J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge Upham, North Dakota
ANNUAL NARRATIVE REPORT Calendar Year 1999
U.S. Department of Intenor Fish & Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge
Upham, North Dakota
Annual Narrative Report
Calendar Year 1999
U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System REVIEW AND APPROVALS
J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge
Upham, North Dakota
Annual Narrative Report
Calendar Year 1999
Regional Office Approval Date INTRODUCTION
The J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge is located along the Souris River in Bottineau and McHenry Counties of north-central North Dakota. The refuge was established by Executive Order Number 7170 on September 4, 1935, as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds. The 58,700-acre refuge extends from Canada southward for approximately 45 miles. The nearest town is Upham, North Dakota, located about three miles from refuge headquarters.
Included within the refuge are 36,000 acres of upland habitat composed of native and introduced grasslands, thick woodlands, shrub thickets and croplands. The northern portion is basically confined to the river valley with a narrow band of adjacent upland habitat. The southern portion of the refuge contains about 16,000 acres of native prairie interspersed with aspen and brush covered sandhills and 4,200 acres of wooded river bottom.
Wetland habitats include high value managed deep and shallow marshes within the Souris River flood plain. Five dikes with water control structures have restored 23,000 acres of open water, marsh and wet meadow habitat for waterfowl production and migration use.
While the primary objective of the refuge is waterfowl production, the area has a very diverse population of other bird species. More than 250 species have been noted, including sharp-tailed grouse on their dancing grounds in spring; Swainson's hawks in great numbers in fall; a wide variety of waterbirds, including five species of nesting grebes; and relatively rare small birds such as Sprague's pipits and Baird's and LeConte's sparrows.
More than 125 species nest on the refuge, some in great numbers. Up to 17,000 Franklin's gulls and colonies of hundreds of double-crested cormorants, great blue herons and black-crowned night herons are found. In an average year, about 18,000 ducklings are produced, including pintail, mallard, gadwall, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, American wigeon, northern shoveler, black duck, wood duck, redhead, ring-necked duck, canvasback, lesser scaup, and hooded merganser. White pelicans are present on the refuge all summer, while thousands of sandhill cranes, tundra swans, and snow geese use the refuge as a feeding and resting area during migration.
The entire refuge lies within an area which was once Glacial Lake Souris. The surrounding area is old lake bottom with extremely flat topography and a high density of temporary wetlands. These are important for waterfowl production and natural flood storage which improves water quality in the Souris River. Unfortunately, a substantial portion of the original wetlands have been drained. INTRODUCTION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page A. HIGHLIGHTS 1
B, CLIMATIC CONDITIONS 1
C. LAND ACQUISITION
1. Fee Title 1 2. Easements 1 3. Other Nothing to Report
D. PLANNING
1. Master Plan Nothing to Report 2. Management Plan Nothing to Report 3. Public Participation Nothing to Report 4. Compliance w/Environmental & Cultural Resource Mandates 3 5. Research and Investigations 3 6. Other Nothing to Report
E. ADMINISTRATION
1. Personnel 3 2. Youth Programs 4 3. Other Manpower Programs Nothing to Report 4. Volunteer Program 5 5. Funding 6 6. Safety 6 7. Technical Assistance 7 8. Other 7
F. HABITAT MANAGEMENT
1. General Nothing to Report 2. Wetlands 8 3. Forests 13 4. Croplands 13 5. Grasslands 14 6. Other Habitats Nothing to Report 7. Grazing 14 8. Haying 15 9. Fire Management 15 10. Pest Control 17 11. Water Rights Nothing to Report 12. Wilderness and Special Areas Nothing to Report 13. WPA Easement Monitoring Nothing to Report
G. WILDLIFE
1. Wildlife Diversity 18 2. Endangered and/or Threatened Species Nothing to Report 3. Waterfowl 18 4. Marsh and Water Birds 19 5. Shorebirds, Gulls, Terns and Allied Species 19 6. Raptors Nothing to Report 7. Other Migratory Birds ..20 8. Game Mammals Nothing to Report 9. Marine Mammals Nothing to Report 10. Other Resident Wildlife 21 11. Fisheries Resources 13 12. Wildlife Propagation and Stocking Nothing to Report 13. Surplus Animal Disposal Nothing to Report 14. Scientific Collections Nothing to Report 15. Animal Control Nothing to Report 16. Marking and Banding 21 17. Disease Prevention and Control 21
H. PUBLIC USE
1. General 21 2. Outdoor Classrooms - Students 22 3. Outdoor Classrooms - Teacher Nothing to Report 4. Interpretive Foot Trails 22 5. Interpretive Tour Routes 22 6. Interpretive Exhibits/Demonstrations 23 7. Other Interpretive Programs 23 8. Hunting 23 9. Fishing 24 10. Trapping Nothing to Report 11. Wildlife Observation 24 12. Other Wildlife Oriented Recreation Nothing to Report 13. Camping Nothing to Report 14. Picnicking 25 15. Off-Road Vehicling Nothing to Report 16. Other Non-Wildlife Oriented Recreation Nothing to Report 17. Law Enforcement 25 18. Cooperating Associations Nothing to Report 19. Concessions Nothing to Report
I. EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
1. New Construction 26 2. Rehabilitation 27 3. Major Maintenance 27 4. Equipment Utilization and Replacement 28 5. Communications Systems 28 6. Computer Systems 29 7. Energy Conservation Nothing to Report 8. Other Nothing to Report
J. OTHER ITEMS
1. Cooperative Programs Nothing to Report 2. Other Economic Uses Nothing to Report 3. Items of Interest 29 4. Credits Nothing to Report
K. FEEDBACK 29 A. HIGHLIGHTS
A land exchange agreement was reached (C.l).
The WMD Manager Position was filled in March (E.l).
Madden got the word on her new station in April. A replacement trainee was selected (E.l).
An equipment operator was selected and approved in June after being vacant for six years (E.I).
A USGS employee drowns while measuring river flows on the Pool 357 spillway (E.6).
Record flooding occurred on the lower portion of the Souris River (F.2).
Banding results were considerably lower than recent years despite a record one day shoot (G.16).
B. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
Very cold weather persisted until the middle of the January, when mild weather returned to the area. The coldest temperature of the month was a minus 340F on January 4, and the warmest was 41° on the 15th. A total of 15 inches of snow was recorded with a total of 0.93 inches melted precipitation or about double the normal. Snow depth on the ground at the end of the month was 17 inches.
Temperatures during February were quite mild. Only a few nights of below zero readings were recorded. The high was 40° on the 14th, and the low was -18° on the 4th. Precipitation was slightly above normal with 0.56 inches recorded. Total snowfall was 7 inches with 20 inches on the ground at the end of the month.
Although temperatures were rather mild for most of March, significant melting and runoff did not occur until the 26th due to the heavy snow cover in the area. On March 22 the snow depth was measured at 19 inches with 4.74 inches water content. The March high temperature was 52° on the 27th, and the low was a -9° on the 3rd. Total precipitation for the month was 0.98 inches in the form of 12 V2 inches of snow. By the end of the month most of the snow on open ground had melted in areas south of Upham. However, there was still a moderate snowpack in areas from Kramer north.
Ten inches of wet snow during the first week of April delayed the spring migration, and for snow geese resulted in a reverse migration to the southern parts of the state. This snow soon melted and was gone by the 9th. The rest of the month was dry and mild. Ice went out of refuge pools on April 15 as a result of heavy runoff and high water levels.
