Maine Fish and Wildlife Magazine, Summer 1988

NIAINE

FISH AND WILDLIFE SUMMER 1988

$1.75

Cascade Falls, Farmington

Photo by Jacki Bragg

~AINE

FISH AND WILDLIFE

Governor John R. McKeman, Jr.

Deparbnentoflnland Fblherlea and Wlldllfe

WilllamJ. Vall, Commissioner Norman E. Trask, Deputy Commissioner Frederick B. Hurley, Jr., Director, Bureau of Resource Management Peter C. Brazler, Director, Bureau of Administrative Serulce Larry S. Cummings, Director, Bureau of Warden Serolce

AdviaoryCoundl F. Paul Frtnsko, Portland, Chairman Asa 0. Holmes, Belfast Carroll York, West Forks Marc S. Plourde, Eagle Lake, Nathan Cohen, Eastport F. Dale Speed, Princeton Alanson B. Noble, Oxford

Maine Flab and Wlldllfe Magazine W. Thomas Shoener, Editor Thomas J. Chamberlain, Managing Editor Thomas L. Carbone, Photo Editor Dale S. Clark, Circulation

SUMMER 1988

VOL. 30, NO. 2

Features Managing The Rangeleys by Forrest Bonney A look at past fishery management in this popular lake system

And The Winner Is...

by Tom Shoener

Results of Maine's first duck stamp art contest

by Beverly Agler, Steven Katona, and Bob Bowman A nongame project report on finback whales

Birds

~

Berries

by Juliet Kellogg Markowsky

How are things between our songbirds and their berry meals?

Maine's Coastal Islands

CHANGE OF ADDRfSS: Send both old and new addresses to Circulation SecHon, MAINE FISH

AND Wll.DUFE Magazine, 284 State St., Sta. #4 l, Augusta ME 04333. Please allow six weeks for changes to take effect. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to ClrculaHon Section, MAINE ASH AND WILDLIFE, 284 State St, Sta. •41, Augusta. Maine 04333.

The Department of Inland Fisheries and WIidiife recelws federal funds from the U.S. Department of the Interior. Accordingly, all department programs and actMUes must be operated free from dlscrlmlnaHon with regard to race, color, national origin, age, or handicap. Any person who believes that he or she has been dlscrbnlnated against should write to The OffIce of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240.

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by Thomas M~rrison

and Marshall Wiebe

A Clearcut Alternative Managing for woodcock at Moosehom - a new wrinkle!

MAINE ASH AND WILDLIFE OSSN 036000SX) Is published quarterly by the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 284 State Street, Statlon 41, Augusta, Maine, 04330, under Appropriation 4550. Subscription rate: $7.00 per year. No stamps, please. Second class postage paid at Augusta, Maine and at additional mallJng offices. e Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 1988. Permission to reprint text material Is granted, provided proper credit Is glwn to the author and to MAINE ASH AND WllDUFE. Clearance must be obtained from artists, photographers, and non-staff authors to reproduce credited work.

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Maine's "Biggest" Wlldllfe Mystery

A special eight-page section on Maine's beautiful offshore resources All photographs in this issue were made by the Public Information Division unless otherwise indicated.

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15 25

ATVs: Progress or Problem?

by Chuck Duggins A look at all-terrain vehicle usage in Maine today

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Depart111ents FROM THE FLY TYING BENCH: The Zug Bug KID-BITS

23 28

FISH AND WILDLIFE BRIEFS

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Covers Front: One of nature's favorite babies, a whltetalled fawn. Photo

by BIii Cross Back: Rangeley boats at Quimby Pond. Photo by Forrest Bonney

A Historical Perspective

Managing

The Rangeley Lakes

by Forrest R. Bonney Photos by the author

Economic forces beyond our borders are changing Maine's landscape. Residents of the populous areas to the south have discovered our abundant, relatively underdeveloped, recreational areas to be picturesque, relatively accessible, and ... affordable. Such areas are quickly being developed, and it is not surprising that the Rangeley area, with its large lakes and mountainous setting, is struggling to accommodate growth without sacrificing the qualities which make it attractive as a resort area.

Surrounded by Maine's western mountains, the Rangeley chain of lakes is composed of four major lakes, totalling 30,000 acres in size, as well as a host of tributary lakes, ponds, and rivers (Figure 1, page 4), many of which have themselves developed reputations for their fish and wildlife resources. These waters, together with the Magalloway River side of the drainage, form the headwaters of the Androscoggin River drainage. All of the major lakes and streams, as well as most of the smaller ones, provide important coldwater sport fisheries. Although tourists and seasonal visitors are attracted to the Rangeley area for many reasons, a good number of them are drawn by these coldwater fisheries. Most of the lakes in the region are closed to ice fishing. Salmon and brook trout are also present downstream in the Richardson Lakes.

As more people are attracted to the area, the demand on the region's fishery resources logically increases. As a result, the Fishery Division has committed a great deal of

Looking from Halne's Landing, Mooselookmeguntlc Lake.

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Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

"The View¡ - looking westward from the "height of land" on Route 17, motorists are treated to this breathtaking view out over the Rangeley Lakes (again, Mooselookmeguntlc Lake taking center stage). Small wonder that the region Is popular with tourists, scenery-seekers - and anglers.

effort to managing these bodies of water to provide the best possible fisheries. Intensive fishery management in the area began only in the 1950s. Many events affecting the fisheries occurred before then, to be sure, including the introduction of salmon and smelts around the tum of the century; the subsequent disappearance of the blueback trout; construction of dams at the outlets which increased depths and prevented upstream movement of fish; and even a rather hit-or-miss fish stocking program.

But it was not until 195 7, when fishways were installed between the lakes and the Rangeley Research Project was initiated, that an effort was made to evaluate salmonid growth rates, longevity, natural reproduction, success of stocking, and fish movement within the drainage. The project, which lasted from 1957 to 1974, involved the stocking of nearly a million hatchery-reared, fin-clipped fish; the placing of 27,000 jaw tags on individual salmon and trout; the tending two to three times each week of three far-flung fishways (two available only by boat!), and the analysis of the mountains of data generated by the project.

The author is an assistant regional biologist in the Rangeley Lakes region.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

As if that weren't enough, the study was complicated by the illegal introduction of yellow perch in 1963. After a slow start, this species mushroomed in Rangeley Lake to the point that, beginning about 1961, the salmonid fishery was severely affected, and growth rates did not fully recover until the 1970s. As yellow perch moved downstream, the same devastating effect on the coldwater fisheries occurred at Mooselookmeguntic, then at the Richardsons. The larger yellow perch competed with salmon for space and food, and soon contributed to the decimation of the smelt population. Salmon, which are dependent on smelt as a food source, experienced a serious drop in their growth rates. As a temporary source of food for the stunted salmon, landlocked alewives were transported from Seneca Lake, New York, and stocked in Rangeley Lake in 1971 and 1972. Salmon growth responded and improved substantially in 1973. The alewives eventually moved out of Rangeley and down through the drainage, where they are still present in small numbers in Mooselookmeguntic and the Richardsons.

They fulfilled their purpose, however, in providing an alternative forage species for salmon until the smelt population recovered.

Another complicating factor was the presence of furunculosis, a fish disease which affected the health of the fish stocked in the Rangeleys during the project years.

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OJPSIJfl'TIC RIVER

KENN(BAGO R1VER

1 2 3

4

Figure 1. The Rangeley Lakes drainage. Map taken from Rangeley Lake Fish Management, Fisheries Research Bulletin No. 10, by Raymond A. DeSandre, Charles F. Rltzl, and WIiiiam L. Woodward.

SITE OF OUTLET SCREEN RANGELEY DAM UPPER DAM MIDDLE DAM

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PUBLIC BOAT LAUNCHING FACILITIES

Because these fish were not healthy, their performance in the fishery could be neither predicted nor relied upon.

Despite these setbacks, or perhaps because of them, the completion of this project, with a full-time staff of two people, is regarded as an exemplification of perseverance and an accomplishment of some magnitude. Today, the study' s findings provide the basis for current management of the Rangeley Lakes. One of the results of the study was the abandonment of the fishways, since it was determined that each lake should be managed as a unit. The installation of the fish screen at Rangeley Outlet is also intended to meet this goal. Another result was the determination of the extent to which stocking of hatchery-reared fish should contribute to the fishery. Today, the salmon fisheries of Rangeley Lake and the Richardsons are primarily dependent on stocked fish, while that of Mooselookmeguntic Lake, benefitting from the extensive salmon and brook trout reproduction in the Kennebago and Cupsuptic rivers, is still primarily dependent on wild fish.

