or search for the bird upon catching the scent.

Nevertheless, I hunted Finn at age two with great frustration, but I always tried to keep it fun for her. Around Finn’s second birthday, my wife broke down and bought a second Llewellin, Yuba, with the hopes that she would have a bit more hunting prowess. Yuba was quite a different pup. As a short, stocky tricolor, what Yuba lacked in grace and stature she more than compensated for in prey drive and intelligence. Within a couple months she was crate-trained and quite obedient. Most satisfying was her attention to the songbirds in the yard.

We worked Yuba alongside Finn on the caged pigeons and hikes through bird habitat where she display immense interest and skill. Simultaneously, Finn began to settle down and mature a bit between her second and third season. It was clear that things were coming together, and I think Finn’s maturing helped Yuba learn so much quicker than Finn had as a pup.

When the pheasant season rolled around in 2016, Yuba was just over one year old and I was eager to hunt her. We began that season expecting nothing from either dog; however, we found ourselves smothered in birds opening day. Finn actually appeared to be hunting, but we didn’t count our roosters too early; not before we found her locked up solid and the first bird of the morning hit my vest. Miraculously, a second rooster fell to my Fox sixteen-gauge not ten minutes later. By the time the second rooster hit the ground, Yuba’s prey drive shone fiercely. The light bulb illuminated for Finn that day, and by the third day of the season she was methodically covering ground, honoring the scent cone, slowing down and using her nose, and pointing like a champion.

By the fifth day of the season, Yuba and Finn engaged in friendly competition of who could point the most birds and hold point the longest. Working both girls by myself most days, it was no news to lose track of them, find one on point, and spot the other locked up as I went in for the flush. With repeated exposure they instinctively began backing each other. I nearly fainted upon my first witness of this phenomenon.

During the 2017 season, the girls hit the ground running with virtually no prior off-season yard work. Both pups worked famously and I won’t soon forget Yuba’s exuberant eyes as she stood hard and proud, pinning fast the largest wild rooster I have ever seen. He flushed nearly under Yuba’s face as I closed in. My startle at his size and beauty caused me to whiff both barrels on his steep ascent. We stood in awe, looking after the handsome rooster sailing across the grasslands. We could have limited out for the first time that morning, but ole dad was a disappointment with the scatter gun.

As a first time bird dog owner and a mediocre trainer at best, my pups and I have learned a lot from each other; the greatest lesson being patience and persistence. Looking back over the early seasons, I wouldn’t trade the frustrating hunts for anything as they make the reliability of the girls so much sweeter these days. Zeta (my youngest) is not progressing as Finn and Yuba did, but time is on our side. If have learned anything, it’s that a fine dog can be developed when the time is right, and the upcoming season will be her second. A lot can change in the blink of an eye, and I anticipate North Dakota will be the game changer. At some point in the not too distant future, I will reflect proudly on my trials with Zeta. And as dog dad, I cherish the early days.

God Loves a Pointing Dog

December 24, 2018December 24, 2018Brad Trumbo

Obnoxiously loud, the alarm clock shattered a peaceful sleep. I awoke to another day off, but Ali had commitments at the office. Working through the morning routine, I slipped into a tee-shirt, stumbled into the kitchen, and ground some fresh beans for the pot. The cats squawked for breakfast as the pups stretched and shook in preparation for their morning duty. All seemed to be quite typical.

It had been seven days since Yuba developed a severe allergic reaction to who knows what. After four vet visits, the cause remains undiagnosed, but our suspicion lies with a leptospirosis vaccine administered on December 5th. Nevertheless, Yuba’s bout with a hypoglycemic seizure on the 10th, followed by severe hives, vomiting, and diarrhea for the past week has left the little Llew tuckered and vulnerable.

With the coffee brewing, I shuffled to the front door in the dim lighting of the Christmas tree. And much to my surprise, there were three perky setters waiting eagerly for the door to swing ajar.