1 Ice on District lakes did not melt until the last week of April. High temperature was 74° on the 29th, and the low was 13° on the 5th.
Rain, rain, and more rain in May. Very heavy rains during the month of May resulted in widespread and serious flooding with extensive road and property damage in many parts of the district. Total precipitation at refuge headquarters was 7.77 inches compared to the normal of 2.21 inches. Rainfall amounts in Rolette County were double that of the Upham area. High temperature was 89° on the 29th, and the low was 31° on the 8th.
Warmer and drier weather during the last half of June helped to dry out fields and small wetlands. Total precipitation was 2.64 inches compared to the normal of 3.37 inches. High temperature was 83° on the 22nd, and the low was 38° on the 20th.
Rainfall of over 4 inches in July put the total for the year at 17.87 inches. This is over an inch above our annual average of 16.61 inches.
Total precipitation was 1.64 inches for the month of August. This is about a half inch below the normal. High temperature was 88° on August 5, and the low was 44° on August 13.
C. LAND ACQUISITION
1. Fee Title.
In February, a land exchange with Elmer Issendorf moved closer to completion with his acceptance of the agreement. He will receive 24 acres of tame grass in exchange for 37 acres of prairie, seeded native grass, and wetland along LaPorte Coulee. The exchange will solve some flooding problems caused by the higher water level in Pool 341 after the spillway was raised as part of the Souris Basin Flood Control project.
Other fee title acquisition activity is reported in the J. Clark Salyer WMD narrative.
2. Easement
In April, approval was received to modify the J. Clark Salyer North American Wetland Conservation Act Grant to acquire grassland easements instead of completing the South Pool 341 Project. Ducks Unlimited significantly underestimated the project cost, and there was not enough money remaining in the grant to complete it. We have been coordinating our efforts with ES, Realty, HAPET, and the WHO office to help prioritize the areas we want to pursue.
Other easement acquisition is reported in the J. Clark Salyer WMD narrative.
2 D. PLANNING
4. Compliance with Environmental and Cultural Mandates
An Environmental Assessment covering the Issendorf land exchange was finalized after ES review and Section 7 consultation.
Cultural resource clearance was received for the Scenic Trail flood damage repair project.
In December, we reviewed and commented on a draft SPCC plan for the Complex.
5. Research and Investigation
Grant and Madden began planning for upcoming field season for the fire effects nesting study in January.
The grassland bird/prescribed fire nesting study got under way: Bio Techs Gordon Berkey, Silka Finkbeiner, and Johnida Martin started work on May 10, and Mel Nenneman and Jenny Gault came on May 24. Erin Blenkhom was hired through University of Montana as a field assistant for Mel's Masters project on nest site selection. After prep work and training were completed, the crew began nest dragging on May 26.
Pam Pietz, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, began a 2-month study on the refuge using nest cameras to assess predation at grassland passerine nests. Felicia Lindley and Colleen Grau deployed the miniature nest cameras. In addition to furthering Pam's research on the efficacy of the cameras, this project will provide the refuge with valuable information on passerine predation in our grassland landscapes.
E. ADMINISTRATION
1. Personnel
The vacant WMD manager position was filled in March after looking at ten applicants on 4 certificates with several excellent candidates. Lee Albright from Arrowwood NWR started on May 23. Selections for the Range Tech for fire duties and Bio Techs for the bird study crew were made and approved. Another selection for a GS-3 temporary Bio Tech was returned to us for more study.
Bob April, also known as the J. Clark Salyer NWR Complex maintenance staff, returned to work on March 29, his first day of work in 1999 since injuring a knee at home. He worked most of the month of April, but his injured knee was not improving and surgery was scheduled for May 18. 1. Robert L. Howard, Refuge Manager, PFT 2. Gary Erickson, Assistant Refuge Manager, PFT 3. Lee Albright, Wetlands Manager, PFT, EOD 5/99 4. Todd Grant, Wildlife Biologist, PFT 5. Gary Eslinger, Biological Technician, PFT 6. Wanda Opdahl, Refuge Assistant, PFT 7. Robert April, Automotive Mechanic, WG-10, PFT 8. Marlene Goodman, Engineering Equipment Operator, WG-8, PFT 9. Elizabeth Madden, Refuge Manager/Biologist Trainee, GS-7, Transferred to Medicine Lake NWR-5/99 10. Rachel Diebold, Biologist Trainee, EOD 7/99 11. Daniel Duchscherer, Extension Biological Technician 12 Chase Marshall, Range Technician, PCS 11. Steve Schumacher, Fire Management Officer, PFT 12. Brian McManus, Zone Fire Management Officer, PFT 13. Shannon Swanson, Zone Fire Dispatcher, PFT 14. Chad Wimer, Range Technician, transferred to Long Lake NWR 15. Joseph Guariglia, Range Technician 16. Daniel Rieger, Range Technician 17. Jerald Bahn, Range Technician 18. Amanda Zimny, Range Technician 19. Colette Lunde, Range Technician 20. RuthAnn McManus, Range Technician 21. Chad Korte, Range Technician 22. Calvin Moldenhauer, Range Technician 24. Gordon, Berkey, Biological Technician 25. Melvin Nenneman, Biological Technician 26. Johnida Martin, Biological Technician 27. Silka Finkbeiner, Biological Technician 28. Jenny Gault, Biological Technician 29. Tyrell Lauckner, Range Technician 30. Dee Johnson, YCC Enrollee 31. Malynda Erickson, YCC Enrollee 32. John Takala, Private Lands Technician, Transferred to Chase Lake NWR
Beth Madden left for a biologist position at Medicine Lake NWR. Their gain and our loss in May. Rachel Diebold started as the Biologist Trainee in July.
Chad Wimer, temporary Range Tech, was selected for a position at Long Lake NWR. Good for Chad and Long Lake. He is a good one!
In July, Marlene Goodman converted from a term, WG Equipment Operator to a PFT WG-8 Engineering Equipment Operator position, funded through a RONS project. This position has been vacant since the fall of 1992. Marlene has worked on this station for
4 several years in a variety of temporary and term positions. This station is fortunate to be able to hire her.
Several staff attended aviation training held at J. Clark on July 27th.
John Takala Private Lands Technician assigned to the Turtle Mountain Project was selected to a term position at Chase Lake. He finished his tour of duty on September 30. John accomplished many unique restoration projects in the Turtle Mountains. His presence will be missed. We hope to steal him back for a few days to finish some nearly finished projects.
2. Youth Programs
Dee Johnson and Malynda Erickson were selected for the two YCC positions this year.
4. Volunteers
School groups from Minot State University - Bottineau, Turtle Mountain Community College, Midkota Public, and Upham Public helped with banding. Other banding volunteers included folks from Minot AFB, a volunteer from Audubon NWR, and staff on the payroll from Upper Souris NWR and Des Lacs NWR. Thanks for the help.
5 5. Funding
Table 1. Five-year funding summary, J. Clark Slayer NWR, 1995-99
Funding FY-95 FY-96 FY-97 FY-98 FY-99 1261 315,300 478,550 453,550 507,125 583,275 1261-FLEX 1262 104,000 11,000 11,000 2,000 27,000 1262-FLEX 1262-MMS 88,500 34,600 8,900 6860 5,000 5,000 5,000 7,836 7,800 O&M 512,800 529,150 478,450 516,961 618,075 1120 1121 23,000 23,000 36,000 34,000 49,000 1231 2,500 8,500 9,500 3,500 24,000 1971 13,355 6,058 13,927 8610 12,200 8,070 11,200 19,900 15,500 9110 60,900 9120 5,000 9251 201,934 215,069 314,250 288,300 9552 17,935 56,425 9263 22,200 TOTAL 629,755 788,589 812,702 888,611 1,031,002
6. Safety
Several staff attended aviation training held at J. Clark on July 27.
