LOSTWOOD NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Kenmare, North Dakota ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1934 U.S. Department of the Interi
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LOSTWOOD NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Kenmare, North Dakota ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1934 U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM \ REVIEW AND APPROVALS » LOSTWOOD NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Kenmare, North Dakota ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1984 Refuge Supervisor Review Date Regional Office Approval Date INTRODUCTION The 26,747 acre Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge lies in northwestern North Dakota, 23 miles,south of the Canadian border and 70 miles east of the Montana line. It was established in 1935 by Executive Order 7171 as a " . refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wild life . within Burke and Mountrail Counties on the Missouri du Coteau (a geological feature created by a terminal moraine deposited about 10,000 years ago by the Wisconsin glacier). The refuge topography is rolling to steep hills covered with native (70%) and tame (30%) grasslands, small patches of aspen (about 1% of the refuge), and numerous wetlands. This is the largest block of native grassland under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ownership in the pothole region of Minnesota, Montana, and North and South Dakota. The hills are most frequently covered with western snowberry, needle-and-thread, green needlegrass, western wheatgrass, blue grama, plains muhly, small-flower aster, northern bedstraw, goldenrod, wild licorice, meadow anemone, white sage and others. Some of the native resident fauna include sharp-tailed grouse, whitetail deer, beaver, coyote, and whitetail jackrabbit. The native migratory fauna include waterfowl (mallard, wigeon, gadwall, blue-winged teal, giant Canada goose and others), shorebirds (upland plover, marbled godwit, avocet, piping plover, and others), passerines (clay-colored sparrow, Sprague's pipit, sharp-tailed hawk, Swainson's hawk, marsh hawk, short-eared owl, and others). The grassland and associated wildlife are enhanced and/or maintained by land use management practices such as idle, prescribed burning, grazing and others. Public use facilities on the refuge include a self-guided auto route, a hiking trail and a photo blind on a sharp-tailed grouse dancing ground. Binding, photography, hunting for grouse, Hungarian partridge and deer are the main public use activities. In 1975, the 5577 acre Lostwood Wilderness Area was established by P.L. 93-632, 12, Section L (d) (12). On 1 July 1973, Lostwood NWR, staffed with a resident manager and one maintenance man, was placed under the administration of the Des Lacs Complex, headquartered at Des Lacs NWR in Kenmare, North Dakota. LEGEND it Refuge Headquarters | | Area A Q Contact Station nArea b ^ Tower m Gates | | Area C | Missile Site III)I Wilderness Boundary - — —Auto Route 4^0 Lakes and larger wetlands • • • • Hiking Trail Sod Trails Trails LOSTWOOD NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE P.O. BOX 578 KENMARE, NORTH DAKOTA 58746 REFUGE REGULATIONS GENERAL PERMITTED: Hiking on designated trails—June 1 to September 14. The wilderness area is open to hiking, snowshoeing.and skiing year-round. For your safety you must register at Refuge Headquarters. Auto Route—May 1 to September 14 Specific information and a map of designated routes is posted at the contact station. PROHIBITED: Camping, snowmobiles, and fires. All motorized vehicles are prohibited except on designated roads. HUNTING Hunting is governed by State and Federal regulations. Only those species listed below are legal game. UPLAND BIRDS Area A: Closed to all hunting—headquarters area. Area B: Open to sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge during state season. EXCEPTION: Closed during gun deer season. Area C: Open to sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge only AFTER the close of gun deer season. DEER Area B and C: Open to gun deer hunting during state season. First three days: You must possess a SPECIAL REFUGE PERMIT, state unit permit (III A-,), gun deer license stamp, and deer tag. Remainder of season: Special refuge permit not required. All other permits and licenses required. Area B and C: Bow and Arrow Hunting Open to deer from beginning of state season to September 30. Reopens with the state season after the deer gun season. Retrieving Deer: Only persons who are properly licensed as above may assist in retrieving deer from the refuge. If you have filled your deer tag, you may not carry a firearm while retrieving. All persons involved in retrieving deer must wear flourescent orange clothing as required by State law for big-game hunting. A view of Lostwood's coteau prairie in fall colors KAS Oct. 1983 INTRODUCTION Page TABLE OF CONTENTS A. HIGHLIGHTS B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS C. LAND ACQUISITION 1. Fee Title Nothing to Report 2. Easements Nothing to Report 3. Other Nothing to Report D. PLANNING Master Plan Nothing to Report Management Plan 3 Public Participation Compliance with Environmental and Cultural Resource Mandates Nothing to Report Research and Investigations Nothing to Report Other Nothing to Report E. ADMINISTRATION Personnel 9 Youth Programs * * * 12 Other Manpower Programs Nothing to Report Volunteer-cm v* ProgramD r-i v* r* m Funding 13 Safety ....... 