Private lands in Manitoba's agricultural zone generally contain the remaining habitat for sharp-tailed grouse Tympanuchus phasianellus. Much of this area has been changed through agricultural activities, resulting in fragments of suitable habitat interspersed with cropland and other intensive farming operations. Habitat alteration has resulted in reduction in suitable sites for nesting and brood rearing for sharp-tailed grouse. A Private Lands Management Program (PLMP) has been developed in Manitoba through the efforts of the Sharptails Plus Foundation. Sharptails Plus is a private, non-government organization, with the objective of maintaining or increasing populations of sharp-tailed grouse in Manitoba. The PLMP is designed to assist landowners by suggesting modifications to farming practices which improve farm profitability while also enhancing habitat for wildlife. The program identifies candidate landowners, sets project objectives for habitat improvement through a technical advisory committee, and evaluates effects of habitat treatments from the biological and agricultural perspective. The technical advisory committee includes biologists, agrologists, and land managers working together in an interdisciplinary framework. All steps of the program must be approved by the landowner. Three Sharptails Plus demonstration projects have been initiated to depict the variety of techniques that landowners can use to enhance their farming operations and improve habitat. Data from the past three years for the demonstration sites indicate that sharptail attendance at leks has been stable or has increased, evidence of nesting in managed habitat is greater than in unmanaged, and vegetation composition in managed areas has changed from an open grassland or a forested grassland to a grass-shrub mix. Evaluation will continue through 1997.
Key words: Canada, habitat management, Manitoba, sharp-tailed grouse, Tympanuchus phasianellus
Richard K. Baydack, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada