Observations and Insights by Ann Jandernoa, Northwind Enterprises, LLC

August 14, 2009 - Wolves in Northern WI

Summer is here with a vengeance!  It is starting to get dry but at least the broods are able to fend for themselves and are at this point deep in cover where it is cooler and probably along the wetter areas in the forest.

Spring was for the most part nice and drumming was heard all over the north.  If you look at the drumming reports provided in my July observations (below) you will see that the highest drumming counts are in southern Price county,   Eastern Rusk, Taylor, and Lincoln Counties.  The rest of the counties are nowhere near what these counties are that I have cited.  You can almost draw a line from Rusk across Price and into Lincoln Co. and see that this is the area with the highest drumming counts for the entire state.  One thing about these areas all have in common is that they are primarily county land with the exception of Taylor Co which is federal land.  

I have seen a number of broods this year, but for the most part, if you pressed me for a brood count, I would say the average has been 5 chicks.  Nothing spectacular, but hopefully in some of the other areas they are seeing higher brood counts. 

Now, something that no one likes to talk about, but I feel compelled to address: the presence of wolves in Northern WI.  There is a large population of wolves and and if you come to Northern Wisconsin planning to run your dog(s) without a bell or beeper you are asking for trouble.   Dependent on who you talk with, some of the county, state, and federal forestry/DNR people do not want to talk about the problem of wolves and are doing you an injustice by not telling you how much of a problem it really is.  What prompted me to address this subject is that I just got off the phone with a grouse hunter that is planning to travel all the way from Alaska to Wisconsin to hunt.  He had just gotten off the phone with a county forester who works in an area known to be home to several wolf packs and the forester did not stress the need for use of bell or beeper, basically played down the problem.  All the forester talked about about was habitat and birds.  How would you, or anyone feel, making that long flight home, with an injured dog, or worse, leaving your dead dog back in Wisconsin because you hadn't been told how best to minimize the possibility of your dog getting into trouble with a wolf.  Shame on that forester for not saying anything to help prevent this.  All too often many of our public officials are afraid in the short term of losing the tourism dollar and not considering the long term impact on a hunter who loses his/her dog when the situation might have been prevented. Many of our clients have asked me if I worry about wolves when I am out guiding.  Of course the possibility of there being a wolf or wolves in the area is always in the back of my mind (its a little like swimming in the ocean and staying aware of the under-tow, but you still go in the water).   Before I take my dogs on a hunt, however, I have done my home work, checking on any wolf activity in the area, and preparing my dogs properly by training them to work close and to check in as needed, and by outfitting them with bells and beepers (no exceptions)  Even when I take one of my sled dogs for a walk they wear bells and stay in close.  Even though five years ago I lost a sled dog pup who dug out of his kennel late one night to a wolf kill, I do not hate wolves, I do believe there are currently too many wolves in Northern WI and not enough area for all the other vulnerable animals (deer, elk, livestock, sheep, dogs, etc.) to cohabitate and not have problems.  As the number of wolves increases (and this is true in Northern MN and MI too), the biggest problem is that they become more bold and over time loose their fear of humans.   Having said that, however, I believe that the presence of a bell or beeper on a bird dog sends a signal to the wolf that there is a human near by with a gun and for that reason they tend to stay away.

Over the past three years the WI DNR has kept a deprivation count on their website.  I don't vouch for its accuracy, however, because I personally know of other incidents that have not been documented and put on their site.  The majority of the kills have been bear dogs who tend to create a lot of noise and consternation as they unknowingly chase the bear through the wolf's territory, but some bird dog's have encountered wolves too.  I have combined the three years and broke them out by county.

Mid January, 2009

Many of you have asked how the relocation of our business from the Park Falls area to our Northwind Wilderness Base Camp northeast of Glidden, WI is going. 

Since our last guided grouse hunt the day before deer gun season opened the week before Thanksgiving we have be moving our sled dog and bird dog kennels to Camp and I have been spending most every day at the Camp.  We have solar and propane for some of the basics, but working "off the grid" and in the middle of the Northwoods 3 miles from the nearest neighbor has brought unique challenges.

