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Northwind 2010 PRO Hunter Seminars

"Habitat in Your Backyard"

 March 2nd through May 14th

4hr, 3 part public seminars held in 29 cities

WI, MN, IL, KY, VA, NC, WV, OH, VT, NH, MA ,CT, NJ, PA, MD, MI  

Why this seminar, what will be covered, and how:

Reproduced below is an "open letter" to all our grousing hunting partners from Ann describing why she decided to offer this seminar, the primary material that is covered, and some sample media from the seminar itself.   As you scroll down further you will find the schedule (locations, dates, and times) and registration information (how to register and cost).  We encourage you to enroll early because if we do not receive enough early registrations to break-even we may have to cancel that particular session and refund the full fee to those few who pre-registered. 
 

Ann's Open Letter:

"For at least the last three years I have been contemplating developing and teaching a seminar on aerial photo and satellite imagery.  I have heard form countless hunters that they have no place near their homes/cabins to hunt and must travel north or they tell me they are running out of areas to hunt where they have been traveling to for many years.

"For several years I have been looking at the habitat outside of Wisconsin, in other sates, and in some cases the hunters are absolutely correct.   There is no habitat left.  However, in most cases I often find habitat right in their backyard.  The only reason I find these new places is that I am accustomed to reading the imagery and the interpretation of the timber types and the type of harvesting techniques that were conducted. 

"With the internet and various free programs and an understanding of interpretation of these photos a person can sit at his/her computer and locate new hunting areas and really get a feel for what the area is like before they ever set foot in the woods.  

"Each year, several weeks before guiding season starts I spend countless hours at the computer searching for new habitat.  I can’t imagine guiding and not being able to prepare for the season without the use of the internet, aerial photos and satellite imagery.  Each year the photos are getting better and better and so much easier to read then when I had to rely on black and white photos.  The time I save running around in my truck and trekking back off the road to areas is invaluable and to me it is more relaxing sitting down at a computer with a cup of coffee and finding new hunting areas.   Even though I live in the heart of "grouse country" I do not always have the luxury of time to travel over hill and dale, running the roads either by truck, ATV, or on horse back.  However, I can easily get a grouping of cuts, make my maps, grab my GPS and go look at these new areas.  Some are fantastic, others will be ready in a year or two, and then there are those areas that will only have one or two years left before they age out.  

"In many areas of the US I am starting to see an increase in logging.  However, the logging is done in a way so as to keep it out of the public’s eye thus making everyone believe it is not happening.  Most foresters across the country do not want to talk about where the logging has been done because when you call up asking for information they do not know if they are talking to a hunter or to a member of an environmental group that might cause them trouble.  In "toady's world", in many areas, logging is done on top of the hills, out of sight of the public and tucked away where no one will see it.  It is no wonder that most hunters who live outside of the relatively flat Great Lakes area do not realize how much logging is going on.  Now with this being said… there are other areas that have basically been turned into parks and are no longer managed as a forest thus no longer a renewable resource.  As a hunter, you need to look elsewhere and then make your own maps so you can still continue hunting closer to home. 

 Take for instance West Virginia… I have been watching cuts get old for six to ten years now and I really wonder how many of you even realize these areas available.  Same holds true for Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, parts of Virginia and many of the New England states and of course upstate New York.

"To the right is an example of some of the habitat located in West Virginia.         This  particular aerial image shows over 20 cuts of various ages .

Another reason for this seminar is that I am in the process of taking on a new mapping project.   My time will be limited and I will not be able to produce new and/or update existing  Northwind Grouse Habitat Maps like I have in the past.   You can learn to make your own maps and increase your enjoyment of hunting.  When many of you called to order maps for the 2009 season I asked you if you would be interested in a seminar that would teach you how to read aerial photos and locate new hunting areas and I kept hearing a resounding “YES”!