Over the years, salmon stocking rates have been gradually reduced, as they have in other salmon lakes throughout the state, because the quality of our hatchery fish has dramatically improved. Spring yearlings stocked today are larger and healthier than they were a decade ago, resulting in better survival once they enter the lake. It is, to a large degree, the fishery manager's job to insure that the number of fish stocked will not exceed the food supply, and to determine that the harvest by anglers does not exceed the lake's ability to growJish. Since salmon feed heavily on smelt, it is therefore important to be able to estimate their abundance. While this is difficult to accomplish directly, there are several indirect ways of 4

doing so. For example, a large smelt egg-drop, easily observable in the tributaries after their spring spawning run, indicates an ample supply of smelts. But a better indicator of forage availability is salmon growth rates, and it is for this reason that Rangeley Outlet is trapnetted each fall. Salmon seeking to spawn in the outlet are livetrapped, and growth rates are determined from the fish sampled. Furthermore, the age composition of the sample gives an indirect indication of how heavily the lake is being fished. An absence of older-age fish indicates that they are being harvested before they can grow to attractive siz.es.

While Rangeley Outlet provides a convenient site for sampling Rangeley Lake salmon, there are no such locations at Mooselookmeguntic Lake or the Richardson Lakes. Samples at these lakes must be collected individually by clerk from returning anglers. While this method is much more time-consuming and cannot be done on an annual basis, it does provide additional data on catch rates and other biological information. For this reason, clerk creel surveys are also conducted periodically at Rangeley Lake.

It was noted in the Rangeley Report that one of the study' s shortcomings was the lack of systematic creel surveys and total angler counts, which would have provided estimates of total angler use and harvest. Angler counts, in particular, are expensive and difficult to accomplish, and it was not until 1979 that estimates of angler use could be made for Rangeley Lake. Aerial angler counts conducted several times a week throughout the season were supplemented by information gathered by a clerk who checked returning fishermen. That first seasonlong survey yielded an estimated use of 8,890 angler days, or 1.5 anglers per acre. The same method was employed at Mooselookmeguntic Lake in 1981, yielding a use estimate of 10,125 anglers (0.6 anglers per acre).

Five years after the first Rangeley survey was made, another was done (in 1985). Surprisingly, use had more than doubled! - an estimated 22,574 anglers (3.8 angler days per acre) fished the lake that year. This significant increase in angler use, coupled with subsequent fall trapnetting which indicated a loss of older-age fish from the population, prompted a recommendation to reduce the salmon bag limit from two to one salmon. That recommendation was accepted by the Advisory Council, and went into effect in the spring of 1988.

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Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Another season-long estimate of angler \lse conducted at Mooselookmeguntic Lake in 1986 indicated that use there is remaining steady, with no immediate danger of over-exploitation. The Richardson Lakes were also surveyed for the first time in 1986; estimated angler use was 4,750 man days, or 0.7 anglers per acre per year. A separate fishery exists at Upper Dam Pool, between Mooselookmeguntic Lake and Upper Richardson Lake. This is a fly-fishing-only fishery, primarily for salmon. More than 3,600 angler trips were spent at this site alone in 1987, but voluntary release of live fish resulted in an estimated harvest of only 40 salmon and 10 brook trout.

Season-long angler counts, coupled with ground clerk surveys, are proving to be an invaluable tool for determining angler use and harvest of salmonids from the Rangeleys; they will be repeated on a five-year basis to monitor changes in the fishery. These periodic updates of angler activity and performance of the fishery, combined with the background information provided by the Rangeley Project, form the basis for a management policy intended to maintain a balance between growth and harvest. The efficient allocation of this limited resource, then, is not so different from the task faced by those who must insure that development of land surrounding the Rangeley Lakes benefits the greatest number of people without destroying the very qualities that initially attracted them to the area. •

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Above, Regional Fishery Biologist Ray DeSandre checks out a fine example of what the Rangeley Lakes have to offer the angler - In this case, a trophy-class, healthy landlocked salmon. Below, Rangeley village nestles between Rangeley Lake (foreground) and Haley Pond.

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Duck Stamp Art Contest

AND THE WINNER IS . ••

by Tom Shoener Contest Coordinator A beautiful oil (alkyd) painting depicting a trio of green-winged teal pitching-in over a Maine marsh has been chosen as the 1988 Maine Migratory Waterfowl Hunting Stamp. A panel of judges selected the painting by Rick Alley of Islesford from among 84 renditions of greenwings submitted by Maine resident artists in the state's first duck stamp design competition, held March 23 in Augusta.

The winning entry will be reproduced on the state duck stamp, required of Maine waterfowlers during the 1988-89 hunting season. The $2.50 stamps are also popular with collectors.

The Department will reproduce Alley's painting as a limited edition fine art print, which will be numbered and signed by the artist and available for purchase this summer Serving as contest judges were: Denny Denham, Gray, state chairman of Ducks Unlimited; Susan Rayfield, South Harpswell, author of books on wildlife art and photography; Chet Reneson, Lyme, Connecticut, an artist well known for his watercolor sporting art; George Soule, South Freeport, well known waterfowler and decoy maker; Howard "Skip" Spencer, Ellsworth, retired waterfowl biologist and former chief of the Wildlife Division, and Bill Vail, Maine Fish and Wildlife Commissioner. The judges' Technical Advisor was Bill Webster, president of WILD WINGS, Inc., Lake City, Minnesota.

Proceeds from sales of stamps and prints to sportsmen and collectors will be used by the Department for waterfowl habitat acquisition and management.

The state duck stamp program was initiated by the Maine legislature in 1984. Previous stamp designs were commissioned to nationally prominent artists. Each year's stamp features a different species of waterfowl native to Maine: black ducks (1984), common eiders (1985), wood ducks (1986) and buffleheads (1986).

For Alley, a soft-spoken and modest father of two, winning the duck stamp contest was another important

Readers wishing to be notified about the availability of the 1988 Maine duck stamps and limited edition prints may contact the Public Information Division, Maine Fish and Wildlife Dept., Station 41, Augusta, ME 04333. Phone (207) 289-2871.

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step in his development as an artist, which began at the Portland School of Art in 1970. Following art school graduation in 197 4 he returned to the Cranberry Isles and followed the family tradition of lobstering, scalloping, shrimping and groundfishing, with painting not commanding much attention until three years ago. Then, to pass time when a stretch of foul weather kept him ashore, he took out his brushes and began seriously to paint scenes familiar to him as a waterfowl hunter and observer of Maine wildlife and the coastal environment. His old love of painting was re-kindled, and honors have been coming is way ever since.

Since 1985, Rick has earned Rrst Place and other high placements in several Maine Sportsman's Wildlife Art Shows; he was also awarded Third Place and Honorable Mention in the 1988 Governor's Gallery wildlife art show in the Maine State House, sponsored by the Maine Arts Commission and the Department of Inland Rsheries and Wildlife. His "Buck and Doe at Sunset" painting was selected to appear on the cover of the fall 1987 issue of MAINE ASH AND WILDLIFE, and his work was featured in a one-man show in the Ash and Wildlife Department's Augusta headquarters. Then the Big One: winning the state duck stamp contest.

"When making up the design, I tried to convey the darting and twisting ways of green-winged teal, how they slip-slide into the decoys," said the 37-year-old Alley. "I also hope the painting reflects my love of duck hunting."

For his winning effort Alley will receive $1,000, 10 stamps featuring his art, and 25 special artist proof prints of the design. He also retains ownership of the original painting.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

PUBLIC DISPIAY SCHEDULE OF THE TOP FIVE ENTRIES IN THE 1988 MAINE DUCK STAMP CONTEST Augusta- State of Maine Sportsman's Show, Augusta Civic Center- March 25-27 Freeport - L.L. Bean, Main St. - May 3-31 Lewiston - Gilbert Gallery, Lisbon St. - June 1-9 Portland- Bayview Gallery and Pine Tree Shop, Market St. - June 10-29 Denmark-Twin Pines Gallery, South Rd. -July 5-13 Camden - Duck Trap Bay Trading Company, Bayview St. -July 16-31 Portland - Downeast Wildlife Art Show, University of Southern Maine - August 6-7 Manchester - The Framers Gallery, Manchester Village Mall - August 8-19 Bangor - The F.arly American, Main St. - August 22-31 Augusta - Dept. of Inland Rsheries & Wildlife, State St. - September 1-30

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

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Runner-up

Runner-up honors In the 1988 Maine duck stamp competition went to Deer Isle native Persis Clayton Weirs. A selftaught artist, she specialized In commissioned portraits of champion show horses and race horses before turning her attention to wildlife art In the early 1980s. Her work has been featured In a number of galleries and national art shows, Including the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum's "Birds In Art" Exhibition In Wausau, W1Sconsin. In 1988, her acrylic rendition of a bull moose, "Torrey Pond Shallows," earned First Place honors in the Governor's Gallery wildlife art show In the Maine State House.

