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Wildlife Division Research and Management Report, 2008

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Wildlife Division Research and Management Report, 2008 Maine Department of Inland Fisheries And Wildlife Roland D. Martin, Commissioner Wildlife Division Research & Management Report 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS steward of maine’s wildlife resources ........................................................................................................ 3 FUNDING WILDLIFE AND HABITAT STEWARDSHIP .................................................................................................. 4 IMPLEMENTING SUCCESSFUL HABITAT PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT ........................................................ 6 COLLABORATION WITH PARTNERS ................................................................................................................................ 6 Maine’s Wildlife Action Plan: From Vision to On-the-Ground Action ................................................................. 6 Working with Partners to Bring Back Wildlife and Natural Areas - Restoring Seabirds to Eastern Brothers Island ................................................................................................................................... 6 BEGINNING WITH HABITAT ............................................................................................................................................ 6 LANDOWNER IN C ENTIVE PROGRAM ............................................................................................................................... 7 HABITAT MA pp ING AND ANALYSES ............................................................................................................................... 9 Wetlands, NRPA, and Shoreland Zoning ........................................................................................................... 9 Development Mapping Update ........................................................................................................................... 9 Wildlife Habitat Connectivity ............................................................................................................................. 10 Lynx Habitat Work ............................................................................................................................................ 10 Significant Vernal Pool Mapping ....................................................................................................................... 11 PROTE C TING WILDLIFE AND HABITAT FROM OIL SP ILLS .............................................................................................. 11 Petroleum Products and Wildlife Response in Maine ....................................................................................... 11 2008 Oil and Hazardous Material Spills ........................................................................................................... 11 Maine / New Hampshire Area Committee ........................................................................................................ 11 Wildlife Rehabilitation ....................................................................................................................................... 12 IMPLEMENTING SUCCESSFUL WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT ...................................................................................... 13 REGIONAL WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS .......................................................................................................... 13 Recreational Opportunities on Wildlife Management Areas ............................................................................. 13 Jamie’s Pond Wildlife Management Area ......................................................................................................... 14 Birding the Wildlife Management Areas ........................................................................................................... 14 Assisting Wayward Wildlife ............................................................................................................................... 15 Human-Wildlife Conflicts .................................................................................................................................. 16 WILDLIFE SP E C IES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT ....................................................................................................... 18 ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SP E C IES CONSERVATION .......................................................................................... 18 BIRD CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT .................................................................................................................... 20 Nokomis Regional High School Surveys Black Terns for 17th Year ................................................................ 20 Great Blue Heron Census Planned for 2009 .................................................................................................... 20 Common Eider Survival Investigation - Are Current Harvests Sustainable? .................................................... 21 Woodcock ......................................................................................................................................................... 21 Ruffed Grouse .................................................................................................................................................. 22 Wild Turkey ....................................................................................................................................................... 22 Waterfowl Harvest ............................................................................................................................................ 22 Harlequin Duck Surveys ................................................................................................................................... 23 Rusty Blackbirds ............................................................................................................................................... 24 Bald Eagle ........................................................................................................................................................ 24 MAMMAL CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ....................................................................................................26 White-tailed Deer .............................................................................................................................................. 26 Moose ............................................................................................................................................................... 29 Black Bear ........................................................................................................................................................ 30 Furbearers and Small Game Mammals ............................................................................................................ 32 Canada Lynx .................................................................................................................................................... 33 New England Cottontail .................................................................................................................................... 34 RE P TILE , AM P HIBIAN , AND INVERTEBRATE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT .............................................................. 35 Amphibians and Reptiles .................................................................................................................................. 35 Invertebrates ..................................................................................................................................................... 38 Special Habitats for Amphibians, Reptiles, and Invertebrates .......................................................................... 41 2 “STEWARDS of Maine’S WILDLIFE RESOURCES” The dedicated, professional biologists of the Wildlife Division, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW), are the “stewards of Maine’s wildlife resources.” Without wildlife, which we all love and enjoy, Maine would not be the same – and the biologists of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife protect and manage your wildlife. Many of us choose to live in Maine for the opportunity to share our world with wildlife, whether we feed the birds in our back yard, hunt deer in the north woods, appreciate the beauty of butterflies, kayak the coast to observe seabirds, or just enjoy seeing a big bull moose in a bog. To be healthy and thrive, all animals need a place to live where they can find food, water, and shelter – biologists refer to this “place” as habitat. When habitat is lost or degraded, we lose the diversity of wildlife we currently enjoy. Conserving and managing wildlife habitat is a major responsibility of Maine’s wildlife biologists. High quality habitat – an assortment of environments in which plants and animals live, like a patchwork quilt of differing habitats – preserves abundant and diverse wildlife populations. These habitats provide many other benefits to the public, including strong economic benefits to Maine communities. The economic impact of wildlife recreation in Maine was estimated to be over 1.1 billion dollars in 1996, surpassing Maine’s other recreation industries. The efforts of the biologists of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to protect wildlife and habitat – funded by your purchase of loon license plates, contributions to the chickadee tax check-off, purchase of Maine Outdoor lottery tickets, and the purchase
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