April twisted his knee at home before the first of the year and was not been able to work until late March. He had 3 torn ligaments, torn cartilage, and two small fractures in the knee. The other 2 maintenance workers listed on our organizational chart, Vacant and his cousin Vacant, were not able to take up the slack.
Two USGS employees lost their footing while making a water measurement on the 357 spillway on April 14. One managed stay on the structure, but the other was swept into about 8 feet of water and drowned. They were not wearing floatation and had not utilized a safety cable which they had available. Recovery operations were hampered by high
6 wind and cold temperatures. Well over a hundred people, including dive teams from across the State, were involved in the S/i-day effort. A Departmental Board of Inquiry was convened to investigate the accident.
USGS contacted us about placement of a permanent cable across the 700' spillway at Dam 357 to help facilitate safe flow measurement when significant flow is passing over the spillway. We expressed concern over long-term reliance on the spillway as a measurement site because of compatibility conflict with shutting off the carp barrier for measurements if a carp population becomes established in the channel below the structure.
7. Technical Assistance
Duchscherer met with Rich Mallaney from Dakota RC&D to coordinate and discuss Proper Function and Conditioning of Riparian area training course to be held in Bottineau on July 12 and 13.
At the request of Kevin Willis, Howard attended a meeting in Mohall with area farmers and Senator Kent Conrad. The meeting was set up primarily to explain the impacts of the extremely wet spring on the local ag economy. No FWS issues came up.
Howard spent a couple of hours visiting with a representative on U.S. Pipeline Company on how they may have better anticipate the problems crossing the Souris River flood plain near Towner.
Howard participated in a meeting to review, evaluated and discuss possible updating of the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture Implementation Plan.
8. Other
Grant and Madden attended the GIS workshop in Bismarck in April
Howard attended IMPACT training at the National Conservation Training Center in June.
Ron Shupe stopped by for a visit on April 7.
The Real Property Inventory was completed and submitted in the new format. The methods of assignment of property numbers over the past 65 years obviously did not take meshing of computer databases into account. We did what we could during the short time available, but we have many lumping or splitting decisions to make and will likely have to go through a major reassignment of property numbers to make things work well with the MMS process.
7 F. HABITAT MANAGEMENT
2. Wetlands
Howard provided information for an article on water management for the ND Water User's magazine in February.
Releases from Lake Darling, significant runoff in the Souris Basin below Lake Darling and strong tributary flow to J. Clark Salyer NWR produced flooding from Towner through the refuge and into Manitoba. Total inflow at Bantry was 640,210 acre-feet for the calendar year or 408 percent of the historic annual discharge, which has averaged 156,845 acre-feet for the 61 year (Water Year) period from 1938 through 1998. Measured inflows at Willow Creek and Deep River were 232,142 and 74,347 acre-feet, respectively. Total measured inflow to the refuge was 946,699 acre-feet.
Total Souris River flow at Bantry through May was 333,320 acre-feet. Flow at Bantry peaked at 2,860 cubic feet per second on April 4 and again at approximately 2,960 cubic feet per second on May 6. Flow above 2,200 cubic feet per second continued on the Souris River at Bantry through May. Willow Creek and Deep River contributed 159,545 acre-feet and 64,110 acre-feet, respectively, through May. Total measured inflow through May was 556,975 acre-feet. Willow Creek had three peaks during the spring: 2,700 cubic feet per second on April 11; 2,180 cubic feet per second on May 9; and 2,170 cubic feet per second on May 18. Deep River also had three peaks during this period: 1,300 cubic feet per second on March 31; 1,400 cubic feet per second on April 11; and 1,350 cubic feet per second on May 20.
About 135 cubic feet per second were being passed to Manitoba at the beginning of the year. This was reduced on February 13 to about 40 cubic feet per second. Movement of the Pool 320 gates to pass runoff began on March 15. Flow to Manitoba was increased on March 19. Flow through the refuge was increased in response to runoff conditions. By April 8, all control structures were wide open, and water was over spillway in all pools. Volume in the five major impoundments peaked at approximately 144,486 acre-feet on April 14, receded to about 96,601 acre-feet on May 3, and rose again to 138,738 acre-feet on May 24. Total pool volume on June 1 was 42,021 acre- feet above the maximum management volume and 84,409 acre-feet above the June 1 management target.
Pools 320 and 357 were back within spillway for a brief period in early May until flow was increased by heavy local rains. All units were finally back within spillway by July 6, but we were not permanently within our permitted management level at Pool 357 until July 21. As we gained partial control, we attempted to pass inflow and slowly reduce pool elevations at a rate that would not significantly aggravate flooding conditions in Manitoba.
8 The Scenic Trail Auto Tour was finally repaired enough to allow traffic on July 23, the Grassland Trail remain closed until August, and four state and county roads across the refuge were inundated at times during the spring and early summer. The prolonged high flow conditions resulted in extensive damage to marsh habitats, additional erosion on nesting islands, a significant reduction in production of ducks and other water dependant birds, and further impacted about 3,400 acres of meadows that have already been damaged by flooding over the past few years.
Total outflow measured at Westhope for 1999 was 1,145,580 acre-feet. Total outflow was 198,881 acre-feet more than total measured inflow. Flow at Westhope peaked on April 14 at approximately 6,980 cubic feet per second, declined to 3,880 cubic feet per second on May 7, and peaked again at 6,770 cubic feet per second on May 25. Flow remained above 2,000 cubic feet per second until July 10, above 1,000 cubic feet per second until August 5, and above 500 cubic feet per second until September 29. Flow at the Westhope gage was 127 cubic feet per second at the end of the year.
Outflow during the June 1 to October 31 period was 511,500 acre-feet, 505,431 acre- feet above the 6,069 acre-feet required minimum. The lowest recorded flow during this period was 123 cubic feet per second, well above the required 20 cubic feet per second minimum. The low flow structure was not used.
The strong flows and flooding beginning in 1995 and the extremely high flow in the lower portion of the basin in North Dakota combined with the operation of the Souris River Flood Control Project in 1999 have provided the opportunity for some preliminary evaluation of the potential long-term influence of Souris River Flood Control Project operation on refuge habitat and other resources and water management in the lower basin. In a July review of a draft Souris River Mitigation Monitoring Report and Recommendations authored by the Corps of Engineers, the following problems were identified:
1. Some areas adjacent to the refuge that are or may be impacted by Project operations were omitted from consideration for flowage easements. One problem is being resolved through land exchange. At least two other areas need to be evaluated.
2. The 5,600 cubic feet per second model used to predict flooding of public roads and other facilities and the need for road raises appears to be inadequate. The Upham/Willow City Road, State Highway 14, and Russell/Kramer Road were flooded in 1995 and 1999, and water was on the edge of the Upham/Willow City Road in 1996 and 1997. Calculated flows in all cases were below that of the model.
3. The model uses 600 cubic feet per second for the local inflow contribution between Minot and Bantry. This is not adequate. An analysis of flows during historic flood years and the last few years of high flows indicates an average daily flow of 1,200
9 cubic feet per second may be a more accurate approximation.
4. The 5,600 cubic feet per second profile was used to evaluate impacts through the entire length of the refuge. This is also inadequate, since it ignores the substantial contribution of direct runoff and tributaries in the refuge segment of the basin.
5. Water passing over the 320 spillway pools between the 320 dike and the raised segment of the Upham/Willow City Road before breaking over the road. This results in deeper water for a longer period in the area which causes habitat damage and more road damage due to the greater drop across the road. Additional culverts through the road are needed to reduce impacts to habitat and road damage during moderate flood events.
Several other areas of Project impact are becoming evident as a result of the extremely high flows in the lower basin and prolonged releases from Rafferty Reservoir:
1. Prolonged high flow kept meadows on the southern portion of the Refuge too wet to allow equipment access, and we were unable to hay 3,400 acres for control of invading willow and cattail.
2. The extended high flows did not allow lowering of the pools to target management levels through much of the growing season and resulted in deterioration of emergent vegetation stands and loss or damage to submergent vegetation in deeper portions of the pools. The loss of vegetation will directly impact overwater nesting birds and other wildlife values until the pools can be drawn down and vegetation reestablished. The more open condition of the marshes will result in more wind action and turbidity. Fewer nutrients will be used by rooted aquatic plants and more will be available to promote the growth of algae which will further reduce water quality.
3. Flooded vegetation through much of the nest initiation period for overwater nesting birds resulted in very poor production of many species on the refuge.
4. The extended high water, complicated by the loss of protective emergent vegetation, resulted in accelerated erosion of nesting islands and damage to dikes and stream banks.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) funding reductions over the past several years have resulted in loss of gaging facilities on Cutbank Creek, Stone Creek, and Boundary Creek. This introduces much more guess-work into Refuge water management. The USGS staff shortage this year limited the frequency of flow measurements and adjustments in shift from the rating tables. This resulted in some inaccuracies in the USGS data which are accessible by the Internet. Since we were already dealing with a number of unknowns and were using changes in pool elevations as our primary management guide, this did not present an overwhelming problem. However, it was a source of confusion for others monitoring flows via the Internet and resulted questions and concerns about our water management. For example, Internet data indicated much
10 higher flows at Verendrye than at Westhope during late July and early August. This resulted in several phone calls and questions about our management and lingering accusations that we were deliberately backing water onto upstream properties.
Safety issues associated with making flow measurements across the Dam 357 spillway were discussed at the International Souris River Board of Control meeting, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service position that deactivation of the electric fish barrier to allow measurements could not be guaranteed in the future because of compatibility issues.
During planning of the Souris River Flood Control Project and predecessor projects, concern developed about the expected increased volume, duration and frequency of winter flows allowing migration of carp upstream into the refuge marsh system. Even a few carp moving into the refuge marshes could rapidly propagate and cause extensive damage to marsh habitats. The electric fish barrier was installed as a mitigation measure to protect refuge habitats and allow the Project to proceed.
Operation of the fish barrier is expensive, and we have been using test runs of the fish barrier and electro-shocking in the channel below the 357 Dam at low river stages to determine if full-time operation of the barrier is required. Strong flows through the summer and fall of 1998 kept the channel at stages that were not conducive to electro- shocking, so only test runs of the barrier were used to test for the presence of carp. Even though no carp had been detected as of the early spring of 1999 and low oxygen levels in the channel during February and March further reduced the risk of carp existing in the channel, the barrier was placed in operation as a precautionary measure until further testing could be done. We agreed the barrier could be shut down for the very short period required for flow measurement in the spring of 1999 since the probability of carp existing in the area downstream from the dam at that time was extremely low.
The near record flow volume at Westhope in 1999 and the extended period of substantial flow have greatly increased the probability of carp migration upstream to the 357 Dam. The fish barrier has been in continuous operation since the spring of 1999 and will remain in operation until adequate sampling of the river channel can be completed. If carp are detected in the channel next spring or at any time in the future, the barrier will have to be operated on a continuous basis, and we will not be unable to shut the spillway segment off to allow flow measurement.
A second problem with measurement across the spillway is the proposed installation of a permanent small diameter safety cable 6 to 8 feet above the spillway. Waterfowl and other birds make frequent passes through this area at low altitudes, especially when substantial water exists immediately below the spillway. There would be a high risk of bird strikes with such a cable in place, and it likely could not be permitted from a refuge
ii compatibility standpoint.
We understand the desire for accurate high-flow data and the problem that distance from the gage presents for alternative sites at the Westhope bridge or Coulter bridge when flow volumes are changing. However, wind influence appears to be the primary concern at the alternative sites. Based on frequent observations through the overflow period in 1999, the spillway site is strongly influenced by wind and would probably suffer the same wind induced problems as the alternative sites. It is not unusual for the wind to modify the apparent pool level at Dam 357 by 6 to 8 inches. More error may be induced across 700 feet of relatively shallow water on the spillway than the deeper, shorter cross sections at the bridges.
The low flow structure at Dam 357 has not been operated since 1993. The inlet structure has been inundated for extensive periods and has collected significant floating debris and probably substantial silt. If the pool level permits, we will attempt to clean the structure, flush it out, and perform a test operation next May. If the present dry conditions persist, operation of the structure may be required fairly early in the summer of 2000.
Funding was received by ES for additional water quality monitoring on refuge pools and tributary streams. Howard and Erickson reviewed and commented on a proposal to extend water quality studies on the refuge developed by Bismarck ES. Kevin Johnson stopped by the refuge to discuss problems in developing a means to estimate the possible waterfowl contribution to enrichment of the system.
USGS began collecting water quality data on Refuge pools, the Souris River, and tributaries.
We had a call from Senator Dorgan's office asking why we could not get rid of the water faster.
Howard responded to an International Souris River Board of Control request for assurances that our water management capabilities will not be effected by Y2K problems.
In August, a McHenry County Commissioner/Eaton Irrigation Board member called regarding landowner complaints in the Towner area about our water management backing water onto private land in the area. At the time, Pool 320 was about 261/2 feet below the river bank contour at Towner. The problem was another curse of the Information Age. USGS gage data for Westhope on the Internet did not have an accurate shift factor figured in and indicated far less water being released from the refuge than we were receiving. Folks looking at the information on the "Net" figured we had to be backing all that extra water onto them. Bob White, State Water Commission, was informed of the problem.
Dean Knauer, Upper Souris, and Howard attended a public meeting in Towner sponsored
12 by the Corps of Engineers to discuss Souris River Flood Control Project operation and prolonged flooding in the Towner area. Some folks were still blaming us for backing water onto them although Pool 326 was well within normal operating levels and about 28.5 feet below the river bank contour at Towner.
We were contacted by Bottineau County Waterboard Chairman, Clif Issendorf, about the potential for some additional work on a segment of the Gessner Drain which crosses the refuge. They received FEMA funds to redo portions of the drain across private property that were cleaned out last year.
There has been some very creative road work completed with FEMA funds that will result in wetland drainage.
Howard attended a public meeting on basin-wide water quality planning in Westhope in November.
3. Forests
There are about 8,000 acres of mixed woodland on the southern end of the Refuge. Aspen and some oak are found in the Sandhills and meadows. There are stands of green ash, bur oak, and American elm along the river. Scattered tree plantings are found in old farmsteads and in the headquarters area.
Aspen expansion in the grasslands of the Sandhills has occurred since bison and wildfires were eliminated from the area. It has greatly increased since the refuge was established. Areas that were once part of sharp-tailed grouse census blocks are now part of ruffed grouse drumming routes. Plans are being developed to reverse the trend and restore the native grasslands by using prescribed fire, grazing, and mechanical removal. This will take many years to accomplish but the present condition did not occur overnight. It is only reasonable to expect recovery to take time also.