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Honorable Mention

Though she has lived In Maine less than a year, Saco resident Johanna F. Hoffman has been painting ¡an awfully long time" but not publicizing her work until recently. She Is an amateur naturalist and a self-taught artist, primarily Interested in wildlife and chlldrens illustration. Much of her painting has been commissioned portraits of wildlife and pets, as well as detailed natural history illustration. She also has a special Interest in commerclal fishing vessels, and has been commissioned to draw more than 20 of them In the past few years. She has Illustrated two books, and Is presently writing and Illustrating a children's book which will be published later this year. Johanna has won several awards with her paintings, Including First Place and Second Place In the mixed media category In the 1988 Maine Sportsman's WIidiife Art Show.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Honorable Mention

Lynn Boyett Koski, a Llncolnvllle resident, earned her art degree from the University of Maine In 1980, and then began a career as a freelance artist and teaching Junior high and high school art In Camden. In 1982 her art turned to her life-long fascination with wildlife. Primarily a sculptor, she began recreating wildfowl from clay, .. capturing a brief moment In their lives." Her work Is featured In gallerles In Maine, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and she has earned awards In several Juried shows, Including Second Place In the 1988 Maine Sportsman's Wildlife Art Show for her sculpture of a mute swan. Lynn recent1y left teaching to devote more time to researching her subjects and developing her art In her Lincolnville studio.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Honorable Mention

Augusta resident Marcel LaRue Is a self-taught artist who did four years of Illustration art by correspondence course, and then he designed greeting cards before Joining the art department of Ad-Media, an Augusta marketing and advertising firm. Marcel has won several awards for his advertising designs, and has done more portrait painting than wildlife art, but as he says, "I have a feeling this might change."

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MAINE'S "BIGGEST" WILDLIFE MYSTERY

by Beverly A. Agler, Steven K. Katona, and Bob Bowman

Eack

whales, second largest

in the world, are the most commonly sighted species of great whale in the Gulf of Maine.

They are frequently seen in New England waters between April and November, and a few animals are sighted during the colder winter months. The finback' s 20-foot high spout stands out against the horizon o a calm day, making it easy to spot.

Nevertheless, finback whales have of ten been ignored by researchers and whale watchers because of their speed (to 20 kts) and their typically short surface time.

Little is known about finback life history, migrations or breeding behavior. Even

E'nback whales are up for adoption.

All donations support finback research in the Gulf of Maine.

For information write: Finbacks, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609 or call (207) 288-5644.

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the locations of wintemg areas and calving sites are unknown. Despite the paucity of data, these 60- to 80foot long marine mammals have been commercially harvested for the last 30 years and are still hunted in some parts of the world.

In cooperation with Maine Whalewatch of Northeast Harbor, we study finbacks and other species in the waters surrounding Mount Desert Rock, Maine. "The Rock", a remote, three-acre island 25 miles south of Mount Desert Island, is home to a marine research station operated by College of th.e

during the summer.

We also make annual expeditions to the lower Bay of Fundy, where fin back, humpback, and right whales are regularly found in some abundance.

Finbacks exhibit certain physical characteristics which are unique to individuals. When photographed at close range, they can be distinguished by variations in their natural pigmentation, dorsal fin shapes, and scars. Individual animals must be continuously and reliably re-identified over long periods of time before we can begin to develop an understanding of their lives.

Most photo-identification efforts rely on the contributions and skills of several research groups and individu-

als to collect the amount of data necessary to gain a comprehensive view of a whale species. Thanks in part to a grant from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife's Maine Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund, College of the Atlantic has become the central curating laboratory for the newly established North Atlantic Finback Whale Catalogue, where finback photographs from several labs in the U.S. and Canada are now housed.

Much time is required to observe and photograph finback whales, but the rewards are great. Photo-identification studies are already beginning to yield information on population size, migrations, age at which a calf is first produced, frequency of calf production, and other facts essential for gaining a better understanding of their biology.

Many questions must be answered in order to construct management strategies that will guide the longterm survival of this unique animal.

Whales have inhabited F.arth's oceans for over 10 million years, but great changes threaten them. Little time remains for learning how to preserve them through the next century.

Beverly Agler is on the visiting faculty of the College of the Atlantic (COA), and Is a naturalist with the Maine Whalewatch trips. Steven Katona is chairman of the biology department at, and provost of, the COA. Bob Bowman, a public relations representative with Allied Whale, is director of Maine Whalewatch. Agler and Katona are also research associates at COA.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

aine Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund PROJECT REPORT

Flnback whales exhibit unique asymmetrical coloring. The pigmentation patterns used for photo-Identification on these two whales (above, below) are especially apparent on the animals' right sides. Photos by Beverly Agler.

Reliance on natural markings for Identification requires markings that remain stable over time. A photograph of "Dent¡ (left) shows a dent, or crease, down the middle of the back and a notch on the top of the dorsal fin, both of which seem to have stayed the same for 13 years. Photo by Joe Kelly. The shape of the dorsal fin, and the nick at Its base, seem to have remained the same for 11 years on "Thorn¡ (right) as well. Photo by Beverly Agler.

During the 19~5 season, "Chunk" (above) was photographed from August 3 through August 12, and was not again photographed untll 45 days later, on Sept. 26. It Is Interesting, and significant, to note that Chunk's sighting pattern was similar in 1986. Below left, researchers from the Mount Desert Rock Marine Research Statton photograph a finback whale.

Below right, a finback surfaces near the Mount Desert Rock station, which began Its 16th year of operation this year.

Photos above and below left by Beverly Agler, below right by Bob Bowman.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

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Birds & Berries S

by Juliet Kellogg Markowsky Photos by the author

ummertime, and the living is easy ... the song sings of the fruits of the earth, and they are at their highest level of abundance in the late summer and fall.

In Maine, small fruits add bright droplets of color to the rich green landscape of late summer. The sweet fruits that ripen first - blackberries, raspberries, blueberries - are delights to savor right from the bush. The sun's warmth brings out their flavor and bouquet, of which refrigeration preserves only the merest shadow. Such delicacies are also eagerly sought by wildlife that in summer exists in the greatest numbers of the year. Last spring's numbers have now swollen with the addition of the year's crop of young; fall and winter have yet to take their toll.

Bears, chipmunks, foxes, mice, raccoons, squirrels, deer, and some turtles eat fruit in season. But most kinds of fleshy fruits are adapted to be eaten, and their seeds thereby dispersed, by birds.

The bright colors of fruits and berries make them conspicuous, and attract the agents of dispersal. Birds,

having the most mobility of the dispersers and the best color vision (lacking in most mammals), snap them up.

The smaller seeds, like the tiny seeds of the blueberry, pass through the birds; larger ones like cherry pits are sometimes regurgitated.

Digestion frequently improves germination rates of those seeds which have very hard and protective seed coats. In these seeds, scarification, or abrading, weakens the seed coat so that the seed can absorb water and germinate. Scarification can be physical, as in the grinding with sand grains in the bird's crop, or chemical, as with strong digestive juices.

Attrition is high in seeds; those dropped in an unsuitable environment - too dry, wet, shady, for example fail to germinate, or get crowded or shaded out by older vegetation. Probably 90 percent of all seeds produced do not become adult plants.

A small percentage will land in a good location, usually a good distance away from the parent plant and not

Wlnterberry makes an orange "fringe" around bogs In November.

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Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Facing page: far left, elderberries "before.¡ Left, elderberries "after¡ being stripped by catbirds, brown thrashers, thrushes, and the Ilka.

Right, a pine grosbeak making a meal of American hlghbush cranberry.

Below, a chipmunk feasting on arrowwood berries. Inset, a look at the rodent's main course.

competing with it. People have often observed that birddispersed shrubs and trees, such as cherry, viburnums, or dogwoods, frequently grow along fences or woods edges, good perching spots for birds. In old pastures, junipers frequently grow next to the rock perch of the bird that eats that tree's berry-like cones.

In the fall, most songbirds change their diet from one in which insects predominate to one in which plant foods play a much more important role. Young songbirds need less protein after they have achieved most of their growth; birds have higher caloric needs with the onset of migration and/or colder weather; insect availability goes down; and fruits reach a high level of abundance. Every Maine fruit-producing shrub or tree produces one of three types The author Is a naturalist for the Maine Audubon Society and a doctoral student In environmental

education at the University of Maine.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

WILD FRUITS FOR BIRDS The following shrubs and trees can be found fruiting in the wild in Maine, and also make good yard plantings for attracting birds. location is important. A fruiting shrub at wood's edge, near dripping water, or among other trees and shrubs will attract many more birds than will a solitary, isolated shrub in the middle of a lawn or next to a house.

Three categories of fruits appeal to birds, each in its own season. Select from each category for your yard early sweet fruit for summer birds, hlgh-llpld high energy fruit for migrants, and late sour fruit for winter birds.

For early-ripening bird fruits, three kinds of cherry trees are native to Maine: chokecherry, black cherry, and pin cherry. They grow best in full sun, such as in an abandoned field, where they can often be found because birds have "planted" them. American elderberry also grows well in sunny spots and fruits a little later than cherries, producing small, abundant, sweet purple fruits in flat clusters.