Yuba had barely begun to eat on her own the day prior, partially due to the quantities and variety of medications I had forced upon her for the past week. But upon reentering the house, she trotted to her crate, sat upright, and gave me the beckoning glare of a pup in dire need of breakfast.

I obliged with a small helping of kibble mixed with a little tasty canned food and an antibiotic pill tossed in. She indiscriminately ate it, pill and all. We were both quite satisfied with this, as well as the fact that there were no messes to clean from overnight. Yuba quickly staked her claim of the love seat and drifted off into a crack-of-dawn, winter’s morn dog nap which only a hunting dog can do justice.

Upon bringing Ali her morning coffee in bed and feeding the rest of the herd, I took up residence on the couch to proof-read an article I was about to submit to Pheasants Forever Magazine. Ali headed off to work as the girls and I hung out on the couch. But a miracle happened just before 7:30am when a boastful, cackling rooster pheasant soared straight over the house.

Yuba erupted from slumber and dashed across the room, perching swiftly atop the far couch arm, where she kept watch over the wheat field and a pair of roosters feeding in the damp morning fog. Now this was looking more like recovery!

About an hour later, I headed out the door with the girls to fill bird feeders and visit the mail box. But before I could get my Muck Boots on, Yuba and Zeta were both on point in the driveway as our flock of California quail scampered through the blackberries and down the road on their morning commute to breakfast.

Thinking the chores could wait, I crated Zeta, then slipped out with my Ithaca Model 37 and a couple 6-shot. Yuba remained on point.

Lingering by the driveway until all the quail had passed, I swung the paddock gate open and released Yuba to peruse the overgrown swale that spans the length of our property. Thick with white alder, woods rose, blackberry, and a couple old Russian olives, the deep swale flows with surface spring water all year and provides food and shelter for the quail, pheasant, a few whitettails and mule deer.

I hadn’t made it 30 feet into the paddock when Yuba turned into the swale and locked up. Nervous little birds chirped and scurried in the tangle leaving me little shooting room, so I dialed the polychoke to a notch between Improved Cylinder and Modified. I was being picky as well, waiting for a single male. And, as luck would have it, a single male flushed and fell to the old 37, coming to rest at the bottom of the swale beneath a nasty mess of tree limbs and blackberry tendrils.

One hundred quail must have flushed upon the report the shotgun leaving Yuba and I to stare in silence at the final movements of the beautiful little bird gifted us this fine, wet morning. Encouraging Yuba to “Get that bird!” , she merely traversed the swale and pursued the larger flock. “Lord, send me a retriever!”, I pleaded as I slid down the muddy embankment into the fallen, slimy, algae-stained tree limbs, all the while snagged and shredded by the piercing clutches of blackberry.

Completing the retrieve, I called Yuba back to bask in her victory, and it occurred to me that God must love a pointing dog too. Coming out of a week of hell into the promise of Christmas, Yuba was gifted a short, successful, Christmas Eve hunt on the homestead when I thought she may only have one more shot in mid-January.

I grabbed an old whitetail shed I found on a hunt two days prior and staged a couple photos on my old fence row before heading back inside with my not yet fully recovered pup. Satisfied with her outing, Yuba climbed back up onto the love seat, curled into a setter ball, and drifted off into a post-hunt snooze, that again, only a hunting dog can do justice.

Merry Christmas, indeed!

An Ounce of Prevention

December 13, 2018December 18, 2018Brad Trumbo

The Backstory

Yuba sat trembling atop my lap, peering out the back of the cabin as the 225 horsepower Yamaha outboard thrust the North River Seahawk onto plane. The night brought freezing rain and wet snow, but the morning was dawning beautifully; the Snake River meandering its way between fog banks under a pink cotton candy sunrise. On board we had Dave, Brett, Rhett, two old, rotund Brittanys, and Yuba and I.

