Wildlife Considerations

An integral part of the management plan for the Cloquet Forestry Center is improving and maintaining a variety of wildlife habitats. This objective is served to a large extent by the primary forest management objective of maintaining a forest with a variety of vegetation types, stand age classes, and stand vigor conditions. The resulting diverse vegetation types provide an array of wildlife habitats that make the Center attractive for a variety of wildlife research.

Various wildlife studies have been conducted at the Center. These studies have involved many species, including white tailed deer, red squirrels, snowshoe hare, woodcock, ruffed grouse, and trout (Alm 1988). Among the most notable was the long running ruffed grouse research project carried out at the Center by Gordon Gullion between 1958 and 1991. In 2001, under the direction of Dr. Rocky Gutiérrez, grouse research resumed at the Center.

The ruffed grouse project significantly influenced the management of the timber resource at the Center, particularly the aspen resource. Most aspen harvesting done in the 1970s and 1980s included specifications to improve ruffed grouse habitat as part of the harvesting plan. Some of that emphasis, particularly aspen stand age class distribution, continued through the 1990s.

Although ruffed grouse has been the primary wildlife consideration in the timber management program, other species have been addressed and have benefited from management efforts. Snag management, raptor nest buffers, trout stream shading corridors, deer winter yard preserves, and other wildlife considerations have been included in the management of the forest resource. Figure 8 identifies locations such as raptor nest sites, deer wintering areas, and riparian corridors that will receive special considerations when forest management activities occur near them. When identified, wildlife research considerations will be incorporated into forest management activities.

The addition of the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology (FWCB) to the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences in 1983 created new opportunities for wildlife research at the Center. FWCB faculty and researchers are encouraged to use the Center's forest for their research and teaching whenever possible. The summer field session for fisheries and wildlife students will begin at the Center in 2003. Efforts will be made to work with faculty to utilize information collected as part of teaching exercises to expand the fish and wildlife baseline data at the center. As the Center's fish and wildlife data base expands the Center will become increasingly more attractive for fish and wildlife research.