For high-lipid bird fruits, red-osier dogwood is a good example. It grows best in sunny locations with moist, rich soil, producing white or bluish-white berries in late summer.

In winter, its bright red twigs contrast beautifully with evergreens and snow, and it is often planted in yards for that reason. Arrowwoocl, a viburnum, produces small highlipid, dark blue fruits in flat clusters. It thrives in the understory and does not need full sun.

To round out yard plantings, some late-ripening fruit bushes should be planted for wintering birds and returning early spring migrants. They are not priority fruit for birds, and might not be consumed, but they can help birds in periods of low food availability, and also add beauty to an austere winter landscape. Winterberry is a good local example of this type. A member of the Holly family, it thrives in moist acid soil (it can often be found at bog's edge), and its abundant, bright berries add a dash of redorange especially appreciated at Christmastime, when a small cluster is often put in a vase as a holiday decoration.

American highbush cranberry, a viburnum, produces hanging clusters of beautiful bright-red berries. Terribly sour, they are not a top-priority bird food, but by February, pine grosbeaks often eat them, partly because freezing improves their palatability and partly because less other fruit is available then.

FOR RJRTHER READING Dennis, John. 1985. The Wlldllfe Gardener. Knopf, NY.

DeGraaf, Richard. 1979. Trees, Sluube, Vines for Attracting Birds. Univ. of Massachusetts Pren.

IAvelley, Marilyn. 1980. Treea and Shrube of New England. Downeast Books, Camden, Maine.

Martin, Alexander, Zim, Herbert, and Nelson, Arnold.

1951. American Wlldllfe and Plants: a Gulde to Wlldllfe Food Habits. Dover Publications, NY. Stokes, Donald. 1981. The Natural History of Wild Sluube and Vines. Harper & Row, NY.

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of fruit: 1) early, sweet fruit for summer birds; 2) high oil, high-energy fruit for migrants; or 3) sour, long-lasting fruit for winter birds. People (as well as wildlife) savor the sweet, early fall berries or fruits - raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. The bright colors and sweet smells lure birds and animals - and the high sugar content keeps them coming back for more! These plants bait and bribe their "agents" to disperse their seeds and plant their offspring.

Many other berries, while not sweet and palatable to people, are good high-energy food for birds because of their high oil content. One example of this type is the bayberry; its waxy covering provides high energy food for birds (and scented wax for handmade candles). Other examples of berries with high oil content are dogwoods and arrowwood (a viburnum). Dogwoods and arrowwood are very high priority berries, eagerly consumed by vireos, flycatchers, and thrushes during migration. Such berries are abundantly produced in clusters; thus, they are an energy-efficient food source. A bird can obtain much food value in less foraging time than would be spent searching for individual insects. This is particularly important to birds during migration when they are in unfamiliar territory and have high energy needs.

Yet a third dispersal strategy of fruits is demonstrated by those which ripen later in the fall and persist into the winter. These tend to be neither high-sugar nor high-lipid (oiled), and taste quite sour. Examples are crab-apples, winterberry, and highbush cranberry (another viburnum).

They are less palatable than the others, but more persistent - they last through the winter. Freezing, thawing, and re-freezing improve their palatability and they are usually eaten by wintering birds such as pine grosbeaks, or even by early migrants like robins, as they wing their way back north in March.

This "distribution system" is less reliable because the

density of fruit-eating birds is considerably lower in winter than in late summer or during fall migration. Presumably, this low-sugar, low-lipid fruit-producing strategy is viable in part because it takes less energy for the shrub or tree to produce low-sugar or low-lipid berries; this advantage makes up for the distribution system's being less reliable.

Lacking mobility themselves, plants have evolved fleshy fruits as a seed dispersal strategy dependent on animals.

Some tropical plants have even evolved seed structures that mimic fruit, yet offer no food value. These trick the disperser and accomplish dispersal with little energy investment on the part of the plant. Some plants (e.g.

Nightshade, Solanum dulcamara) produce berries that are toxic to people, yet they are eaten and dispersed by animals. Presumably the toxicity is an adaptation to reduce insect damage; by biochemical accident, people are sensitive to it while most other mammals and birds are not.

All fruits, whether or not they are edible for people, are seed-dispersal packages offered by a parent shrub or tree so that some animal will disperse its offspring. In early September, large numbers of migratory birds are moving through Maine. By quietly watching a patch of red-osier dogwood or arrowwood at wood's edge, you can often observe passing birds stopping to pluck a few fruits.

It may please you, as it does me, to find your small window into the convergence of two great natural phenomena - the North American fall bird migration, estimated to consist of some four billion birds moving south towards ancestral wintering grounds; and the vast dispersal system of fruit-producing plants, which has been evolving since flowering plants appeared on earth. A little later, your same birds may unknowingly plant shrubs whose fruits may feed its sixth or tenth generation descendants. Birds, without realizing it, are providing for their • offspring many generations into the future.

Three more "favorites¡ - from left to right, pin cherry, red-osier dogwood, and bayberry.

14

Maine Fish and Wlldllfe - Summer 1988

The sun sets over Muscongus Bay, home of many picturesque Islands. Photo by Steve Spencer.

Islands. What do you think of when someone says Islands?

Some people undoubtedly think of places like Manhattan, Malta, or Maul.

But here In Maine, the word Islands has a very different meaning. This special eight-page section gives us Insight on what there Is for us to see and experience on ••• Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Malne·s Coastal Islands 15

Islands For Along The Coast

by Thomas Morrison Resource Administrator Bureau of Public Lands

Crow Island, located In Muscongus Bay, Bremen. Island Institute photo.

I ere are more than 3,000 islands along the Maine coast, ranging in size from tiny wavewashed ledges, where only seals or birds can live, to places of thousands of acres with year-round residents.

From a national perspective, Maine has the third largest number of islands, outnumbered only by Florida and Louisiana.

Originally, the coastal islands were held by the government as part of the public domain; and like other

undeveloped portions of the territory, they were viewed as having little value other than to encourage settlement. Thus, until 1913, when the legislature enacted a law resolving that all coastal islands not already conveyed by the sovereign would be held for purposes of public use, they were disposed of in wholesale fashion. Although the 1913 state law prohibited further sale by the state to private owners, records of those islands which remained in the public

(continued on page 18)

o. •

16

0

0

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

The People In Casco Bay

by Marshall T. Wiebe Director of Public Information Department of Conservation

S

heltered from all winds

except the onshore southwesterlies, Casco Bay's Calendar Islands lie in a 200-square mile embayment bounded by Cape Elizabeth on the west and Cape Small on the east.

Continental collisions, millions of years of erosion, and the effects of glacial ice created the great bay and its rocky island chains. In the more recent past - back a mere 11 or 12 thousands years - the bay may have served as the mouth of the Androscoggin River, which for centuries

has carried sand and silt from Maine's western mountains to the sea.

Eventually blocked by its own sediments, the river gradually shifted to its present site northeast of the bay.

Casco Bay's islands have long been recognized as one of Maine's premier recreational assets, with recreation and visitor potential comparable to Boston Harbor's immensely popular island parks. Indeed, a Casco Bay Island State Park within sight and sound of Maine's major metropolitan

Footpaths provide access to Jewell lsland"s wooded Interior. Bureau of Parks & Recreation photo

by Shella McDonald .

(continued on page 19) Maine's unique coastline winds and cuNes for nearly 3,500 mllesl Characterized by jutting peninsulas and large bays filled with Islands, this magnificent resource provides significant recreational opportunity. This graphic, showing a portion of Maine's coastline (the colored rectangles represent the NOAA charts available to encompass this part of Maine's coast), was taken from the Department of ConseNatlon's brochure ¡vour Islands on the Coasr. See page 22 for Information on ordering a copy.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

17

Coast (continued from page 16) domain were incomplete and became increasingly confusing as time past.

In 1973, the 106th Legislature created the Maine Coastal Island Registry as a means of clarifying title to the marine islands scattered along its coast. Responsibility for administering the Coastal Island Registry Act was assigned to the Bureau of Public Lands, an agency of the Maine Department of Conservation and the state's principal land management agency.

To date, the bureau has examined about 1,700 titles to registered coastal islands, and the vast majority of these have proved to be valid. But approximately 100 of these were found to have title defects, resulting in repossession by the state. These, coupled with approximately 1,300 islands and ledges that were never sold, came into possession and stewardship of the Bureau of Public Lands.

In 1979, a management plan was completed for islands under the bureau's jurisdiction; it evaluated the natural features (bedrock, soil, vegetation, and wildlife) of the stateowned islands, and recommended that the majority of the islands be retained and managed by the bureau.

The plan also recommended that management of certain islands be transferred to other state agencies or conservation organizations where, due to the specializ.ed nature of certain island's resources, management could be more effective or more appropriately carried out.