4. Croplands
Bottineau County leads the State in unplanted acres. FSA estimates 77 percent of the cropland, about 477,000 acres, was not planted. Much of what was seeded was canola, sunflowers, and flax. McHenry County is estimating about 50% not planted. It will be interesting to see what effect this will have on the fall waterfowl migration, especially
13 snow geese. It will also be interesting to see how much dirt is blowing this winter if all that cropland is turned black.
Only 136 acres out of about 1,000 acres farmed on the refuge were seeded due to wet conditions. One cooperator planned on using 111 acres of that total for hay.
5. Grasslands
Des Lacs NWR picked up a little over a ton of DNC in March for seeding in the spring. We are not revealing what they owe us yet just to keep the Project Leader in doubt for awhile.
Bids for native grass were received and an order made in March. About 200 acres of refuge and FmHA transfer lands are scheduled for seeding.
Wet conditions in May prevented grass seeding. The wet fall and moisture this spring also hampered seedbed preparation and some of the fields had an unacceptable amount of quackgrass remaining. Those fields were not seeded this year.
On May 25, Madden, Grant and Bob Murphy hosted a training on a technique to monitor plant communities on refuges. Twenty people from North Dakota refuges attended.
Grazing alfalfa was broadcast on about 80 acres just prior to grazing. Using the cattle to "seed" the alfalfa has worked on other units and with the moisture we had resulted in good success.
By July, the were tremendous stands of grass are everywhere. Yellow and white blossom sweet clover grew everywhere we had burned, hayed, or grazed. The wet conditions prevented early seedbed preparation and all the fields had an incredible stand of weeds, just like the private land. This may have set us back more than a year on seeddowns.
Fall seedbed prep was completed on 215 acres, 132 of which is scheduled for seeding next year. A permittee plowed 60 acres of brome which will eventually be seeded to natives.
Seedbed prep was started on a 75 acres tract of brome in November, but we were force to stop discing when the 8630 developed electrical problems. Mild weather in December allowed us to complete the discing on this field along with another 20 acre field.
7. Grazing
Duchscherer attended a bison grazing field day in Pierce County in June.
14 8. Having
Haying is used to control woody invasion in the river meadows and, to a lesser extent, improve tame grass nesting cover. Willow invasion can happen quickly if the meadows are not hayed or if the cooperator does a poor job.
Bills were sent to the 5 permittees that were able to hay in the meadows and the permittee that hayed some DNC. Five other permittees either completed or are scheduled to do work as part of their permit.
9. Fire Management
We started conducting S-130/190 Basic Fire Training for local Volunteer Fire Departments in January. This class is being conducted at night over a 5 week period ending in mid February. Participants include Upham RFD, Towner RFD, and staff from Lake Metigoshe State Park. Assistance was provided by Maure Sand, North Dakota Forest Service Fire Management Coordinator.
Chase Marshall went to Audubon for 2 days in January to assist with annual fire equipment maintenance. Chase also went on a detail to Wichita Mountains NWR to assist with prescribe fire operations and work on his Strike Team Leader and RXB2 Task Books.
The fall meeting of the North Dakota Fire Council was held in late January at the conference room in the office addition.
Schumacher and McManus met with National Weather Service staff in an effort to get more reliable forecasts other than sunrise and sunset times.
March was a busy training and meeting month. Chase Marshall attended RX-340 Introduction to Fire Effects and S-330/336 Strike Team Leader and Fire Suppression Tactics training in March. Shannon Swanson attended D-310 Support Dispatcher Training in Missoula, MT and the Northern Rockies Dispatchers meeting in Fairmount Hot Springs, MT. Steve Schumacher and Brian McManus, along with other Regions 6 and 1 personnel, presented a PFPI class March 15-18 in Spearfish, SD. Brian McManus attended the National FMO meeting in Las Vegas and the Regional FMO meeting in Jackson Hole, WY. Seasonal range technicians RuthAnn Thrailkill, Daniel Rieger, and Chad Wimer completed PFPI in Spearfish, SD.
Brian McManus assisted in the development of the new Fire Base program. He made several trips to Boise, ID to work with the National Development Team.
15 Jerry Bahn, seasonal range technician, was sent to Florida Panther NWR on a pre- suppression fire severity detail in March. After he returned from detail, he had tales of fires crowning in cabbage palm and houses saved by the actions of FWS fire crews.
Steve Schumacher along with Don Lantz of Tewaukon and Gary Lindsey of Devils Lake put on S-130 and S-190 for 18 students in Bottineau in April. This class included FWS, NDGF, NDFS, USFS, and Army Corp of Engineers personnel.
We completed a 120-acre prescribed bum in April and responded to a small 0.1-acre wildfire. Prescribed fire support was provided to Audubon, Lake Ilo and Upper Souris NWR's. This included prep-work as well as bum implementation. Assistance included FFT2's, engines, ENGB, and an RXB2.
The extensive rainfall in May reduced the number of burning opportunities. The rainfall also limited our ability to get to units for prep work and size up. It even limited our ability to look at units that need to have bum plans written. Bums completed were 10 acres of Headquarters native grasses and 140 acres in the G-2 unit. The fire crew began work on heated stalls in the 6-stall garage for fire engines.
Steve Schumacher, Chad Wimer, Daniel Rieger, and Jerry Bahn attended S-205 Fire Operations in the Wildland Urban Interface at Sullys Hill in June. Steve Schumacher assisted with the presentation of FFT1 Advanced Fire Fighter in Minot. Jerry Bahn attended as a student. Brian McManus assisted with the presentation of S-212 Power Saws for Wildland Fire. Amanda Zimney attended this course. Daniel Rieger attended S-390 Introduction Wildland Fire Behavior Calculations. Chase Marshall, Colette Lunde and Joe Guariglia went to Bosque del Apache NWR in New Mexico on a 30 day severity detail. Chad Korte went to San Bernardino NWR in Arizona for a 21 day severity detail.
The extensive rainfall in June limited fire management opportunities. Ten acres of native grasses in the headquarters area were burned. A bum in the Nelson Prairie area was terminated after 3 acres due to poor burning and smoke problems. We responded to a small wildfire in Bantry in June.
July bums were complete on the North Nelson Prairie unit (135 acres), the South Nelson Prairie unit (160 acres) and the Aspen Clear Cut North # 1 unit (70 acres). Nine prescribed bums were conducted on 1,863 acres in August.
Three firefighters were dispatched to Miles City Montana for an inter-agency fire suppression detail. The dispatch center had a flurry of activity in August supporting inter-agency fires in Montana and California.
Prescribed burning in September included 590 acres in three units on the refuge and one 5-acre bum on the WMD. Prescribed fire assistance was provided to Upper Souris NWR and Audubon NWR/WMD.
16 Our prescribed fire work in October focused on burning islands of trees and brush left over from 6 prescribed bums conducted in July and August. Conditions at the time of the original bum did not allow these tree and brush covered areas to bum. Following leaf fall there was enough fuel to carry a fire that produced encouraging results. Prescribed fire support was provided to La Creek NWR (an engine with Joe Guarigilia and Chase Marshall) and Upper Souris NWR. (an engine, two ATV's RXB2- Chase Marshall, Steve Schumacher and an AD FFT2 Rick Willoughby.)
Also in October, we started accumulating data for entry into the Fire Base budget system. Data inputs were begun for the JCS Administrative Complex.
Halloween of this year will be remembered by many as the night the Northern Great Plains burned. A flurry of dispatching activity occurred in support of the BIA in Montana and the USFS, Dakota Prairie Grasslands in North Dakota (Rough Creek Complex). Two engines from JCS with Steve Schumacher, Chase Marshall and DJ Rieger were dispatched to Montana to assist the BIA at Wolf Point MT. This dispatching activity continued to be heavy into November as the North Dakota Dispatch Center supported the Type 2 team assigned to the Rough Creek Complex. The interagency fire cache here at the station was emptied in support of this large fire.
Chase Marshall took his 2 week furlough in November to coincide with deer hunting season. Shannon Swanson also took his 2 week furlough in November to take advantage of the late home remodeling season this year.
Brian MacManus assisted the BIA with presentation of a PFPI course in Bismarck in November.
10. Pest Control
The FY98 Challenge Grant with the Ward County Weed Board helped spray purple loosestrife along the Souris River last August. Several dense infestations and widely scattered plants totaling between 5 and 6 acres were sprayed along both sides of the river for about 23 miles. Two isolated spots, one of which was on Wal-Mart property, were also sprayed. One insect release was made on another isolated spot near Butler Machinery.
Very little spurge spraying was done in June. The wet conditions made it nearly impossible to leave a road, even in the Sandhills. One spray truck was at a local shop for over a month waiting for engine repair. The other truck has been down for over 2 weeks because a needed part has been discontinued by GM. The dealers said the truck was too old (1983) to get parts for, and the junk dealers said it was too new.
We made a major effort on bug releases in June. Albright collected flea beetles in Barnes County on June 18, 23, and 24; LaMoure County on June 26 and 27; and Ward County on
17 June 28. Rieger, Wimer and Zimney (not a law firm) accompanied Lee to Barnes County on the 23rd and 24th. 1,510,000 beetles were released on 13 WPA's in the District. We moved over 300,000 from our A. nigriscutis site by the Westhope golf course to nearly 200 new release sites on areas burned since last fall. Another 100,000 were released in areas with expanding spurge patches that are inaccessible to sprayers.
Overall, very little spurge spraying was done in July as wet conditions continued. One spray truck was finally repaired, but the sprayer engine blew shortly after we started spraying. The other truck remained down needing a part that has been discontinued by GM. Attempts to rewire the unit were unsuccessful, because parts for the rewiring have also been discontinued.
In October, Albright solicited information from field stations in North Dakota to be used on the FWS web site on invasive species. Thanks to Des Lacs, Lostwood and Valley City for their input.
G. WILDLIFE
1. Wildlife Diversity
The refuge is located in an area where the ranges of eastern and western species overlap, increasing the wildlife diversity found here. Deer, pheasant, partridge, rabbit, grouse, many species of passerine birds, rodents and waterfowl are found on and around the refuge.
3. Waterfowl
In February, Madden compiled about 130 Duck Habitat/Nest Record cards from last summer's nesting study to be submitted to the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center's centralized duck nest file. The first Canada goose was seen on the 26th.
Snow geese were moving around the area in March, following the snow line. A few folks dressed like hunters were attempting to "manage" the geese with limited success.
The first round of the 4 square mile counts were completed in May, and the second round was started. Most wetlands held water and many were over 100 percent full. The refuge plots were in flood conditions with little or no emergents remaining. Overwater nesters in most of the refuge pools were out of luck this year.
Howard, Erickson, and Diebboll spent/wasted 2 days at a Snow Goose Management meeting in Jamestown, rehashing old news in August.
September duck numbers were good in the area, but there are not big numbers on the refuge. Water conditions allowed the birds to remain dispersed rather than concentrating
18 in the refuge. There were a couple thousand snow geese in the area by the end of the month and nearly all of these were in wetlands outside the refuge. Lords Lake NWR was holding about 5,000 snows which were feeding in the Willow City/Overly area where there is more stubble. Small Canada geese and some snows were showing up in the southern part of the WMD near Drake and south of Rugby. Good water and more stubble should hold the birds.
The situation remained the same through October. Snow geese remained in Canada for the most part. The population did increase to the 100,000 by the end of the month.
Duck numbers were good for part of November, but most left as the weather cooled. Snow goose numbers were in the 80,000 range through much of deer season, but they too were pulling out as the water hardened. Some Canadas remained throughout the month.
Some ducks and Canada geese remained for part of December.
4. Marsh and Water Birds
Eared grebes are the most abundant marsh and waterbird on the refuge. The breeding population is an estimated 20,000 birds. Black-crowned night herons, cattle egrets, and white-faced ibis, pied-billed grebes, and American coots also raise their young on the refuge. White pelicans are common in the summer months, feeding at the refuge. A nesting colony of pelicans is found on Willow Lake Easement Refuge located 30 miles northeast.
5. Shorebirds. Gulls. Terns and Allied Species
Many species of shorebirds use the refuge for feeding and nesting. Franklins gulls, ring- billed gulls, common, black and Forster's terns are present on the refuge. Willets, yellow-legs, sandpipers, godwits, and avocets among other shorebird species are also seen throughout the year.
In December, Howard began gathering data and corresponded with Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences personnel about nomination of the refuge into the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN).
7. Other Migratory Birds
Madden reviewed the draft Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan for Northern Mixed-grass Prairie in January. She also responded to a request for information on passerine nesting projects and techniques from Crescent Lake NWR.
19 Three bluebird boxes built with Challenge Grant $ were added to our Bluebird Trail in March, and three more were erected in April. So far, 37 additional boxes have been installed since last fall.
Madden and Grant met with Glenn Sargent at Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center on April 5 to discuss sampling design on the prescribed fire/grassland bird project.
On April 8 and 9, Madden and Grant met at Medicine Lake NWR with some ND and MT refuges and University of Montana personnel involved in grassland bird research to refine and standardize the BBIRD vegetation sampling protocol.
Madden sent information on monitoring plant communities to personnel at Big Stone NWR in Minnesota. She also provided grassland bird occurrence data to Bob Danley at Lostwood Refuge, for comparisons with current grazing research being done there.
Madden and Grant attended Regional GIS workshop in Bismarck, April 21-22.
In May, the VO-AG class in Upham built 50 bluebird boxes with the help of Challenge Grant funds. Ten boxes were given to an Eagle Scout from Minot, and he is establishing a bluebird trail adjacent to Upper Souris NWR.
Eslinger completed the annual mourning dove coo count survey on May 27.
10. Other Resident Wildlife
There are many species of resident birds in and around the refuge. The main game bird species are sharp-tailed grouse, ring-necked pheasant, grey partridge, wild turkey and ruffed grouse. Censuses are done each year to determine grouse and pheasant populations. Informal counts done during routine work are done on wild turkey and grey partridge.
Wild turkeys have been on the refuge since introduced in 1979. The turkey population is doing very well in the wooded river bottoms and the sandhill areas. We seem to see a general expansion of the turkeys to private land near the refuge. These areas have more cropland and hayland interspersion, perhaps offering more reliable food sources for the turkeys.
Porcupine, coyote, red fox, squirrels, cottontail rabbit, white-tailed jackrabbit, snowshoe hare. Franklin's ground squirrels, thirteen-lined ground squirrels, weasel, and many other small mammals are common to the refuge. Moose are becoming more common, and we believe a breeding population now exists on the refuge.
