Minnesota Army National Guard Camp Ripley Training Center and Arden Hills Army Training Site
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MINNESOTA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD CAMP RIPLEY TRAINING CENTER AND ARDEN HILLS ARMY TRAINING SITE 2013 CONSERVATION PROGRAM REPORT Cover Photography: Fringed gentian (Gentiana crinita), Camp Ripley Training Center, 2011, Laura May, Camp Ripley Volunteer. Minnesota Army National Guard Camp Ripley Training Center and Arden Hills Army Training Site 2013 Conservation Program Report January 1 – December 31, 2013 Division of Ecological and Water Resources Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for the Minnesota Army National Guard Compiled by Nancy J. Dietz, Animal Survey Assistant Brian J. Dirks, Animal Survey Coordinator MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES CAMP RIPLEY SERIES REPORT NO. 23 ©2014, State of Minnesota Contact Information: MNDNR Information Center 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4040 (651) 296-6157 1-888-MINNDNR (646-6367) Telecommunication Device for the Deaf (651) 296-5484 1-800-657-3929 www.dnr.state.mn.us This report should be cited as follows: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Army National Guard. 2014. Minnesota Army National Guard, Camp Ripley Training Center and Arden Hills Army Training Site, 2013 Conservation Program Report, January 1-December 31, 2013. Compiled by Nancy J. Dietz and Brian J. Dirks, Camp Ripley Series Report No. 23, Little Falls, MN, USA. 205 pp. TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................................................................... I EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ IV INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 1 RESPONSIBILITIES ............................................................................................................................................ 1 PARTNERSHIPS .................................................................................................................................................. 2 PROGRAM AREAS .............................................................................................................................................. 2 CAMP RIPLEY TRAINING CENTER .......................................................................................................... 2 Cultural Resources ........................................................................................................................... 4 Program Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Field Survey ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Submittals ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Inadvertent Discovery of Human Remains ................................................................................................... 7 Geographic Information System and Data Management .............................................................................. 8 Natural Resources ............................................................................................................................ 8 Forestry ........................................................................................................................................................ 8 Forest Inventory ...................................................................................................................................... 8 Forest Cover Types.................................................................................................................................. 8 Forest Inventory and Analysis – Northern Research Station ................................................................. 10 Reforestation ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Timber Sales .......................................................................................................................................... 10 Fuelwood Permits .................................................................................................................................. 16 Insects and Diseases .............................................................................................................................. 16 Land Fund ............................................................................................................................................. 16 Vegetation Management ............................................................................................................................. 21 Prescribed Fire ....................................................................................................................................... 21 Invasive Species .................................................................................................................................... 24 Invasive Species Management Program ........................................................................................... 24 Updating Distribution Maps for Targeted Species ............................................................................ 26 Zebra Mussel Survey Interior Lakes ................................................................................................. 26 Treatment of Cypress Spurge, Queen Anne’s Lace, and Purple Loosestrife .................................... 26 Recently Developed Training Sites Survey.................................................................................. 27 Address and Treat Target Invasive Species ................................................................................. 27 Integrated Management .................................................................................................................... 28 Water Resources ......................................................................................................................................... 29 Wetland Resources ................................................................................................................................ 29 Wetland Mitigation ........................................................................................................................... 29 Miller Lake ....................................................................................................................................... 29 Wildlife ...................................................................................................................................................... 29 Species in Greatest Conservation Need ................................................................................................. 29 Birds ...................................................................................................................................................... 30 Christmas Bird Count ....................................................................................................................... 30 Breeding Bird Monitoring ................................................................................................................ 33 Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas ........................................................................................................ 36 Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) .............................................................................................. 37 Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) Nest Boxes ............................................................................................... 37 Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) .................................................................................................... 38 Osprey (Pandion haleaetus) ............................................................................................................. 41 Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) ............................................................................................ 41 Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) ............................................................................................ 42 Bald Eagle Permits ....................................................................................................................... 44 Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) .......................................................................................................... 46 Page i 2013 Conservation Program Report Owl Surveys ..................................................................................................................................... 46 Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) Nest Boxes ...................................................................................... 49 Mammals ............................................................................................................................................... 50 Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)................................................................................................................... 50 Federal Court Decision ................................................................................................................ 50 Wolf Monitoring Background .....................................................................................................