Management authority for islands with significant wildlife values, such as colonial-nesting seabirds, bald eagle or osprey nests, and seal haulouts, was transferred to the Department of Inland Rsheries and Wildlife.

Visits to these islands are prohibited during the critical time when young are being reared from April 1 through August 15. Islands in close

Llttte Snow Island, located In Quahog Bay, Harpswell. Island Institute photo.

Cam ping on The Hub, Western Bay, Mo unt Desert. Photo by Steve Spencer.

(continued on page 20) 18

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Casco (continued from page 17) area may someday add another dimension to Portland's role as a center of commerce and culture.

Maine's Coastal Island Registry (see accompanying article) identified a total of about 1,400 publiclyowned islands scattered from Kittery to F.astport. Most of these are tiny the aggregate area is only about 840 acres - and thus unsuited for general public use.

Over 200 publicly-owned and of ten colorfully named islands White Bull, Uncle Zeke, Two Bush, Dog's Head and Junk of Pork - lie within Casco Bay; most are little more than bare rocks, often lacking soil or vegetation and of recreational importance only to the occasional waterfowler. About 50 of these islands are leased from the Department of Conservation's Bureau of Public Lands to the Department of Inland Rsheries and Wildlife for management as wildlife habitat.

Above, a panoramic view of some adjacent Casco Bay Islands, taken from Jewell Island. In 1914, the owners of Jewell Island (who also had an extensive farming operation there) built fwo guest houses. The remains of one are still visible today (rlght).Bureau of Parks & Recreation photos by Shella McDonald.

Below, Surf breaks on Jewell's seaward ledges. Bureau of Parks & Recreation photo by Shella McDonald.

Four Casco Bay islands managed by the Bureau of Public Lands have qualities which recommend them for limited recreational use. All are shown on National Oceanic and ¡ Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) chart number 13290, but only one of them - Crow Island - is named on the chart. Blue signs mark the undeveloped islands which range in size from "tiny" to three acres.

The Bureau of Parks and Recreation - also a part of Maine's Department of Conservation - owns five major Casco Bay island properties: all of F.agle, Bang's, Jewell, and Little Chebeague islands, and Andrews Beach on Long Island. The bureau also holds a conservation easement, without a public access provision, to 100-acre Whaleboat Island, west of the Harpswell peninsula.

(continued on page 21) Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

19

Coast (continued from page 18) proximity to state parks with the potential to be developed and maintained as part of the existing park facility were transferred to the Bureau of Parks and Recreation.

Conservation organizations with existing island ownership and management programs consistent with bureau objectives received management responsibility for a small number of islands.

The 1979 island management plan also recognized that even though the majority of the islands under the bureau's jurisdiction were small tidal ledges, a significant number of them have dispersed recreation potential for either day use or overnight camping. With the pace of coastal recreation demands quickening in the early 1980s, the bureau set about a new inventory process to identify those islands with recreation potential suitable for public use. During the summers of 1985 and 1986, 261 islands were examined by an outside consultant to

evaluate such factors as cover type, protection from open ocean influences, wildlife features, shoreline features, access points, and anchorage. While many of the islands examined were receiving moderate levels of use, they were by and large able to accommodate such use with little environmental impact. It therefore seemed to be the ideal time to establish a dispersed recreation program with proper use standards before major problems existed. With the inventory information in hand,

(continued on page 22) Dagger Island, located In East Penobscot Bay, North Haven. This Island Is managed by the Department of Inland Fisheries and WIidiife as bird-nesting habitat, and visits are prohibited from April 1 through August 15.

Island Institute photo.

Unnamed Island located In Seal Bay, Vinalhaven. Island Institute photo.

20

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Casco (continued from page 19) Acquired by gift or with funds from the 197 6 sale of $4 million in state bonds for park land acquisition matched with federal Land and ater Conservation (LAWCON) Fund money, the total land area of the bureau's islands is slightly more than 350 acres.

Seventeen-acre F.agle Island, site of Admiral Robert E. Peary's former summer home, was given to the state in 1966 by the famed Arctic explorer's family. Located about hree miles off Harpswell, this splendid wooded island was the first major state acquisition in Casco Bay. More than 10,000 people visited Eagle Island in 1987 (known in Colonial times as Sawungun).

Equipped with a dock and moorings, Eagle is a pleasant picnic spot for those who come in private boats or aboard ferries from Freeport, Harpswell, or Portland.

Construction of Peary's summer house began in 1904, five years before he discovered the North Pole.

Three fireplaces joined in triangular form and built from fieldstone and white quartz heat the main living quarters, where Peary artifacts and memorabilia are presently on display.

Eagle Island is staffed, from midJune until mid-September, by three seasonal park employees. Using Eagle as a base, park rangers also make periodic checks of other bureau-managed island properties.

Bang's Island- approximately two miles northwest of Eagle - is leased to the Department of Inland

Rsheries and Wildlife for management as a waterfowl nesting site.

Acquired in 197 4, this 55-acre island is one of the largest uninhabited islands in the bay. The island's topography and thin soils make it suitable only for low density recreational use. Visitors to Bang's are advised to avoid disturbing nesting eider ducks which gather each spring at the north end.

Seaward of Bang's and roughly 2 1/4 miles south lies 186-acre Jewell Island. Acquired as two

(continued on page 22)

Admiral Robert Peary designed this three-sided fireplace; It was built from stone found on Eagle Island. Bureau of Parks & Recreation photo by John Poisson.

Seventeen-acre Eagle Island lies In Casco Bay, three miles from the Harpswell mainland. Bureau of Parks & Recreation photo by Scott Woodruff.

In Admiral Peary's eyes, Eagle Island's rocky bluff looked llke the prow of a great ship heading northeasterly. He located his home where the pllot house of the ship would have been, and later added a deck, the circular bastion, and stone walls to enhance the Illusion of the ship's prow.

Bureau of Parks & Recreation photo by Shella McDonald .

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

21

Coast (continued from page 20) islands suitable for public recreational use were identified and efforts continued to create a program to develop this unique coastal resource, culminating in the recent publication

"Your Islands on the Coast".

The result of an advisory groups effort, this pamphlet provides valuable information on island

Casco (continued from page 21) parcels, in 1972 and 1976, the island's Cocktail Cove is a widelyknown small boat anchorage.

Legend has it that Jewell's thick woods and hidden coves attracted pirates and smugglers, although no one is known to have found buried treasure. The island is named for George Jewell, who established a fishing station there in 1632.

One of the bay's outer barrier islands, Jewell was heavily fortified during World War II with gun emplacements, ammunition bunkers, and observation towers, now badly deteriorated by time and salt air.

Visitors are cautioned to avoid the structures.

Jewell is currently being used for picnics, and to a lesser extent for camping, although no developed facilities for either are available and open fires are strictly prohibited (beware of poison ivy and ticks they are found on many coastal islands). Those who now use the island apparently respect its scenic beauty and the rare opportunity to camp on a coastal island, since park rangers say most visitors observe the carry in-<;arry out trash control rule.

In 1972, the bureau acquired Andrews Beach on Long Island.

This high quality, 930-foot sand beach draws between 5,000 and 6,000 visitors annually from the island's summer population of 2,000 and also from the mainland. A park ranger maintains the beach and provides assistance to visitors from 22

ecology, establishing use ethics such as requiring fires to be at or below the tide line and carry in/carry out policies. Forty islands are identified in this pamphlet with individual descriptions, including the necessary N. 0 .A.A. chart information, enabling the public to accurately locate each island. These islands will be further identified with a standard blue Department of Conservation-

FREE PAMPHLETS AVAilABLE ON COASTAL RECREATION

More information about coastal outdoor recreation opportunities managed by the Maine Department of Conservation can be obtained by requesting two free folders, "Your Islands on the Coast" and "Outdoors in Maine."

Information about transportation to Eagle Island is also available.

WRITE: Maine Department of Conservation, Public Information Section, State House Station #22, Augusta, Maine 04333.

June to Labor Day. Aside from vault toilets, there are no developed facilities on the 16-acre site, and no fees are charged for its use.

Bureau of Public Lands sign. An informative discussion of the various elements - tide, wind and fog-provides the user with practi- · cal considerations before planning an island trip. The State-owned islands are for all to enjoy in an appropriate manner. This new program provides all of us with a unique opportunity to explore Maine's coastal islands.

• Long Island is served by ferry from Portland; because of its accessibility, the beach often operates at capacity, especially on warm summer weekends. For this reason, island residents have asked the bureau to avoid promoting additional use.

Little Chebeague Island, with its 2,000-foot sand beach, was also purchased in 1972. The 81-acre island lies just off Great Chebeague Island, and is connected to it by sandbar at low tide. Deep water anchorages, shady groves, and a fine beach make the island a destination for youth groups looking for adventures close to home and boaters seeking a place to stretch their legs and picnic.

Public ownership of these beautiful islands provides a measure of protection from commercial development; they are, in effect, "in the bank." While they await possible development into recreation facilities available to many more people, it is the Department of Conservation's task to protect these fragile island resources from overuse and misuse.