Now that I am literally working in the middle of some ideal grouse habitat, every day I am learning more about these wild birds.  I was driving into to Camp the other afternoon when I saw 4 grouse already feeding and it was 2:40 p.m..  Usually they feed just at dusk but not tonight.  The temperature high for the day was 0°F and when I saw the grouse it was then -2°F and headed down.  At 4:00 p.m. I started feeding the kennel at the Camp and I noticed that the temperature was -6°F and when I finished over an hour later it was already -12°F.  Now as I write this at 7:15p.m. it is -15°F.  They say it should dip below -20°F tonight.  Not all that unusual for northern Wisconsin, but still very cold.

The sky is clear tonight and loaded with stars and it is very still here in the woods.  I started a fire in the pit outside our Northwinds Sled Dog Adventures warming hut because it makes it easier to work with the dogs when I let them out to free run.  I imagine I have already burned through a cord of wood so far in the last couple of weeks.  I am cleaning up most of the old poplar that  might be a little punky and not good for anything but a bonfire. 

The wolves are active but are staying away from the kennel.  When Skip came up to Camp this morning he mentioned all the tracks on the logging road.  He said it looked like there were at least 5-6 wolves running the main road last night.  When I drove out late morning to head to Park Falls I was really surprised at the area the wolves worked.  They worked a stretch of road that was over 2.5 miles long.  Digging in the banks and the dirt and marking their territory.  However, they did not come down our Camp's access road.  They have left that area alone, almost as if there is some invisible boundary. The other day when I was headed back into Camp I saw what at first I thought was one of my sled dogs in the distance.  I wondered "how did CJ get lose" then the animal turned and it was a big gray and black wolf.  He quickly darted into the woods.  He had been tracking something across the road and was preoccupied till he heard the vehicle and then bounded into the woods.  Once again he only came just so far down the main road and then turned away. 

I imagine when my sled dogs howl it sounds like one huge wolf pack and typically I have found the wolves stay away or have only a certain distance they will come in toward the kennel and work the edges.      

The other night Skip and I went for a snowmobile ride on one of the many trails we have been developing for our sled dogs and for grouse hunting in the fall.  We saw several grouse feeding just before dusk.   We have a type of snowmobile that can run in deep powder, off the groomed trails, and when we finally came out of the woods onto a plowed logging road we took the road back to our Camp's access road.  We found an area where the wolves had killed a deer and all that was left were small clumps of deer hair on the road.  Once again this was over a mile (as the crow flies) from the Camp.   This has been interesting so far but sooner or later they will test the kennel and come in close.   What I have also noticed is that we are getting deer in and around the Camp.  They have been walking the sled dog trails and the access road. It is as if the deer know that the wolves will only come so far.  When we had our kennel outside of Park Falls this same thing happened there.  The deer would bed down by the kennel and the coyotes and wolves would be farther out away from the edge of the kennel.

We have been seeing quite a few grouse in the evenings and there is plenty of snow for them to dive in and form a burrow.  I hope in the next few weeks to spend extended time in the woods looking for the birds at dusk and trying to get a better idea of numbers and winter feeding grounds.  Looks like I will have to take the snowmobile, chainsaw, and snowshoes to do this but it should be interesting. 

Our English pointers are all nestled in their houses and have been doing well.  We have a couple litters of sled dog pups on the ground and they are a lot of fun.  In a few more weeks  our relocation should be complete and will not have to make the drive back and forth Park Falls every day.   With our residence in Glidden, the drive to Camp is less than 7 miles.

Park Falls is just a little too crowded with people and there is no decent place to train my sled dog teams. I enjoy spending my days out here in the woods, in a very small warming hut with the sled dogs.  I can work with the dogs and not have to worry about traffic and just let the dogs run in the big fenced-in kennel area.  I should have most of the primary trails finished soon and I will be able to start harness breaking pups.     I feel like I have stepped back in time with gas lamps and campfires, but am enjoying the winter this year more than I ever have.  Skip has been working on dog pens and the buildings.  This has been a huge project, over two years so far in the making,  but it has been worth it and we are really enjoying ourselves.   

I had better close for now and but before I do I will take another look at the temperature….-18F that is a three degree drop in 20 minutes.  I bet we will be close to thirty below by morning.

Take care, Ann

p.s. - to all our grouse hunting and bird dog training partners, remember, you can always get in touch with us by emailing us at contactus@northwindenterprises.us .  We'd love to hear from you.

Early January, 2009  Happy New Year

Another clear cold day up here in the woods at our Camp.  Temperatures this morning were -13°F and the other morning it was -18°F not so bad so far this winter.  They are calling for another cold snap this week with highs around 2°F.  The  early moon is out full and laready illuminating the woods.  Every once in awhile you can hear a tree pop from the cold.  This morning all the trees were etched in frost and they looked like they were crystal in the early morning sun.   I figured it was finally time for me to write a Grouse News update for our website visitors.

Grouse season this year seemed as good as last year and I saw an increase in the number of hunters coming into the Park Falls area.  Some of the areas, however, I heard were not as good as the 2007 season.   I heard that the National Forest wasn't as good which doesn’t surprise me.  In a few more seasons we will not be hunting the national forest at all in Wisconsin.  As with other national forests they are not managing the forests, clear cutting,  needed to sustain a good grouse habitat.  It is disappointing to see all this land go to waste and not be managed by good, sustainable forestry.  Basically if you are a forester you sure do not want to work for the USFS because they have become a bunch of tree huggers!  In Wisconsin you will have to look to county land and industrial forest land (private timber company) for the future of grouse hunting.  

There are some new areas that we will be mapping this year in county land that show a lot of promise for future grouse habitat.  This year I will be expanding the number of books in Wisconsin to include some areas where they are actively being logged.  I will also be mapping some industrial forest land in various counties.  There are still a lot of great areas to hunt in Wisconsin but there will be a shift from the federal lands to county, industrial forest lands.   There will be some new areas in lower Michigan around the Pigeon River area and south of there.  Also few new books in PA, MN and ME. 

A couple of weeks ago just before Christmas,  Skip and I took a drive and saw a nice group of grouse feeding at dusk.  We counted about 8 birds along a quarter mile stretch of the main logging road in the county .  We enjoy watching the grouse bob from limb to limb and eat buds silhouetted by the setting sun.

We are starting to put our schedule together for the Northwind PRO Hunter Workshops for this spring.  If there is someone that is interested in having us come to your area please give us a call (715-264-2160) and we will see if we can work this out.  We will be conducting the WI and MN in early spring and then later will head south for two weeks.  The later start south is due to wanting to get past drumming season so I can conduct my drumming counts and also get past break up and the mud that comes with spring.  We are currently moving our kennel to the woods at our Northwind Wilderness Base Camp and the road into the Camp is over a mile long.  I want to make sure all the mud is gone and hopefully it is somewhat dry before heading south so the dogs will be settled in and be ready for summer. 

When we head south if there is anyone interested in us bringing your dog back to our Camp for "in the woods training for grouse and woodcock" please let us know.  We can help you get a jump start on the 2009 grouse season by working with your dog in the middle of the ideal Nothwoods grouse habitat.  You can pick up your dog either later in the summer or at the start of the grouse season.  We have had a lot of interest in our training programs, especially since we are able to work the dogs in the habitat in which they are going to hunt.  Those that have hunted with us know we work our dogs very close because you have to if you are going to have a good guide dog.  We expect a lot out of our dogs and it makes the hunt more enjoyable when the dog is working for you in accordance to the cover for the time of year. 

I will close for now and hope that everyone has had a great Christmas and drop us a line and let us know how you are doing. 

Take care

Ann             

September 1, 2008

Some of you have called or emailed looking for some information on what Skip and I are expecting for the grouse season in our neck of the woods. We both feel this season should be the same as last year or maybe even a little better.  I have seen several broods with most being from 3-4 chicks.  When they flush across the trail in front of  you its hard to tell what might have crossed before you saw the first chick.

This summer has provided ample food for the chicks and overall there has been enough rain.  I can only write about our area and am not implying this information should cover all of northern Wisconsin.  Right now it is getting a little dry but the birds can easily move to lower ground.  We have already had one frost and should have another next week.  That is all I can tell you…time will tell what we will end up with this fall. 

Each area of Wisconsin is going to be a little different due to the differences in weather patterns.

As for woodcock, both Skip and I feel the number of resident birds seems to be down somewhat, at least where we have been scouting grouse, from last year, but then again, its the fight birds we start looking  for as it begins to get colder north of us and obviously that's still a few weeks out from now.