"During Part 1 of each seminar I am going to specifically locate, by county, some of the areas where there is the possibility of viable habitat.  At the seminars located in the Midwest I will be locating cuts in the Midwest.  When the seminar is in the South I will be showing habitat that is available to you in your area.  The same for the Pennsylvania area seminars, NE, etc.  We will talk some about habitat in the Midwest at all the seminars,  but we will focus on what is in your back yard. The regeneration of habitat after a clear-cut is the same whether you are down south or up north.  The only difference is what grows in and the length of time it takes to form a good canopy.  Same holds true with hardwoods that are heavily thinned. [Listed below, by state, are the counties where habitat will be shown at the appropriate seminar]

Midwest  Seminars

 Minnesota :  Itasca,  Cook,  Lake, Pine, St. Louis

 Wisconsin :  Douglas, Sawyer, Oneida, Bayfield, Taylor, Oconto, Marinette

 Michigan : Ontonagon, Iron, Marquette, Cheboygan, Gladwin, Lake

 Southern Seminars

 Ohio : Lawrence, Scioto, Gallia, Vinton, Pike

 West Virginia : Fayette, Greenbrier, Nicholas,

 Kentucky : Lewis, Greenup, Carter

 Tennessee : Scott, Campbell, Anderson, Cumberland, Monroe

 Virginia : Amherst, Rockingham, Augusta, Bath, Botetourt, Scott

 North Carolina : Graham, Macon,  Transylvania, Buncombe, Haywood, Madison, Yancey, Burke

 Eastern Seminars

 Pennsylvania : Warren, Forest, McKean, Elk, Potter, Monroe, Cumberland,  Cambria, Blair,  Westmoreland, Lycoming

 New York : Clinton, Franklin, Herkimer

 Vermont : Rutland, Windsor, Addison, Essex

 New Hampshire : Coos, Hillsborough

 Maine : Somerset, Hancock, Washington, Aroostook, Penobscot, Franklin, Oxford

 Maryland : Garret, Alleghany

Shown below is a series of photos depicting the Changes in an area from when there was no clear cut to when the cut first appeared, 1998,  to 2006

"To the right is a satellite image with the light green overlay of the Cherokee National forest.  This is an example of overlays that you can put on aerial photos to help in locating habitat.

"Each participant in the seminar will receive a workbook, cover shown to the left,  that will contain many of the photos used in the seminar plus a grouse and woodcock identification section and a clear-cut aging guide for use in the field.  Everyone who attends will also receive a book of  aerial photos as well as gps coordinates for areas we identify (listed above) during the seminar.  These two resources, along with what you learn in the seminar, will enable you to take the information home and enter it into your computer and look at the aerial photos again.  I will break the coordinates down by state and county of the habitat that we will discuss.  I will also be providing the overlay information for areas that we discuss.  Basically you will have the boundaries for most Federal and state and wildlife areas.  Information such as this will help you determine if the cuts you are looking at on the internet, using the free programs, are on public land. 

"Part 2 of the seminar is packed with hunting strategies and video clips.

"Recall what a grouse & woodcock need!  Numerous video clips

"Quality habitat throughout the season and the need for diversity of habitat nearby

"Knowing where to start the hunt based on weather, time of day & season, when do the grouse move

"The moisture factor throughout the season & dealing with the wind, storms, numerous days of bad weather

"Video clips of dogs on point and their reaction to the scent and birds...Old scent, fresh scent, birds in the trees

"Predators & wild flushes, how not to push a grouse. Implementing late season strategies and much more!

"Part 3 of the seminar is about you and your dog…having run sled dogs for the past 15 years I know that if I want my sled dogs to perform their best I have to take particular care of each dog. During a year that I am able to train and race dogs, my sled dogs will run over 2500 miles.  You wait all season to run the dogs…you either take good care of them or they get injured and are out for the season.  Same thing with our hunting dogs.

"To the left is a picture of Mr. Bean…my main dog I have used  for guiding for many years.  Bean will be 9 years old this coming summer. I pay careful attention to his joints as he can easily get injured, especially his shoulders and wrists.