The department needs the help and understanding of everyone presently using the islands in order to achieve this objective.

"The state-owned islands are for all to enjoy. So before you leave, look around one last time, be sure you have all your things, lock the beauty of the island in your mind's eye and leave without a trace." 1 • 1

From Your Islands on the Coast, Maine Department of Conservation/Bureau of Public Lands, 1987.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

~

THE ZUG BUG the Fly Tying Bench

NYMPH #4

by Eddie Reif Photos by Tom Carbone

ABOUT THE FLY The Zug Bug is composed primarily of peacock. The pattern as it is presently tied is attributed to an angler amed Cliff Zug, who tied it as a variation of an older pattern called Kemp's Bug. Over the years, this fly has ecome one of the most popular nymphs in the country, and most stores and catalog retailers of flies include it in eir basic nymph selection.

The effectiveness of this pattern is due to the peacock.

Peacock green is one of nature's colors which is highly attractive to man and fish. The deep lively color, shimmering irridescently in the light, is fixating in its beauty.

Evidence of this attractiveness can be garnered by pursuing a list of historically significant flies which use peacock; name recognition is extremely high! : Light Edson Tiger, Royal Coachman, Coachman, Leadwing Coachman, Brown Hackle, Grey Hackle, Alexandria,

Tie In the peacock sword tall fibers, keeping the tall short, then attach the oval tinsel and wind the thread forward.

1

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Trueblood's Caddis, Picket Pin, etc. Further, many famous streamer flies like the Grey Ghost and Supervisor incorporate strands of peacock herl as lateral lines or topping to delineate the darker backs of forage fish.

The Zug Bug is a suggestive, rather than a realistic, imitation: It imitates no species of insect in particular, but suggests many in general. And an added bonus is that it is easy to tie!

THE PATTERN HOOK; Mustad #3906B or #9671, sizes 8 - 16 THREAD: Black 6/0 Pre-waxed nylon TAIL: Three to five peacock sword fibers RIB: Peacock herl WINGCASE: Wood duck or mallard-dyed wood duck tied in on top and clipped short.

LEGS (beard): Soft furnace or brown hackle fibers

2

Tie In three or four strands of peacock herl, then pull the bobbin away from the hook, exposing a length of thread as long as the herl. Now wrap the herl counterclockwise around the thread, creating a home-made "peacock chenille" reinforced by the thread.

23

Wrap the peacock body to the rear and then to the front, taking care to build a nice taper.

3

4

Tie in a small clump of soft brown hackle fibers as a beard on the underside of head; trim excess.

5

6

The finished product!

24

Carefully wrap tinsel rib through the body so that it is tight and evenly spaced.

Tie In a clump of mallard dyed wood duck for a wing case on top of the hook; clip off, trimming to about l /3 the length of the body.

7 Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Managing For The Woodcock's Future

A Clearcut Alternative At Moosehom Refuge Article courtesy of the United States Fish & Wildlife Service "The woodcock is the living refutation of the theory that the utility of the game bird is to serve as a target or to pose gracefully on a slice of toast. No one would rather hunt woodcock in October than I, but since learning of the sky dance I find myself calling one or two birds enough. I must be sure that, come April, there be no dearth of dancers in the sunset sky."

- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Te

Above, adult woodcock on nest.

Photo by BIii Cross. Note the egg tooth on the chick (below). Photo by Greg Seplk

remarkable Professor Leopold, the thoughtful and farsighted man who founded the profession of mcx:lem game management, would today be troubled by the plight of the little bird he so much admired in this passage.

Indeed, the American woodcock, among the most popular of all game birds in the forests of the F.astem United States is being crunched hard by habitat loss. And for the past 15 years or so, its numbers have been declining at the rate of about two percent per year.

It is a curious plight for a curious bird.

The wocx:lcock is unique in that it is a shore bird -about the size of a bluejay - that lives in upland forests.

It has a long, slender, pipe-like bill

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

that enables it to bore into the soft, moist earth lowlands to feed on earthworms, which comprise 90 percent of its diet. Its eyes - big, dark, almost saucer-like - sit unusually far back on its head. The woodcock's mottled colors of sand and dark brown, with bars of bright and dark striping the back of its head, make it virtually invisible on its nest on the ground.

But is is the dazzling acrobatic spring courtship flight of the woodcock that so captured Leopold's fancy - a spiraling flight of up to 300 feet, and then a long sustained dive accompanied by a soft, seductive warble. Alighting almost from where it took off, it begins a series of buzzing "peents" to lure interested females from the nearby forest.

The delicate and enchanting "sky dance," as Leopold called it, is

25

Above left, strip clearcuts In a hardwood stand. Above right, small clearcuts In a mixed wood stand. Below, Strip clearcut in a white birch stand. Photos by Greg Seplk

performed on its breeding territory, or singing ground. But it needs a very particular kind of open space in which to do this dance. And this, in many respects, is the cause of the woodcock's trouble.

And make no mistake, the little woodcock - respected for its aesthetic and sporting qualities for more than 300 years - is in deep trouble. The activities of people are the problem - but they can also be the solution!

The first blow to the woodcock was the succession of abandoned farmland into mature stands of woodlands less suitable for the species. Woodcock depend upon abundant thickets, small fields, and other open areas interspersed with young second-growth forest.

26

And even as the forests of the F.ast grow older, rapidly expanding human population growth has turned thousands and thousands of acres of prime woodcock habitat into shopping malls, urban and suburban developments, and transportation corridors. These two conditions, separately and together, have had devastating impacts on the woodcock. But research continued as wildlife scientists labored to find an answer to the frustration of just how to enhance woodcock habitat and populations.

And so it is that,on the vast uplands of the Moosehom National Wildlife Refuge in Washington County, land management experiments aimed precisely at the woodcock have led investigators from the

University of Maine and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to an enormously effective, if highly unlikely, solution: Clear-cutting!

The very thought of clearcutting, a highly controversial harvesting practice used by many North American timber companies, is enough to rile even the moderate environmentalist. But, true enough, researchers discovered evidence that careful, consistent, and moderate applications of clear-cutting may well hold the vital key to recovery of the woodcock.

A word of clarification is in order: clear-cutting may hold the key, but this .doesn't mean huge cuts from hillside to hillside. Clear-cutting smaller areas in strips or patches on a managed rotation can provide ecological diversity and benefit wildlife. Other species that depend on successional forest growth include deer, snowshoe hares, owls and hawks,ruffed grouse, and a diversity of songbirds.

This past fall, a group of more than 80 state and federal wildlife managers, university scientists, and land managers from a number of the country's largest forest products companies gathered at a workshop in Portland aimed at assisting the woodcock. In all, 24 states and Canadian provinces were represented.

The session examined means by which wood products companies, other private landowners, and public

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

"Some people out there think added, the rotation of the stripagencies can work together to that the best thing for wildlife is cutting is important, because it has to improve habitat for woodcock and simply not to cut the forests," Sepik be part of a 40- or 50-year cutting other wildlife as part of commercial said. "But it is the managed forest cycle in order to get widespread forest operations. The workshop was diversity. "We don't want to simply that can be the best thing for wildco-sponsored by the USFWS the life. go into a stand of trees, cut, and American Forest Council, the Wildlife then not come back for another 50 At the end of the Portland Management Institute, and the workshop, the gathered woodland or 60 years; we want to come back Ruffed Grouse Society. managers agreed to three major every 8 or 10 years so we get a The workshop, based largely on constant multi-age diversity." steps to assure correctly managed an intensive long-term experiment in forests in the future: One of the most important woodcock habitat management, was aspects of the project was monitoring • Teams of foresters and wildlife carried out at Moosehom Refuge by managers from state agencies should the results. "We really won't know Greg Sepik, a USFWS field biologist. coordinate with landowners in whether it's working unless we spend Sepik's premise was based on improving habitat for woodcock and some time looking at the effects of the general understanding that there other wildlife through integrated our management, and the success of is a delicate balance in the natural forest management. Existing ecoit," Sepik said. influences on the forest - fire, snow, nomic and public relations incentives Results of the experiment were wind, rain, insects, disease, and, of that would benefit the program remarkable, Sepik reported: course, people. And these, in tum, should be assessed.

• Woodcock use, in general, contribute to a natural succession of • Private organiforest growth For more information on woodcock populations or zations, such as the from plants, to shrubs, to trees - in habitat management, contact Brad Bortner, U.S. Fish Ruffed Grouse Society and the concentrations that and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management American Forest range from open Office, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. Council, in conjuncfields to deep forests.

