Thursday, March 27, 2008
Another senseless death at Crabtree Falls
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL: In your years of outdoor adventures you have probably been to Crabtree Falls. Saturday the rocks and water claimed another life: the 25th. It seems so unnecessary. There are warning signs and memorial benches along the path. For most visitors this is enough to put them in awe of the falls. Some people are smart enough to stay on the trail, but let their pets free. Last year there were multiple fatalities involving dogs. How can we convince people to respect nature and follow good advice?
This serious situation is complicated by the lack of communications in the deep Tye River Gorge. Although the Montebello Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company is only 5 miles away, radio and cell phone communication is unreliable if not impossible in this terrain. The minimum response time is 45 to 60 minutes. A witness must walk to the bottom of the falls where there is a hard line phone. The 911 dispatcher must contact local emergency services and that crew must hike to the victim with equipment and supplies. To reach a body or injured person, the crew is put in a dangerous situation. Careless tourist not only jeopardizes their own life and health, but those of dedicated volunteer rescue personnel.
P.A.
BILL: A question on your turkey column. I am curious. Do turkeys invite strangers into their flock? They’re not necessarily all blood relatives?
J.E.
J.E.: After hatching, young birds firmly imprint on the brood hen, but it is not uncommon for several broods to join together, usually in the spring, to form larger flocks and to develop ties. Mature gobblers tend to drift in and out of the flocks, depending on the convenience of the situation. They don’t like to be around young birds because the juveniles are noisy and can attract predators. But along about now the mature gobblers are a part of many flocks because they have mating on their mind. Observers now are beginning to see toms strutting among mostly disinterested hens. The hens soon will pair up with gobblers, and later make nests, lay eggs and bring on new life.
BILL
BILL: I talk to some grouse hunters, and I was under the impression that the lack of cover is not the only limiting factor. I’ve heard that hawks also are a major factor in determining the present day grouse population. Any truth to this? Can we blame the “wilderness advocates” for the increased hawk numbers as well?
S.H.
S.H.: The Appalachian Cooperative Grouse Research Project revealed that predation, both avian and mammalian, accounted for 67 percent of the grouse mortality in the study area. That is huge. Hunting mortality, by the way, was placed at 16 percent.
Many biologists and hunters say that if grouse have proper habitat, in the form of reasonable amounts of new growth, they not only have an improved food supply but are better able to avoid birds of prey than in areas of old growth. A mixture of some older, mast-bearing trees is beneficial for grouse in their southern range because these birds depend on acorns for body fat critical to reproduction and survival.
The philosophy of environmentalists who think the only good forest is wilderness or old growth has had a negative impact on grouse, woodcock and a number of other species, including song birds. Department of Game and Inland Fisheries wildlife biologists believe the decline of timber cutting on national forest land is a major factor in lower grouse numbers. Certainly when timber practices were on a large scale the grouse population was higher.
BILL
BILL: I do agree on the mixture of old and new growth. But I’ve heard grouse hunters say that even in areas of good cover there are fewer birds. I do not pretend to know anything about grouse, but I do listen to the few grouse hunters I know. In Floyd County, which you know remains mostly private land, there still is a lot of harvesting and timber cuts that are going on. And I would classify most of what I’ve see in Floyd as a mix of old and new growth. But the hunters tell me that there also are fewer birds to be found there as well. It is an interesting problem.
S.H.:
S.H.: DGIF trend analyses suggest at 2.3 percent annual decline in grouse breeding population levels in Virginia over the past 10 years. That may not sound like much, but when you add it up you see it is eroding the population. Grouse hunting 30 to 50 years ago often was carried out on national forest land, but the best habitat now is found on private land. As you point out, in many instances birds also have declined on private land where timber management is carried out. No species seems to do well when its habitat is fragmented. As you say, it is an interesting problem.
BILL