 "During the hunting season I treat and care for my hunting dogs as if they were my sled dogs running 30-50 miles a day.  If I don’t take care of  my dogs like that they will fall apart after a week or two of guiding.  Many times I see hunters that come up north and can only hunt two or three days with their dogs and then they have the rest of the week with no dog because it is either lame or the feet or joints are badly swollen.  I know if they knew what we did as mushers about dog care it would make the difference of hunting 2-3 days with your dog versus the whole week.  I do not have a pool of 4-5 dogs to draw from to use as guide dogs for 50+ days of hunting each season.   I usually only have one or two dogs and my partner Skip has one or two dogs to guide over.  This past year, between Skip and I, we took clients on 85 hunts 0ver an eight week period and ran with only four primary dogs.  Our "guide dog" team consisted of Mr. Bean over 8 years old, who doesn't handle heat real well, 7 years old Timber whose had two off season ACL surgeries unrelated to hunting, 5 1/2 years old Rain, who is a hunting machine, and 2 1/2 years old Aspen, who has "no quit" in her head.

"Our guide business depends on our dogs being able to hunt day in and day out.  By recognizing each of their individual needs and taking care of them, they, in turn, are able to guide and take care of our clients.  During this part of the seminar I share with you the steps we to take to get the most from our dogs so you can do the same with your dog and to make sure he/she is in top form and continues to perform well throughout the hunting season.  

"This past season I was asked by a water fowl/upland hunter friend of ours for some advice on how his party might better take care of their dogs while on their hunt out west.  After their trip I received the following email: 

Ann,  I am writing in reference to a recent hunting trip which we take to ND on a yearly basis. On this particular trip which was different we used some of the items you recommended such as Algyval, dog jackets and the energizing protein in water. I have a Springer spaniel which we hunt all day, ducks in the morning and upland game in the afternoon. The protein kept her going good all day and what I especially liked were the dog jackets in which we put the hand warmers in specified places which helped with muscular stiffness and gave her more energy through the week.

Thanks for the letting us know about these Great products.   John Dembowiak

"I hope you will take advantage of Skip and I coming to you with this seminar.  I know many of you would be thrilled to see the logging that has been done in your area, or locate overgrown fields and edges, be able to plan a trip to a new area and have it completely researched before you get there.  The hunting strategies will help you hone in on the time of year you are hunting and what to look for in the way of cover,  food sources and many other factors.  I believe you will really enjoy the part about enhancing your dog's comfort so that he/she hunts at his/her top performance for you.  You wait all year for those few weeks that you enjoy hunting.  This seminar really focuses on preparing for the season,  finding new areas to hunt, switching cover and hunting strategies  based on weather, dispersal, time of year and food needs.

"I hope to see you at one of our seminars and I know you will really enjoy this program.  It is packed with information so be ready to absorb a lot of material. "    Ann M Jandernoa, Glidden WI January '10

2010 Schedule:   (*Location=greater area)

Sem#   Day     Date          *Location                 Time         Meeting Room facility, address, phone number    

Registration information:

The cost for the 4 hour seminar, including a workbook and a resources book noted in Ann's letter, is $75.00 with pre-registration.  The cost at the door is $85.00.  You can pre-register by going to our Online Store.  You can call us at our office, 715-264-2160, but when you do please leave a message and your evening number as we are in the field most every day until evening training dogs, scouting grouse habitat, etc. We'll call you back as soon as practical.  You can send us an email at contactus@northwindenterprises.us with your contact information and we'll get back to you.  You can pre-register by mail using a personal check or providing your credit card information by sending your request to Northwind Enterprises, LLC R1 Box 304 Glidden WI 54527. 

Non-public seminars:

If you know of approximately 20 people from a given area (hunt club, dog club, etc.) who would like us to conduct the Northwind 2010 PRO Hunter Seminar described above at a place, date, and time of their choosing, please designate a contact person and call or email us and we will try to accommodate your request.  The cost of a "non-public" seminar is dependent on the number of participants and our travel requirements.     

If you have any questions about the Northwind 2010 PRO Hunter Seminars,  or any other questions or comments, please let us know.  We look forward to hearing from.   

Northwind Enterprises, LLC

R1 Box 304 Glidden WI 54527

(715) 264-2160

email: contactus@northwindenterprises.us