Camp Ripley and Arden Hills Minnesota Army National Guard Training Sites Conservation Program Report

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Camp Ripley and Arden Hills Minnesota Army National Guard Training Sites Conservation Program Report This document is made available electronically by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library as part of an ongoing digital archiving project. http://www.leg.state.mn.us/lrl/lrl.asp CCAAMMPP RRIIPPLLEEYY AANNDD AARRDDEENN HHIILLLLSS MMIINNNNEESSOOTTAA AARRMMYY NNAATTIIOONNAALL GGUUAARRDD TTRRAAIINNIINNGG SSIITTEESS CCOONNSSEERRVVAATTIIOONN PPRROOGGRRAAMM RREEPPOORRTT 22000099 AANNNNUUAALL RREEPPOORRTT Mississippi River © BillMARCHEL.com Cover Photography: Mississippi River, courtesy Bill Marchel, copyright BillMarchel.com. Camp Ripley and Arden Hills Minnesota Army National Guard Training Sites Conservation Program Report 2009 Annual Report January 1 – December 31, 2009 Brian J. Dirks, Animal Survey Coordinator Nancy J. Dietz, Animal Survey Assistant Division of Ecological Resources Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for the Minnesota Army National Guard MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES CAMP RIPLEY SERIES REPORT NO. 19 ©2010, State of Minnesota This report should be cited as follows: Dirks, B. J. and N. J. Dietz. 2010. Camp Ripley and Arden Hills Minnesota Army National Guard Training Sites Conservation Program Report – 2009 Annual Report, January 1-December 31, 2009. Camp Ripley Series Report No. 19, Little Falls, USA. 245 pp. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................................... I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................. V INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 1 CAMP RIPLEY TRAINING SITE ..................................................................................................................... 1 ARDEN HILLS ARMY TRAINING SITE ........................................................................................................ 3 RESPONSIBILITIES........................................................................................................................................... 3 PARTNERSHIPS ................................................................................................................................................. 4 PROGRAM AREAS ............................................................................................................................................ 4 CULTURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................. 4 NATURAL RESOURCES ................................................................................................................................ 6 FORESTRY .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Forest Inventory ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 Forest Inventory and Analysis – Northern Research Station ...................................................................................... 6 Timber Sales ............................................................................................................................................................... 9 Fuelwood Permits ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 Tree Planting ............................................................................................................................................................ 15 Insects and Disease ................................................................................................................................................... 15 Land Fund ................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) .................................................................................................................... 17 LiDAR Forest Metrics ......................................................................................................................................... 18 VEGETATION MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................. 20 Camp Ripley Prescribed Fire .................................................................................................................................... 20 Arden Hills Army Training Site Prescribed Fire ...................................................................................................... 23 Camp Ripley and Arden Hills Army Training Sites Invasive Plants ........................................................................ 24 Camp Ripley Common Tansy Chemical Herbicide Treatments .......................................................................... 25 Camp Ripley Spotted Knapweed and Leafy Spurge Chemical Herbicide Treatment .......................................... 27 Biological Control ............................................................................................................................................... 28 Website ................................................................................................................................................................ 29 Future Research ................................................................................................................................................... 30 CAMP RIPLEY WATER RESOURCES........................................................................................................ 30 Sylvan Dam Reservoir Water Quality Analysis ....................................................................................................... 30 WILDLIFE ................................................................................................................................................... 32 Species in Greatest Conservation Need .................................................................................................................... 32 Camp Ripley Birds ................................................................................................................................................... 33 Christmas Bird Count .......................................................................................................................................... 33 Songbirds ............................................................................................................................................................. 33 Totals and Trends ........................................................................................................................................... 34 Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) Songbird Models (Restani and Newton 2009) .................................. 38 Eastern Bluebird (Sialis sialis) Nest Boxes ......................................................................................................... 40 Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) ................................................................................................................. 42 Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) Nest Boxes .................................................................................................................. 43 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) ............................................................................................................... 43 Osprey (Pandion haleaetus) ................................................................................................................................ 47 Page i 2009 Conservation Program Report Owl Surveys ........................................................................................................................................................ 47 Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) Survey ................................................................................................... 50 Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) ....................................................................................................................... 54 Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) .................................................................................................................... 57 Camp Ripley Mammals ............................................................................................................................................ 58 Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) ..................................................................................................................................... 58 Federal Court Decision ................................................................................................................................... 58 Wolf Monitoring Background ......................................................................................................................... 59 Wolf Movements and Status ........................................................................................................................... 59 Wolf Mortalities.............................................................................................................................................. 64 Black Bear (Ursus
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