Our plan was to swing into a remote US Army Corps of Engineers habitat unit and split up. Cautioning the guys about Yuba’s big-running tendency, Dave, the only dog-less crew member, volunteered to hang with Yuba and I, while Rhett and Brett took the Brittanys to the other end of the property. Yuba is certainly the baby of the family, terrified of water, and is unsure of strange dogs, but she hit the ground running as the boat slid in under the Russian olives at the foot of a looming basalt bluff.

Dave and I barely made it around the toe of the bluff when we strolled right into a flock Rio Grande wild turkey. Yuba had seen a single or two, but the flock of 30 birds erupting from under the Russian olives sent her into a new dimension of crazy. Carrying a valid turkey tag, I wasted no time releasing a round of 4-shot steel from my old Ithaca model 37 pump, resulting in a notched tag and heavy vest.

From Yuba’s perspective, the Rio hen was simply a giant prairie grouse with strong scent. And clearly, they were fair game as ole dad bagged one instantly. Therefore, in classic pointing dog fashion, she bounded off to peg the next bird. The turkeys amusingly dispersed like a flock of quail among the grassland. Yuba pointed and we flushed about a dozen singles throughout the hunt. But the real show began when we got into the pheasant.

As if Yuba weren’t crazy enough, there were dozens of pheasant along the riverbank, hiding in the false indigo and flushing wild. As we pinched in toward Brett and Rhett, the pheasant started busting in all directions, bird dogs were pointing, scurrying, and looking for birds to retrieve from a volley of shots.

I noticed I was on the whistle a lot more than normal as Yuba careened in, around, and through every bit of cover she could find. But even in the chaos and sensory overload, I was impressed with her finding and pointing prowess, telegraphing with precision where a bird was, should be, or was headed. The entire show was simply unprecedented.

I never touched a rooster all morning, but was amped and proud as we made our way back to our pick-up point. Yuba was beat, of that I was sure, but I had little worry as she was actively and intelligently hunting the entire morning. Still, I kept a keen eye on her as I am accustomed to her hips getting stiff and sore as a result of dysplasia. So, it was no news when she suddenly started to show some signs of hip pain, or so I assumed, from a seemingly stiff gait.

Almost to the boat, I noticed Yuba’s hind legs quiver a bit, so I scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way. Her reward for an incredible hunt would be to warm up, grab a snack, and retire from the afternoon hunt. Handing her up to Brett, I swung myself aboard, regained my feet, and reached out to take my tired little setter. But confusion was replaced with dread as I noticed her eyes clenched in pain, followed by the unmistakable convulsions of a seizure.

“Holy shit, she’s seizing!” I yelled to Brett, who swiftly laid her out on the large, cushioned bench seat in the boat’s cabin.

I wrapped her in my insulated overalls while Brett cradled Yuba’s head. Seizures can present with a variety bodily functions, pains, and other involuntary motions and sounds. An eternal minute passed as every muscle in her tiny body went board-stiff, but the worst of it was her uncontrollable screaming.

With muscles finally relaxing and cognizance regaining, the pain must have been unbearable; the cause I am left to assume was perceived as some unknown predator. Large, dilated pupils searched to unveil the culprit as she pled for mercy. Terror, confusion, and panic were evident as Brett and I spoke softly, stroking her ears in an attempt to sooth her fear, if nothing else.

At the two-minute mark, she began to quiet. The convulsions had completely ceased and sore muscles relaxed. I scooped her up, still wrapped in my now defiled overalls, and sat with her curled on my lap like a newborn pup. Brett solemnly motored toward the marina.

She had come out of it. That was the first blessing, but I had no way of really checking her neurological signs as of yet. Suspicious that the cause was either an electrolyte or glucose deficiency, I went for a honey packet, which I had readily on hand for this very situation. She lapped at it eagerly.

Back at the truck, I tucked Yuba in softly among a fleece blanket and the overalls, and offered some water, which she happily drank. She was showing no sign of impaired motor skills, but was still clearly wiped from the exertion of the hunt and seizure. Dropping the Tundra into drive, I dialed the local vet, announcing I would see her in 45 minutes, if not sooner.