20240 (phone: 301-498-0706) or Greg Sepik, tion with state and It is within this federal ;gencies, natural context that Moosehom National Wildlife Refuge, Box X, Calais, should encourage the special consideraME 04619 (telephone: 207-454-3521). exchange of informations develop that tion among landownare absolutely shifted from traditional areas to the essential for the survival of wooders and others who manage forests managed woodlands, seeming to cock, a condition of diversity in age for wildlife, recreation, and forest indicate a definite preference; and species growth that only a young products. In addition, they should forest can provide. But, at the same • Survival rates of woodcock in stage workshops to disseminate this time as ·efforts were being made to managed woodlands exceeded that information in the woodcock's of unmanaged woodlands; achieve maximum wildlife benefits, southern wintering range.

Sepik was concerned that such • Management of some wood• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife management also provide merchantcock feeding covers resulted in a 500 Service should support additional able forest products. percent increase in the number of research on woodcock habitat status Sepik decided to experiment birds using the area; in the wintering grounds and explore with modifications in clear-cutting • Bear, moose, and ruffed grouse sources of additional revenue to numbers also increased. acquire critically needed habitats. The and prescribed burning, traditional Sepik is understandably excited agency should also collect and methods of commercial forest distribute information for proper about the results of his 10-year-old harvesting and management, in order to ·stimulate regrowth of a hardwood experiment and now believes " ... the management of the birds and their most important aspect of our work is habitat. forest, particularly aspen, within the to make the information we have 16,000-acre Baring Unit of the gained available to natural resource refuge. The Baring Unit was selected managers for the private landowners, Aldo Leopold would unbecause it is typical of the forests of the Northeast where abandonment of timber companies, other agencies, doubtedly have agreed with all this, farming has given rise to a vast and the interested public." To help since a commitment to diverse and second growth forest. accomplish this, a booklet, "A persistent research and management "The objective was to take this Landowner's Guide to Woodcock is in line with Leopold's own admonivery old forest and bring it back to a Management," and a video, "Woodtion that "To keep every cog and cock Woodlands," have been promulti-age forest and increase its wheel is the first precaution of duced. diversity," Sepik explained. But, he intelligent tinkering."

II

Yes,

•

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

27

Letters should be sent to:

Liz Chipman, KID-BITS Editor MAINE FISH AND WILDLIFE Magazine 284 State Street, Station #41 Augusta, Maine 04333

WATERSHEDS OF MAINE

.1: .

--

=- -=

(

~(.

Divide (watershed boundary)

Common drainage point

28

-¡::.:

Maine has eight large watersheds that collect most of the water in our state. They are called "watersheds" because they are like storage sheds that hold water as it runs off the land to the ocean. Maine's land surface is covered with watersheds. No matter where you, you are in the watershed of a river or stream. The hills and mountains are the sides or boundaries of the sheds dividing one from another. The water is directed into lakes., wetlands and other storage compartments by the channels formed by the hills and mountains.

The names of Maine's eight watersheds are scrambled below. Can you unscramble them? Their locations are labeled on the state map on the left.

A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H.

nsjhto scxrtoi sconpetbo nekbence odrogasnigc mssreptcpuo cosa isqatapua

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

MAINE TRACKER 1. is a rodent 2. has the scientific name Castor canadensis 3. was once so highly valued for its fur that pursuit of it was responsible in large part for the exploration of North America 4. is known for its flat, broad tail 5. will slap the water with its tai I when frightened 6. is recognized as a skilled architect because of its dam building

FERNS

Fiddleheads in springtime

Springtime brings many new plants - one of these is the fern. In the spring when they are first growing, some ferns are coiled and look like the end of a fiddle, so they are called "fiddleheads".

Those are edible in some species, and are good when cooked. Two common Maine ferns are the Christmas fern and the Interrupted fern. The Christmas fern is easy to identify by the "Christmas stocking" shape of its leaves.

The interrupted fern is also easy to identify because each stalk has gaps along it where there are no leaflets.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Interrupted fern

29

Progress?

Or Problem?

some

by years ago, we were having some serious problems with

all-terrain vehicle riding here in Maine. Land was being ridden over indiscriminately, operators were being injured and/or killed, others were concerned about environmental impacts and interference on wildlifeand habitats.

Something had to be done!

That "something" turned out to be a body of law passed by the 111 th Legislature in 1983. While these sections of law aren't perfect, they're good enough to have been used as models by other states seeking to regulateall-terrain vehicles (AlVs). Includedare safety requirements, programs, and recommended training for sensible operation of these machines in Maine.

But why AlVs in the first place?

What good are they? To some who ask these questions, they are nothing but annoyances.

But to others, they are nearly necessities. Let's look, for just a minute, at both sides of this coin.

30

Chuck Duggins

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

One of my first personal experiences with an A1V occurred on a frosty November morning. I was out deer hunting, and had been several hours on a stand overlooking a well-used deer trail. Suddenly, up the very same trail came a bright red and blue AlV! Needless to say, I was not too thrilled with them right then! Shortly, however, I realized that the rider was a neighbor who, due to an ¡ jury, could not have been out deer hunting at all without the aid of that machine. A legitimate use? I think so . . any of these machines are used for forestry, farming, trapping, and other legitimate business uses. But the majority of them are used for pleasure riding - and that is every bit as legitimate a use as any other.

These problems that existed before, and those which still exist today, are often perceived as the fault of "those dam machines." But more often than not, the problems are "people problems" instead. In most cases, injuries arose when machines were operated in unsafe or irresponsible manners - ways never even thought of by their designers. Sometimes it was untrained operators, sometimes i was unsupervised youngsters - but too often, it was, and is, simply that the operators didn't use common sense!

It is evident that the Maine legislature recognized this "people-based" set of problems for what it was.

The proof: 1) our law now requires safety training for all operators under the age of 18 who operate AlVs anywhere other than on their own property; 2) it requires that a helmet be worn by an AlV operator under 18, no matter where he or she operates the machine; 3) it encourages 0

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the establishment of clubs and trails (with the help of the Maine Department of Conservation); and 4) it holds the adult who provided the machine accountable for the actions of minor operators.

Is our A1V law working? We believe it is. In the past 18 months, complaints received in our Augusta office about AlVs have gone from four or five every week to only one in the past four months! Our reported accident rate has been reduced by 40 percent! Many clubs have been formed throughout the state, and the Maine AllTerrain Vehicle Association (MAlVA) has been very active in pulling all this together.

We have had much help from many other sources as well.

Without the aid of the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, the American Honda Motor Company, the Maine Motorcycle Dealers Association, many local A1V dealers, various law enforcement agencies, and last, but certainly not least, a group of dedicated voluRteer instructors, we would not have been able to come as far as we have. Because of this coordinated effort, AlVing is becoming recognized as a legitimate recreational activity in Maine.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ... about the Maine All-Terrain Vehicle Association (MATV A), contact: Jim Howard, President Rusty Bell, Exec. Dir.

729-3328 465-9598

about forming a club or creating trails, contact: Brian Bronson, Maine Dept. of Conservation

289-4958

about safety programs, contact:

The author is the department's recreational safety coordinator.

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

Chuck Duggins, Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife 289-5229 31

FISH AND WILDLIFE BRIEFS '87 BFAR KILL REPORT

Maine's 1987 black bear hunting season showed a 20 percent increase in the harvest over 1986, despite early denning by most bears.

Wildlife Biologist Craig McLaughlin said that 2,394 bears were taken during the 13-week season, compared to 1, 955 bears in 1986.

Despite the increase, McLaughlin predicts another big season is possible in 1988 due to a large bear population in the state. "Research and harvest data, reports of bear complaints, and field reports from regional wildlife biologists and wardens indicate a plentiful supply of bear awaits Maine hunters in 1988.

Maine's spring 1988 bear population is estimated at approximately 21,000 animals, and an annual harvest of 1,5002,500 bears is needed to stabilize the population at this level.

McLaughlin says that bears were registered in 14 of the state's 16 counties during the 1987 season. The largest number (694) was in Aroostook County, which yielded 29 percent of the statewide harvest. Piscataquis County was second highest, with 426 bears (18 percent). No bears were tal?en in Lincoln or Sagadahoc counties.

According to McLaughlin, most of the 1987 harvest occurred during September, when 1,802 bears (75 percent) were registered. Hunters tagged 417 additional bears (1 7 percent) in October, and 174 (7 percent) in November.

"The high harvest in September, when seasons on other game species were closed, suggests considerable hunting effort was expended by hunters specifically pursuing bears," McLaughlin reported. "The low kill in November reflects the early den-entry by bears in northern Maine due to a widespread shortage of beechnuts. Reports from field personnel indicated the 1987 beechnut crop was poor over most of the state's bear range, and that bears wearing radio collars for monitoring denned by mid-October in northern Maine."

Other information reported by McLaughlin on the 1987 bear hunt: •The harvest included 1,284 males (54 percent), 1,079 females (45 percent), and 31 bears (1 percent) for which sex was not recorded.

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• Maine hunters registered 97 6 bears, or 41 percent of the harvest. The 1,418 bears harvested by nonresidents were taken by hunters residing in 32 other states, Canada and Germany.