There is no official census of grey partridge on the refuge. Populations have always been low since there is not much preferred habitat on the refuge.
20 According to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, the ruffed grouse population on the Refuge was up 7.7 percent. Sharp-tails were down, but some of this may be attributed to the flooding which prevented access to some leks and moved others.
11. Fishery Resources
Northern pike, walleye, yellow perch, and bullheads are the primary fish on the refuge. The refuge has fourteen public fishing areas.
16. Marking and Banding
Preparations began on five banding sites in August. We did not have the numbers of ducks on the refuge that we normally have this time of year. Excellent wetland conditions over much of the area probably provided habitat that normally would not be available.
The first attempt at banding was on the September 2, but the ducks did not come up on the bait. We waited until the 7th for the next attempt. The refuge duck population was down drastically from previous years, probably because the good water conditions over the area are allowing the birds to remain dispersed. Most mornings we had less that 2,000 ducks on a site when we normally should have 20-50,000. Our average catch/shoot showed this trend as we averaged only 398 ducks per shoot.
The banding total was 7,169 ducks. We may have set a record for a single shoot on the 30th when we banded 936 ducks. We are checking the records. The top 3 ducks were: Mallard 5,098 (2,858 females) Pintail 1,560 ( 1,116 females) and Wigeon 489 (280 females).
17. Disease Prevention and Control
Botulism checks were done regularly the last half of July. Losses were minor but steady. About 200 ducks, coots, grebes, and gulls were picked up. Checks were continued regularly the first half of August. Losses and sick birds declined as cooler temperatures slowed the disease. About 300 ducks, coots, grebes, and gulls were picked up in August.
H. PUBLIC USE
1. General
Many people use the refuge for outdoor education. The prairie, grassland management, water management, waterfowl, law enforcement, hunter safety, and hunting prospects are some topics covered during the year. Picnicking and birdwatching are also significant uses.
21 Howard worked with Lome Beck on the Hunting/Fishing leaflet update.
The Washington Office news release on the compatibility chapter resulted in concern by the Minot Daily News that this was an effort to shut down public uses on refuges. Howard provided comments to a contractor for the FWS who is developing consistent and accurate methods for counting visitors throughout the refuge system.
2. Outdoor Classrooms - Student
In March, we helped an Eagle Scout candidate develop a project using bluebird boxes built with Challenge Grant funds. He is proposing to create a bluebird trail on private land.
Erickson took 15 students and the Science Teacher on early morning tours of the Sandhills. Two classes of biology students from Devils Lake visited the Sandhills as part of a field trip.
In May, Erickson certified graduation for 19 students in the ND Hunter Education course. Seven adults (2 women and 5 men) and 12 youth (3 girls and 9 boys) completed the course.
A biology class from Minot spent some time in the Sandhills in June.
Albright presented five programs on wetlands and wildlife at Carbury Dam as part of the 7th grade conservation tour in Bottineau County on September 7. Three similar programs were also presented on September 26 south of Rugby for the Pierce County 7th grade tour.
4. Interpretive Foot Trails
The refuge has two foot trails for public use. A short 0.1-mile trail leads from headquarters through a switchgrass seeding to a platform overlooking the Pool 326 marsh. The Sandhills Walk area is an access point to the sandhills, giving visitors the chance to explore some 8,000 acres of mixed bur oak, aspen and grassland community on the south end of the refuge.
5. Interpretive Tour Routes
The refuge has two auto tour routes. A 5-mile Grassland Trail that parallels a portion of Pool 341 offers visitors an opportunity to see grassland and wetland wildlife and scenery. This trail has 7 stops and an interpretive pamphlet which explain the history, features and management of the area. Many birdwatchers go to this area to see Baird's sparrow and chestnut collared longspur.
22 The second auto tour route starts at headquarters and goes for 22 miles through the marshlands and wooded river bottoms near Pools 326, 320, and the sandhills on the southern end of the refuge. This route gives refuge visitors a chance to see the diversity of habitat found on the refuge and provides information at 18 interpretive sites along the trail.
Since the Scenic Trail remained closed in July, a special effort was made to mow a trail on the 320 patrol road and dike for a tour by an Elder Hostel group from Bottineau.
One group sponsored by the Farmers Union stopped for a short tour. A scout group hiked the Scenic Trail to earn a badge.
6. Interpretive Displays/Exhibits
Albright worked a two day shift in the FWS booth at the state fair in Minot.
7. Other Interpretive Programs
Howard assisted the Bottineau County Wildlife Club with hunter safety classes for 83 students in Bottineau.
Howard teamed up with Scott Peltier, Wildlife Inspector, to give presentations at the career day for regional schools held in Bottineau. Over 800 students from 23 high schools attended the event.
Howard gave a presentation on the National Wildlife Refuge System during National Wildlife Refuge Week to 38 third graders in Bottineau.
Erickson gave a program of wildlife habitat to the Upham K-2 classes. Erickson took the banding show on the road to Midkota High School and fired the rockets for students in grades 7-12. Classes from this school have been coming to the refuge for several years to help band but have never seen/heard the rockets.
Howard participated in "Activity Day" at Minot State University-Bottineau to let students know about recreational/educational opportunities on the refuge.
8. Hunting
Most waterfowl hunting is done off the refuge on private land. Decoying the large flocks of snow geese that come off the refuge attracts hunters from all over the country. There are nine public hunting areas on the refuge that are open for waterfowl hunting. Most hunters using these areas prefer pass shooting geese as they leave the refuge.
23 Upland game hunting for grouse, partridge, and pheasants is allowed on the Public Hunting Areas. Grouse, partridge, and turkey hunting is also allowed south of the Upham-Willow City Road.
Howard taped two hunting report per week for KBTO Radio in Bottineau during the waterfowl and deer seasons.
Hunting pressure was moderate in Rolette and Pierce Counties during opening weekend. Duck hunters had good success over water. Goose hunters attempting to lure snow geese into stubble fields had poor success.
Overall, waterfowl hunting was very slow. Very few birds, especially snow geese were around, and most hunters preferred to call and complain about that rather than look for the birds that were here. Much time was spent answering phone inquiries and talking to folks who stopped by the office. Snow goose hunters could not accept the fact that most of the geese were bypassing us this year.
Deer season on the refuge was routine. Lack of snow and warm weather made it tougher to find and follow deer. Several deer were found dead, probably because most hunters cannot track or do not follow up their shots.
Another review of the draft hunting leaflet was complete and comments were submitted.
Erickson attended a Hunter Education workshop in Minot on December 4. Albright and Erickson attended the North Dakota Game & Fish Department advisory board meeting in Lansford on the 2nd.
9. Fishing
After the muzzle loader deer season closed, the trails in the 357 public hunting area were reopened to allow better fishing access.
11. Wildlife Observation
Many visitors enjoy non-consumptive use of the refuge each year. Most of the visits are to see the fall and spring bird migrations. Numbers of visits are not recorded. Many visits are on the weekends and many visitors do not stop at refuge headquarters.
The flooded roads made access next to impossible over much of the refuge in May. One birding group did make it to some spots on the 14th as the tour sponsored by Metigoshe Ministries spent most of the day here.
24 Madden and Berkey met with 10 ticketing agents from Continental Airlines on May 21. The group visited from Salt Lake City to learn about North Dakota travel and tourism, the Refuge System, and birding opportunities.
14. Picnicking
Picnickers use the Thompson Well site, the Sandhills Tower picnic area, the Headquarters Tower picnic area and some of the public fishing areas. No effort is made to record the number of visits.