Keeping tabs on the groggy pup, I randomly whistled or called her name. She always responded. Carrying her across the threshold at the vet’s office, she wagged at the receptionist, and sat upright on my lap in the waiting room. The visit was short and sweet, and Yuba’s behavior improved immensely in that insignificant amount of time.

The diagnosis was as I suspected afield. Hypoglycemia. More appropriately, Hunting Dog Hypoglycemia (HDH).

What is HDH?

I believe most folks know what hypoglycemia is, but in case you don’t, its low blood sugar. A pup’s normal blood sugar should range somewhere between about 70-150 ml/dl. A dog experiencing HDH will have a value likely below 50 ml/dl. Dr. Shawn Wayment (DVM, @birddogdoc on Instagram) explains that HDH occurs when a canine athlete exerts itself in strenuous exercise thereby rapidly depleting their blood sugar (glucose) before their reserves can be remobilized or released from glycogen storages from the muscle and liver.

Symptoms

There are a number of reliable resources on HDH that share common symptoms that may include the following.

General fatigue
Staggering
Trembling
Shaking
Nervousness
Anxiety
Weakness
Ataxia (loss of control of bodily movements)

As with any medical condition, no two cases will necessarily present alike. Athletes fatigue when they work hard, whether two- or four-legged. Yuba was showing fatigue as she has on every hunt for the past four seasons, but no other symptoms until about five minutes prior to her seizure. At that time, her demeanor appeared similar to her pre-FHO days when her hips began to hurt and stiffen.

Causes

Dr. Wayment refers to current literature on HDH pointing to a lack of condition as a common cause; however, he believes that this is simply not the whole truth and has “…seen it happen in very well-conditioned canine athletes.” That now makes two of us as Yuba is at the height of her physical ability for the season.

So, what really caused Yuba’s bout of HDH? My hypothesis is the perfect storm of conditions creating utter chaos, sensory overload, and compensation for environmental conditions. The novelty of the hunt in general is my overarching suspicion, the specific points exacerbating Yuba’s metabolic rate being the following.

General adrenaline and anxiety for an hour before the hunt: Yuba knew we were headed out hunting and was trembling with anticipation the entire truck ride and wait for our comrades.
First time boat ride: Yuba doesn’t like water more than about a foot deep. She was nervous just walking down the dock to the boat, much less roaring down the river on water she knew was deeper than she is tall.
Strange dogs: Yuba loves people, but the two strange, yet sweet and well-meaning Brittanys, further prodded her nerves and desire to curl up in my lap for security.
Turkeys: Yuba had seen a turkey or two before, but the dozens of turkeys that flushed into the grasslands like a flock of quail inundated the area with bird scent. She was working and pointing turkeys left and right the entire hunt. Upon her first find, it was difficult pulling her off of the scent at all. This was uncharted territory for her.
Pheasant: There were also dozens of pheasant. Everywhere. Between the turkeys and pheasant, she didn’t know which way to go or which scent to key in on and was totally jazzed about it.
Shooting: The two groups of hunters began at opposite ends and worked toward each other with a barrage of shots throughout the hunt. When the gun fires, Yuba kicks into high gear looking for the dead bird, then tears off in search of the next live bird. Focus was a bit problematic as she wasn’t sure what she should do at times.
Frigid Conditions: We had been hunting since September, but this was the first actually cold day afield. And it wasn’t just cold, but wet from icy precipitation. She was soaked and chilly causing additional caloric burn to maintain body temperature.

Prevention

The old saying that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” could not be more true as you cradle your ailing pup in the field with little to nothing you can do to remedy the situation. I was prepared with the necessary items to keep her energy up, but I neglected to enforce break time to care for her. When Yuba is on fire and thoroughly enjoying the hunt, I have to leash her to make her stay put for breaks. I failed to do this on this particular hunt and will not make that mistake again.

Furthermore, a warmer vest that could keep a lean, 28-pound setter drier may have been enough to keep her energy burn rate to a more normal level.

Proper diet, rations, and conditioning are a must for our four-legged upland athletes. How often to feed your dog is another question that I refrain from debating, but some veterinarians suggests that feeding the appropriate daily ration once per day would condition a dog’s body to store a larger liver glycogen reserve to draw from during strenuous activity.

Dr. Wayment also suggests that feeding a dog 10% of its calculated daily ration every two hours during strenuous activity has shown success in preventing HDH symptoms.

Emergency Treatment

What did I do right during this whole debacle? I provided warmth immediately, and water, honey, and rest once the seizing stopped. Yuba came out of it well, was responsive, excited about the honey, and didn’t show any obvious, alarming symptoms of neurological deficiencies. Nevertheless, I rushed Yuba to the vet for an exam, which was one hour to the minute from the onset of her seizure.

The same resources providing information on HDH symptoms also provide a variety of treatment options listed below. Whichever product you choose, at least 50% glucose is key. A couple ounces should suffice if needed in a pinch, but be prepared to feed your dog in short order and rest them the remainder of the day.

50% Dextrose solution (50% glucose)
Karo syrup/corn syrup (100% glucose)
High fructose corn syrup (50% glucose)
Honey (50% glucose/50% fructose)
Maple syrup
Jelly/jam
Pure fruit juice
Nutri-Cal supplement

Dr. Wayment suggests applying to the oral mucous membranes for rapid enzyme break down; however, you should exercise caution. It may be best to wait for the seizing to end before trying to orally administer any of the above. Seizing animals obviously have no voluntary control over their body, including the mouth. Fingers near the teeth could end badly and at no fault or intention of your pup.

Looking Ahead

I learned the hard way to recognize conditions that may be hazardous to my pup’s health, aside from the obvious. Be cognizant of how novel experiences may impose additional stress on your pup.

Do not dismiss symptoms. This is Yuba’s first season hunting post-FHO surgery on her right hip. She is a new dog with relentless enthusiasm and desire, but the former three seasons of monitoring her pain level through her body language left me to assume that any symptoms she expressed were caused by her other, still arthritic hip. This was clearly not so. I don’t recommend looking for the metaphorical zebra at all times, but I do suggest being suspicious enough of the horse to consider a zebra in disguise.

Preparation does not equal prevention without proper action. Keep an eye on your pup and the clock. This can be a tall order amidst insane action, particularly when you rely on your pup to show you when he or she needs a break. But in Yuba’s case, and possibly the case with other pups in peak condition, no obvious symptoms of extreme exertion or energy expense may be noticeable. Had I forced a break and a snack just once, it likely would have prevented the seizure.

While Yuba’s story has a happy ending, a proportion of these cases end fatally. Keep your pup’s energy up, and by all means, if you recognize any of the above symptoms of HDH, allow your pup to rest the remainder of the day. When caught early, pups can bounce back rather quickly. But finding a few additional birds is not worth the risk, lest you be the next to publish the unfortunate story of your pup’s demise in the Pointing Dog Journal subscriber forum.

Haying Best Management Practices for Wildlife

June 5, 2018June 5, 2018Brad Trumbo

Farming and habitat practices to maintain healthy CRP and alfalfa stands provides significant nesting and brood rearing benefits to upland game birds, fawning areas for deer, and nesting and roosting habitat for wild turkey in the early spring and summer. Long, overhanging grasses provide nesting cover while broad-leaf plants like alfalfa and other native forbs provide insect forage for fledgling broods and hens. These stands draw and hold birds but have been called “ecological traps” in areas where haying regularly occurs.

The term ecological trap refers to a beneficial condition that attracts wildlife, but results in additive mortality, affecting the population overall. Quality CRP and alfalfa stands fit the scenario well where haying normally occurs during nesting season.