• Bowhunters accounted for 176 bears, or 7 percent of the harvest. Most successful bowhunters (120) were nonresidents, and most took their bears in September.

Further information about the 1988 bear hunting season, and a map showing the bear kill by counties and townships, may be obtained by writing the Department of Inland Rsheries and Wildlife, Public Information and Education Division, Station 41, Augusta, ME 04333.

HABITAT TRACT PURCHASED A large tract of undeveloped land between Lewiston and Brunswick has been purchased by the Department of Inland Rsheries and Wildlife with moneys from the Habitat Acquisition Fund.

Rsh and Wildlife Commissioner Bill Vail said the purchase of 500 acres of upland/wetland surrounding most of Caesar Pond in Bowdoin makes it the third large land tract purchased with the funds created by the passage of a $5 million bond issue in 1986. The purchase price was $ 7 00 per acre for a total cost of $350,000.

The property is located between large human population centers in southcentral Maine, and is also only a few miles west of Merrymeeting Bay, a famous waterfowl nesting and feeding area on the lower Kennebec River.

In a report on the property, Regional Wildlife Biologist Gene Dumont recommended its purchase "because of the high development wlnerability, existing habitat value, and the exceptional potential for both wetland and upland habitat management."

Dumont noted that there are several large adjacent tracts of land that might be added to this parcel to produce a moderate-sized wildlife management area. "The wetlands have excellent potential for waterfowl development.

Further acquisitions could result in a multi-faceted management area."

He also noted that "Caeser Pond is a shallow water body with valuable waterfowl nesting habitat ... "

The first use of the Habitat Acquisition Fund was the purchase last year of two major parcels creating the 1,450 acre Narraguagus Wildlife Management Area at Cherryfield, at a cost of $680,000.

The second was the acquisition of a 600acre parcel of undeveloped land in the the Killick Pond area in Hollis, bought in December for $625,000.

This latest acquisition leaves $3.3 million in the fund for future purchases of properties suitable for preservation as wildlife habitat and open to use for compatible public recreational uses including hunting, fishing, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, nature observation and photography.

'DOE PERMIT' UPDATE Maine deer hunters must apply for a permit this summer if they want a chance to hunt deer of either sex this fall.

The Department will issue a total of about 44,500 Any-Deer Permits, apportioned to 16 of the state's 17 deer management districts in numbers reflecting the local deer herd conditions.

A permit allows the holder the option of taking a deer of either sex in a selected district. Hunters without permits, and permit holders hunting outside their assigned district, will be limited to "bucksonly" hunting during the firearms and muzzleloader seasons.

Permit application must be made on a form provided by the Rsh and Wildlife Department, and postmarked or delivered in person to the Department's Augusta headquarters by August 15.

Deer seasons for 1988: Regular firearms, Oct. 31-Nov. 26; Resident-only day, Oct. 29; Archery only, Oct. 1-28; Muzzleloaders only, Nov. 28-Dec. 3.

WETIANDS AGREEMENTS The Department of Inland fisheries and Wildlife has signed agreements with Ducks Unlimited (DU) and two landowners to improve and manage two wetlands in western Maine.

Rsh and Wildlife Commissioner Bill Vail signed agreements with Scott Paper Company for a lease to improve and manage Tiger Hill Marsh in Sebago, and a similar lease with Leland M. Robinson of Llvermore Falls for a wetland in · ·' Tumer. The leases are for 30 years, with

Maine Fish and Wildlife - Summer 1988

e option of extending the terms for another 10 years at Tiger Hill, and five years at the Robinson marsh.

The leases grant to the department the exclusive right to manipulate water levels, :,.,eluding construction of dams.

Through its MARSH (Matching Aid to Restore States Habitat) program, DU is making available a matching grant to provide up to $8,000 for each project to complete construction at the sites.

DU' s MARSH program provides money to state fish and wildlife agencies .or wetland acquisition and/or enhancement, based on DU' s income within that sate .

The Tiger Hill marsh is located in an area of Sebago known as the Mountain Meadow Wildlife Area, near the headwaers of the Northwest River. It is 22 acres, and has been periodically impoun~ed by beaver.

The lack of consistent water level control has prevented the Tiger Hill marsh from reaching its full potential for waterfowl nesting, feeding and resting.

The Department's plans for the area include construction of a permanent 68foot dike and water control structure at the outlet. Improved water level control should promote the growth of vegetation and improve the interspersion of cover and water, enhancing the area's value for duck brood rearing and feeding. It is expected that black duck, mallard and wood duck production will be improved as a result.

The 26-acre Leland M. Robinson marsh is located at the base of Bear Mountain in Tumer. In 1982, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service constructed a water control structure through its Waterbank Program. However, the major flood of April 1, 1987, washed it away, also filling in and destroying several hundred feet of high quality brook trout habitat downstream of the dam site.

The Department plans to reinstate the earthen dike, reset the existing control structure, construct a new spillway on the dike, and re-establish the stream channel several hundred feet downstream. The project will re~reate a high-value waterfowl habitat as well as reclaim a destroyed brook trout stream. Future management will include the installation of wood duck nesting boxes.

The Soil Conservation Service will provide funding for 60 percent of the construction costs of the Robinson wetland, and MARSH 40 percent of the $20,000 project.

PERSONNEL NOTES

Several promotions and transfers in the Warden Service and Wildlife Division highlight recent personnel news in the Department of Inland Rsheries and Wildlife.

Promoted to the rank of major and transferred to the Department's Augusta headquarters was Herbert W. Vernon, a 29-year veteran game warden who most recently was the lieutenant in charge of Warden Division C, headquartered in Bangor. The Vanceboro native filled the deputy chief warden post which had been vacated when Larry S. Cummings was promoted to chief warden. Transferring to Bangor to replace Vernon was Ll. Langdon F. Chandler who had been the lieutenant in charge of Division B; he was replaced in that Augusta-based warden division by Lt. Michael L. Ritchie, previously of Division E, Ashland. Promoted from sergeant to lieutenant and remaining in Division E to replace Ritchie was Gregory T. Maher, a Bangor native and 16-year veteran game warden.

In the Wildlife Divison, G. Mark Stadler was promoted from regional wildlife biologist in Region G, Ashland, to be the supervisor of the wildlife management section; he was replaced in Ashland

by Richard T. Hoppe, a Michigan State University graduate who was previously employed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Promoted from assistant regional biologist to regional wildlife biologist and transferred from Region D, Strong headquarters, to fill a vacant position in Region C, Machias, was Thomas L Schaeffer; hired to replace Schaeffer was Charles T. Hulsey, a University of Maine graduate with degrees in wildlife management and forest management who was formerly employed as a district forester by the Maine Department of Conservation.

Riling a vacant regional wildlife biologist position in Greenville was Ronald A. Joseph, a Waterville native who had been employed for ten years as a wildlife biologist for U.S. Rsh and Wildife Service.

NONGAME DONATION

Maine's Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund is the beneficiary of a $500 gift from the Penobscot County Conservation Association.

Project Leader Alan Hutchinson said this is one of the largest gifts ever received by the program, which is funded

primarily through a voluntary tax-exempt state income tax checkoff.

In a "thank you" to the PCCA , Rsh and Wildlife Commissioner Bill Vail said the gift "is now at work supporting the conservation of the bald eagle and golden eagle, two endangered species in Maine.

"Specifically, your gift will be used to support a field assistant for Wildlife Biologist Charles Todd during spring' s busy field season. That assistance will allow us to follow up leads on potential new nesting sites-leads that otherwise could not be followed.

"I can't overemphasize the importance of your gift," the Commissioner added.

"This Department's work with endangered species and ¡more than 400 other species of wildlife depends on donations like yours. With 22 species listed as endangered or threatened in Maine, and another 7 0 in need of special management to prevent their decline, you can just imagine how much we are faced with doing with our limited funding. Your gift makes a real difference."

The Endangered and Nongame Wildlife Fund focuses on the rarest and most endangered species in Maine. In addition to the two eagle species, it supports work on peregrine falcons, least terns, piping plovers, nesting seabirds, shorebirds, rare turtles and finback whales, and other species.

The fund has also allowed for the start of a statewide habitat protection effort for rare and endangered wildlife, and it supports research and education on endangered and nongame wildlife.

WORTH A VISIT For an interesting and educational day trip, many Mainers and visitors to the state have discovered the Gray Game Farm and Visitor's Center, where the Department of Inland Rsheries and Wildlife houses injured and orphaned wildlife brought in by game wardens and biologists.

Located off Route 26, about 4 miles north of Gray village, the facility is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is an admission fee of 50 cents for visitors over age five.

Also on the premises is a fish hatchery, with pools containing large trout. There are also picnic tables and a marked nature trail.

A new item this year is the featuring of a "species of the month," with detailed information about the animals displayed on a central kiosk.

Maine Department of Inland Hsherles and WIidlife

284 State Street, Station #41

Augusta, Maine 04333