The Midkota school groups camped at Thompson Well the night before helping us band. Two scout groups also camped at Thompson Well.
17. Law Enforcement
Dan Duchscherer was selected to attend the basic law enforcement academy in Brunswick, Georgia from August 9 to November 4, 2000.
LE staff survived the pack test, field test, RED MAN, body fat testing by electrocution, and the cafeteria food at the LE in-service.
Erickson delivered a bald eagle found last fall to S A Klett in March.
Eslinger attended and returned alive from 20 hours EVOC training conducted by the SD Highway Patrol in April.
Albright reviewed the file associated with the annual "Rockin' the Hills" concert. The location of the concert and associated campgrounds is adjacent to the Johnson/Lunde WPA's. Howard and Albright visited the concert site on June 17 to inspect the area.
The concert lasted four days from June 24 to 27. There was a report of a missing person during the concert. On Tuesday June 29 at 12:30 P.M. the station was notified by Bottineau County Sheriffs Department that a body had been discovered in the wetland located within the Johnson WPA. The death was ruled an accidental drowning. Albright conducted a post concert evaluation of the entire site on July 7.
Albright met with Rockin' the Hills representative Mark Pewe on August 4 to discuss recommendations intended to reduce trespassing on the Johnson/Lundy WPA's during concert events. A complete walk through of the concert area was conducted. Albright inspected the site on the 19 prior to the Borderline Country Jam held August 20-22.
Albright inspected the concert site and WPA boundaries adjacent to Rockin' the Hills following the Borderline Country Jam concert in September. Many of the recommendations were not implemented by the concert promoters.
25 Albright sent in his completed background re-investigation forms on August 10.
SA Klett met with us to review the status of the Ripplinger easement case which is headed to court
Albright worked with Eslinger to determine the correct boundaries of Buffalo Lake Easement Refuge. Some of this easement refuge has been revoked in recent years and signing needs to be modified to reflect the current boundaries.
Howard, Erickson, Eslinger and Albright attended the re-qual at Upper Souris on August 31.
The office received a complaint of snow goose hunters using an electronic call on the afternoon of October 27. Albright monitored several sets of hunters until sunset. No violations were detected.
Albright worked the eastern half of the District during opening weekend of deer gun season. Hunting pressure was light as compared that observed in more southern Districts. Hunter ambition was low as a result of record high temperatures and a lack of snow.
A group of visitors who were confused over the location of the canoe trail found themselves out in the middle of the 332 marsh about a half hour before sunset. Luckily, a deer hunter (Howard) spotted them, advised them of their transgressions, and helped them get out. No citations were issued.
A second incident of trespass by cattle from Canada occurred north of the 357 structure. A fence was cut to gain access for removal of the cattle. Next time we may be hosting a large barbeque!
We had several requests for review and approval of 6(c) documents.
I. EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
1. New Construction
The Ducks Unlimited contractor was back to do more finish work on the Soo Line Project. We got a fair job on the road shoulders this time, but the slide gates on the control structure are still not adequately repaired. After water receded in the unit, we found the problem with the control structure to be improper installation of the slide gate locks and will have to get the contractor back again to correct it. The cost overrun used all but $0.69 of the funds remaining from a canceled North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant project.
26 Ducks Unlimited reps met with Refuge staff to discuss the South Pool 341 NAWCA project. The project was officially abandoned when original cost estimates were so low the it could not be built with available funds. We eventually received approval to modify the NAWCA grant.
2. Rehabilitation
Water conditions finally allowed completion of the Johnson Bridge project in September.
Souris River Telephone was here October to hook up new phone lines that were ordered during construction of the office addition in the fall of 1998.
Refuge staff coordinated with Doug Wylie, EN, on the domestic water supply rehab project in the spring. The preconstmction conference for the project was held by phone on September 7. The contractor was here in November to install the new water softener to complete this project. We saw a significant improvement in water pressure as result of the project, and the new softening equipment promises to be much more efficient than the old system.
Work on the water system resulted in lots of rusty water in the system for a short period. We had to have filters replaced on all RO units in the system to get them back to functioning properly.
Howard reviewed some information from Engineering on the use of Geo-Web material for stabilization of over overflow areas on the Scenic Trail and recommended against use of the material because of likely maintenance problems and increased project cost for installation.
3. Major Maintenance
Howard cleaned up and repaired a coolant leak in the carp barrier generator in April.
Steve Odegaard, COE, was here on April 8 to check out winter damage to water control structures.
The roof on Quarters 40 was shingled in the spring.
A contractor for the Corps of Engineers completed some work on electrical junction boxes at the 357 structure and replaced a leaky engine heater on the emergency generator in May.
The Scenic Trail was repaired enough to allow vehicle traffic. Brian Becker (EN) visited the station and checked the trail in preparation for development of a major repair/rehab project funded by flood damage dollars.
27 Repairs on the Grassland Trail were nearly completed before heavy rain washed the road out again in July. It remained closed through the month.
We had some significant wash-outs around the new outlet structure for the Rubble Masonry Unit.
Howard coordinated with Steve Odegaard (COE) and Main Electric for evaluation and repair of problems with the 357 fish barrier and generator.
Repairs on the Rubble Masonry outlet structure were completed in September. Small washouts on the trail to County Road 17 were filled. Dike erosion along the 357 structure was repaired.
We had to get a contractor to remove cattails plugging the bridge at Dam 2.
4. Equipment Utilization and Replacement
We loaned our Crissifulli pump to a neighboring township to help a landowner whose only access of his farm was underwater.
We received a Dodge Dakota pickup in January to replace a 1987 model. We received a second Dodge Dakota pickup in February to replace a 1973 Dodge 1-ton. We also acquired a Ford tractor with only 92 hours on it from the Minot AFB.
In March, a new 1.5-ton Ford was delivered. A flatbed and Model 52 fire engine package were installed on it.
The 8630 JD was repaired in December.
5. Communications
New radios for the two new pickups were received in March.
6. Computer Systems
Albright's P5-60 computer was replaced with a 400 Pentium U. The price was right although it lacks an internal zip drive. An external Iomega zip drive is not compatible with an HP820 ink jet printer when sharing the same port. In order to use the zip drive the printer has to be disconnected.
There are so many new Gateway computer boxes in the office, it looks like a dairy operation, without the smell.
28 J. OTHER ITEMS
3. Items of Interest
We ordered and received a shipment of recycled toilet paper. We had conducted a thorough investigation of exactly what the term, "recycled," meant as it related to the product before we ordered.
Howard attended the Project Leader meeting in Bismarck in February.
The biological program and fire program established a closer working relationship when Beth Madden, biologist, and Shannon Swanson, fire dispatcher, were married.
K. FEEDBACK
Following up on a suggestion received by E-mail, we began efforts to supplement our budget by acquiring supplies. We managed to bring back 2 bars of soap, a bottle of hand lotion, and a pen, with ink, from the hotel in Phoenix where we spent the night after LE in-service.
Shipping and handling charges for distributing FWS money must be quite high and have complex, 4-letter cost codes such as PARD, GARD, NCTC, etc. It is a good thing the extra personnel hired to fill positions, which coincidentally have the same 4-letter acronym as the cost codes, are not costing the field any money or our budgets would be further reduced.
The extra money Congress appropriated for Refuges did not get this far into the field, since we took a cut. If we did not have some carryover flood money and an approved RONS project, we could not afford the belt to tighten. Despite budgets like this, we are still required to travel as if there was money to bum.
29