As haying equipment approaches, a hen pheasant may not vacate eggs or chicks, rather hunker down and use her camouflage for protection as a tractor passes by. This leaves birds vulnerable to the following mower which may be offset from the tractor. Likewise, small mammals and deer fawns use similar camouflage techniques and experience similar vulnerabilities to upland birds.

Best Management Practices

To minimize the potential hazardous effects of haying on wildlife, the Natural Resource Conservation Service has developed a few simple best management practices.

1) Defer haying. Apply and maintain at least two of the following management actions specifically for improving or protecting grassland functions for target wildlife species.

Do not cut hay on at least 1/3 of the hay acres each year. Idle strips or blocks must be at least 30 feet wide.
For at least 1/3 of the hay acreage, hay cutting must be either before and/or after the primary nesting or fawning seasons based on state established dates for the targeted species.
Increase forage heights after mowing to state specified minimum heights for the targeted species on all hayed acres.

2) For all haying during the nesting/fawning season implement at least two of the following to flush wildlife from hay fields during the mowing operation:

A flush bar attachment will be required on the mower (see figure below).
All mowing will be done during daylight hours.
Haying pattern:
- Begin on one end of the field and work back and forth across the field, OR;
- Begin in the center of the field and work outward.

Following these simple practices can greatly reduce unintentional wildlife mortality, further increasing the benefits of environmentally friendly farming.

Image from the Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Energy Development Act Meets Habitat Conservation (Maybe)

December 17, 2017Brad Trumbo

I am a fish and wildlife biologist. I get my kicks (and earn a living) assessing environmental impacts on, and managing and restoring fish and wildlife habitat. I track tightly within my lane of technical, scientific expertise, and typically leave the politics to folks with a desire to argue and decipher that sort of thing. However, in 2017, a bill was introduced that the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) brought to my attention.

The Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act (HR 825) is a bill that establishes two main authorities; 1) continued authorization of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970; and 2) the authority of the subject act.

HR 825 sounds dangerous, because it is. While “renewable energy” typically includes sources such as timber, hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal power, developing energy-harnessing opportunities on public resources has potential impacts to public use and fish and wildlife. It is prudent to point out that Section 4 of HR 825 includes a clause stating that potential development areas identified by the Secretary of the Interior must be coordinated with appropriate State, Tribal, and local governments to “…avoid or minimize conflict with habitat for animals and plants, recreation, and other uses…”

I don’t intend to hang up on possible impacts here, but I want to draw attention the benefits of the bill. Section 7 of HR 825 (Disposition of Revenues) is aimed directly at habitat conservation. A Treasury fund for this Act will be established to deposit any fees or revenues from energy production that may be used for “restoring and protecting…fish and wildlife habitat for affected species; fish and wildlife corridors for affected species; and water resources in areas affected…” (Section 7(c)(2)(a)). My interpretation: In other words, revenue from energy production is authorized to be used for impact mitigation.

Section 7(c)(3) states that “The Secretary [of the Interior] may enter into cooperative agreements (a flexible, federal government work agreement) with State and Tribal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other appropriate entities to carry out the activities described in [Section 7(c)(2)].”

So, what does this all mean? Well, as you can glean from my synopsis, HR 825 is a renewable energy development bill that makes my hackles prickle. Every bill aiming to develop public lands has the potential to harm precious public natural resources, either directly or indirectly. The federal government is mandated to follow the National Environmental Policy Act to identify impacts and evaluate alternatives for all federal actions, including developing energy sources or issuing permits for such activities, but impacts generally occur to some degree.

On the flip-side, the bill proactively authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to use allocated revenue to mitigate any impacts efficiently and effectively through cooperation with States, Tribes, and nonprofit organization. As far as public land energy development goes, this is a good deal. The TRCP blog post by Julia Peebles couches HR 825 as a “rare win-win scenario for fish and wildlife” and I trust her more politically savvy perspective. You can find that blog post at TRCP.org.

If you have not already, I encourage you to venture over to the TRCP and read their blogs to see what the organization is about. It’s a great resource for keeping tabs on Capitol Hill and our precious public resources.

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