14- Technical Assistance Other 16 F. HABITAT MANAGEMENT 1. General 17 2. Wetlands 19 3. Forests Noth'ing to Report 4. Croplands ~ 20 5. Grasslands 20 6. Other Habitats Nothing to Report 7. Grazing 21 8. Haying 21 9. Fire Management 22 33 10. Pest Control , . ^ n 11. Water Rights Nothing to Report 12. Wilderness and Special Areas * * * * 13. WPA Easement Monitoring * Nothing to Report G. WILDLIFE Page 1. Wildlife Diversity 33 2. Endangered and/or Threatened Species 34 3. Waterfowl . 34 4. Marsh and Water Birds 40 5. Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns and Allied Species 40 6. Raptors 41 7. Other Migratory Birds . 42 8. Game Mammals 42 9. Marine Mammals Nothing to Report 10. Other Resident Wildlife 42 11. Fisheries Resources Nothing to Report 12. Wildlife Propagation and Stocking Nothing to Report 13. Surplus Animal Disposal Nothing to Report 14. Scientific Collections Nothing to Report 15. Animal Control 49 16. Marking and Banding Nothing to Report 17. Disease Prevention and Control Nothing to Report N. PUBLIC USE 1. General 49 2. Outdoor Classrooms - Students Nothing to Report 3. Outdoor Classrooms - Teachers Nothing to Report 4. Interpretive Foot Trails Nothing to Report 5. Interpretive Tour Routes Nothing to Report 6. Interpretive Exhibits/Demonstrations Nothing to Report 7. Other Interpretive Programs 49 8. Hunting 49 9. Fishing Nothing to Report 10. Trapping Nothing to Report 11. Wildlife Observation Nothing to Report 12. Other Wildlife Oriented Recreation Nothing to Report 13. Camping Nothing to Report 14. Picnicking Nothing to Report 15. Off-Road Vehicling Nothing to Report 16. Other Non-Wildlife Oriented Recreation .... Nothing to Report 17. Law Enforcement 50 18. Cooperating Associations Nothing to Report 19. Concessions Nothing to Report I. EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES 1. New Construction 50 2. Rehabilitation 50 3. Major Maintenance Nothing to Report 4. Equipment Utilization and Replacement .* * * * ^ 5. Communications Systems . Nothing to Report 6. Computer Systems Nothing to Report 7. Energy Conservation s Nothing to Report 8. Other 51 J. OTHER ITEMS Page 1. Cooperative Programs • * * ^ 2. Other Economic Uses - • Nothing to Report 3. Items of Interest 52 4. Credits 53 K. FEEDBACK L. INFORMATION PACKET (inside back cover) v Page 1 A. HIGHLIGHTS In 1984, there was snow in 9 of the 12 months. One severe snowstorm on 27 April adversely affected several wildlife species. May through Sept ember had below normal precipitation, and by August, class I, III and IV wetlands were dry (pages 2 and 3). Mallard and pintail pair counts continue to drop, while other duck species remain normal. Waterfowl hatching success is back up to the 1980-81 levels (pages 36 and 37). There were several non-game species censuses completed in 1984 (pages 43 & 45). National Geographic Society completed their book entitled "Wildlands for Wildlife" by Noel Grove. Lostwood NWR is discussed in the book (page 16). The Lostwood Wilderness Plan has been reworked for submission to Denver (page 3). John Stewart received a Special Achievement Award (page 53). The coal bin was remodelled (page 51). An emergency hay program was completed (page 21). Two grassland tours were given to the general public. One was by bus and the other by horseback (page 49). A presentation was given to the North Dakota State University about the prescribed burning program on Lostwood NWR (page 16). Page 2 B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS The 1983-84 winter (November through April) was relatively mild following the December-January blast of cold. Total precipitation was actually above normal but when and how it fell did not ease the spring-summer drought conditions. Rain totalled only 4.33 inches from May through August, 5.60 inches below normal. This is the third year in a row that the precipitation average was below normal during the growing season. Local residents express the dryness as similar to the dirty thirties. It became so dry in late July and August that all planned summer burns were cancelled. Strong winds accompanied the growing season's dryness. Duck pair counts begun on 14 May could not be started again until the 18th due to 30 to 40 mph winds for 3h days. The other unusual weather occurrence was the 27 April snowstorm (photo #5). (Table #1 presents the 1984 temperature and precipitation records). Table 1. 1984 Weather Recrods & 45 Year Average Precipitation Temperatures* Precipitation Mo. Max. Ave. Max. Min. Ave. Min. Rain-Melt 45 Yr. Ave. Jan 45 23 -25 4 0.81* 0.43 Feb 53 36 -12 15 0.20* 0.52 Mar 58 32 -12 15 0.81* 0.58 Apr 68 54 19 32 5.74* 1.32 May 92 62 20 35 0.36 2.04 Jun 90 75 39 49 1.70 3.55 Jul 102 86 40 52 1.29 2.29 Aug 99 86 36 53 0.98 2.05 Sep 86 60 22 35 2.54 1.90 Oct 76 50 - 1 29 4.10 0.91 Nov 58 31 -19 11 0.74* 0.51 Dec 40 17 -18 - 5 0.21* 0.50 TOTALS 19.48 16.60 *Records from the Des Lacs NWR weather station Page 3 On 27 April 1984 a North Dakota blizzard hit and lasted 1^ days.