MANAGINGYOUR

BRUSHLANDFOR

WILDLIFE

Photo Credit: MN DNR

Minnesota Brushlands

To some, the term “brushland” describes a waste-land - something that should be cleared anddrained in order to be farmed, pastured, or plantedto trees. However, a variety of brushland and otheropen habitat types, ranging from shrub swamp andwet meadow/fen types through relatively openaspen parkland and stagnant conifer bogs, arenative plant communities that occur throughoutNorthern Minnesota. These communities arehome to a wide variety of wildlife species, manyof which require large areas of open habitat.Brushland communities are usually early succes-sional or “young” habitat types and require peri-odic disturbances to maintain and sustain them.

HistoryAbout 10,000 years ago, as the large glacial lakesof Northwestern and East-central Minnesota slowly dried and finally disappeared, they leftlarge, relatively flat landscapes that were once lakebottoms. The largest was Glacial Lake Agassiz,which covered all of Northwestern Minnesota,Northeastern North Dakota, and extended far inCanada. In East-central Minnesota, the smallerGlacial Lakes Aitkin, Upham, St. Croix, andDuluth left the same land pattern. Historically,forests were rare on these lakebeds due to peatysoils and wet conditions. When the land did dryenough to grow trees, naturally occurring wildfireskept these areas from converting to forest. Duringthe homestead era that began in the late 1800’s,many of these lands were ditched in an attempt todrain them for farming. Most of these efforts ulti-mately failed, and while the ditch networksremain, much of this landscape today is a mosaicof wild and semi-agricultural open land and non-productive forest. Successful wildfire reductionprograms, tree planting, and changes in generalland use are resulting in the conversion of manyacres of brushland habitat into marginal or stuntedforest and decadent, less productive brushlands.As a result, populations of many brushlandwildlife species are declining.

Photo Credit: MN DNR

Photo Credit: MN DNR

Brushland Wildlife

Sharp-tailed GrouseThe sharp-tailed grouse, or “sharptail” is anobligate brushland species, meaning that itrequires large areas of brushland habitat. Unlikeits cousins, the ruffed grouse and spruce grouse,sharptails cannot live in typical forests, (sharptailswill utilize relatively open forests such as stagnantconifer bogs), and unlike its other cousin theprairie chicken, sharptails in Minnesota do notprosper in brush-free grasslands. The sharptail isnative to Minnesota and historically thrivedwherever there were natural open landscapes. Itreached its peak during the logging and settlementera, when vast areas of northern Minnesota wereconverted to open land. At that time it was themost common grouse species in Minnesota andhunters harvested up to 150,000 sharptails yearlythrough the 1940’s. However, harvests havediminished as brushland habitat and sharptailpopulations have declined, so that today, about10,000 are taken each year.

Sharptails require large expanses of open habitatwith a mix of grass, brush, and small, scatteredclumps or “islands” of trees. The larger the openhabitat block, the better. The landscape can beany combination of upland and lowland, as longas it is open.

During the spring, several males gather on traditional dancing grounds, or leks, and vie forthe chance to mate. Usually, the lek is located onthe most open and slightly raised piece ofground available. The Minnesota DNR and the

Many wildlife species have adapted to life in Northern Minnesota’s brushlands. Some speciesrequire large areas of open brushland, while others are equally at home in both brushland andforested habitats. Sharp-tailed grouse, white-tailed deer, woodcock, furbearers, and variousother game and non-game species all utilize brushland habitats.

Photo Credit: MN DNR Photo Credit: MN DNR

Brushland Wildlife

Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society place observation blinds on select leks each spring, enabling hun-dreds of people to watch this beautiful and often comical display. In the fall, sharptails often engage in shortmigrations to open bogs where they spend the winter. Summer foods include insects, berries, clover, alfalfa,and various other native forbs andgrasses. Winter foods include the budsand twig ends of bog birch, paper birch,aspen, and various remaining seeds andfruits. Sharptails also utilize smallgrains, especially buckwheat and oats.For more information, please refer tothe “Managing Your Land For Sharp-tailed Grouse” brochure available atyour local DNR Wildlife Office, or con-sult with your local DNR WildlifeManager.

Photo Credit: Craig Borck, St. Paul Pioneer Press

Photo Credit: Craig Borck, St. Paul Pioneer Press

Brushland Wildlife

White-tailed DeerThe white-tailed deer is classified as an edgespecies, due to its use of both forested and openareas, with increased use occurring along the tran-sition or edge between the two cover types. Deerhome ranges vary from 150-300 acres for does toover 800 acres for bucks. A highly sought aftergame species, deer are pursued by nearly half amillion hunters annually in Minnesota and are themost popular game species that landownerschoose to manage for.

Photo Credit: Minnesota Deer Hunters Association Photo Credit: J. Mueller

Photo Credit: G.N. Rysgaard

Brushland Wildlife

Deer habitat can be composed of any mix offorested and open areas. Open areas are an impor-tant component of good deer habitat. Brushlands,clear-cuts, agricultural lands, forest openings, pasturelands, and food plots provide essential herbaceous forage that can be scarce under theshady, closed canopies of mature forests.Brushlands provide preferred food sources in theform of grasses, forbs, berries, buds, and twigends at browse level year-round. In addition toproviding excellent feeding areas, they provideoptimal fawning sites, loafing cover, and escapecover. Brushlands are used by deer during everyseason, except during severe winters when manymigrate to more heavily forested areas. For moreinformation please refer to the “Managing Your

Woodland for White-tailed Deer” brochure available at your local DNR Wildlife Office, orconsult with your local DNR Wildlife Manager.

Photo Credit: MN DNR

Photo Credit: Patrick D. Karns

Brushland Wildlife

CENTRAL EASTERN

SURVEY

COVERAGE

BREEDING

RANGE

WoodcockThe American woodcock is a unique member ofthe shorebird family that has adapted to lifein upland habitats. Woodcock are migratory,spending their summers across much of theNortheastern US and Canada and wintering in theSoutheastern US. They begin to arrive on theirbreeding grounds in Minnesota about mid-Marchand remain until mid-October. Woodcock requirea mix of brushlands and young forests to meettheir needs during their breeding cycle. Theyutilize dense stands of young brush and youngdeciduous trees, particularly alder and aspen, forfeeding, nesting, and brood rearing. Closedcanopy coniferous forests (pine, spruce, and bal-sam) and mature forests of any type do not pro-vide quality woodcock habitat; however, very oldforests with patchy canopy gaps and dense shrubsor saplings are utilized by woodcock.

Male woodcock establish “singing grounds” insmall openings with low ground cover where theyengage in a unique mating display. They emit sev-eral nasal sounding calls or “peents” from theground, followed by a spiral flight over the area toheights of 100-300 feet, during which they makecharacteristic twittering sounds with their wingfeathers. They then utter a melodic warbling call

Photo Credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Photo Credit: Mark Spoden

Brushland suitable for Woodcock habitat, Photo Credit: MN DNR

Brushland Wildlife

while gliding back to the singing ground. Thesecourtship displays are easily observed at dawn anddusk. Females nest in areas with thick groundcover, often within 500 feet of the male’s singingground. By mid-summer chicks are on their ownand both adults and chicks seek large grassy fieldsto roost in at night, while returning to dense youngalder or aspen during the day where their favoritefoods, earthworms and insects, are abundant. Formore information please refer to the “ManagingYour Land For Woodcock” brochure available atyour local DNR Wildlife Office or consult withyour local DNR Wildlife Manager Photo Courtesy of Ruffed Grouse Society

Photo Credit: MN DNR

Brushland Wildlife

Nongame and Other WildlifeMinnesota is home to over 600 wildlife species, ofwhich nearly two-thirds are classed as “nongame.”These wildlife species are not hunted, trapped, orfished. Dozens of wildlife species utilize opengrass-brush habitats in the northern forest, andmany are rare or unique. Some depend on the largeopen landscapes also required by sharp-tailedgrouse, while others use smaller open areas. Someprefer drier areas, some prefer wetter areas, andsome can be found in both uplands and lowlands.Although a totally inclusive list is beyond thescope of this brochure, the following is a sampleof some of the diverse wildlife species that dependon Northern Minnesota’s brushland habitats.

Bird species that inhabit brushlands or open land-scapes are more at risk than any other group ofspecies, and some are even on the state’s threat-ened and special concern lists. These include theyellow rail and sharp-tailed sparrow, both ofwhich require large expanses of sedge lowlands.

Large brushland habitat complexes also attractEastern meadowlarks and bobolinks, both ofwhich are suffering from general populationdeclines across the Upper Midwest. Anotherimperiled songbird, the golden-winged warbler,reaches its greatest breeding densities in youngforests near open habitats. Uncommon uplandsandpipers and the rather common Eastern bluebird frequent brushlands intermixed with oldupland pasture or hayland. NortheasternMinnesota’sbrushlands arealso home to someof the easternmostpopulations ofblack-billedmagpies, along-tailed blackand white birdcommon in themountains andprairies of theWest. Grass andbrush habitats inlowland areasattract yellowwarblers, sedge Eastern Bluebird,

Photo Credit: Carrol Henderson

Common Snipe, Photo Credit: Thomas R. Crum

Sandhill Crane, Photo Credit: MN DNR

Brushland Wildlife

wrens, sora rails, American bitterns, and evensandhill cranes, which are a close relative of thecritically endangered whooping crane. Severalof Minnesota’s frog species, including springpeepers and wood frogs, are also common inlowland areas. Great gray owls, uncommondiurnal (day-hunting) short-eared owls, alongwith Northern harriers or “marsh hawks”, andAmerican kestrels or “sparrow hawks” hunt forthe insects and small mammals, such as meadowvoles, that abound in grass and brush habitats. If

you are interested in managing your property fornongame or other brushland wildlife, good habitatmanagement should be your primary concern;however, installing properly constructed and main-tained nesting structures will also help attract cer-tain species such as Eastern bluebirds andAmerican kestrels. For more information pleaseconsult with your local DNR Wildlife Manager orDNR Nongame Specialist.

American Kestrel, Photo Credit: Carrol Henderson Sandhill Crane, Photo Credit: Walt Huss

Short-eared Owl, Photo Credit: MN DNR

Managing Your Brushlands

Shearing & Mowing“Shearing” with a bulldozer over frozen ground isoften used to regenerate large stands of stagnantbrushland. The over-mature brush and trees aresheared off at ground level and vigorously sproutnew growth, providing optimum habitat for brush-land species for several years. Mowing or chop-ping stagnant brush with a rotary-axe mower basi-cally accomplishes the same thing, and the shred-ded vegetation is generally cleaner in appearanceimmediately following management. In general,shearing is cheaper than mowing, but mowing is

more effective in areas where the diameter of thebrush is smaller (shearing often leaves “whips” orsmall diameter stems that remain standing in suchareas) and drier sites can be mowed at any timeduring the year (optimal brush control is oftenobtained in late summer/early fall). Regardless ofwhether an area is sheared or mowed, the debriswill deteriorate naturally and is barely noticeablewithin 1-2 years. A prescribed burn can be used tofurther eliminate debris and will help maintainyour brushland habitat in favorable condition.

BurningPrescribed burning is another method commonlyused to manage brushlands. Burning top-killsbrush and trees, reduces litter, encourages seed ger-mination, stimulates sprouting, and often improvesberry production, thereby providing excellentsources of food for wildlife. Burning is most effec-tive in brushlands that have a mixture of shorterbrush and grass. Therefore, prescribed burning isoften used to maintain brushland habitat that hasbeen previously sheared or mowed, as it is muchcheaper than either mowing or shearing. Prescribedburns are usually conducted in spring or, less com-monly, in fall when the vegetation is dormant anddry. A rotation of 2-8 years between burns, depend-ing on the vegetation, should be sufficient to main-tain your brushland in favorable condition. Do notbe overly concerned about destroying bird nestsduring your spring burns. The adult females usual-ly escape harm and many will re-nest. The longterm benefits of burning far out-weigh any tempo-rary setbacks. For more information on burningand necessary permits, please refer to “TheBenefits of Prescribed Burning on Private Land”brochure available at your local DNR WildlifeOffice or consult with your local DNR WildlifeManager.

Rotary-Axe Mower, Photo Credit: MN DNR

Photo Credit: MN DNR

Managing Your Brushlands

HayingHaying brushland that mainly consists of grasseswill help keep the area more open. In areas that arehayed every year, waiting until after the primarynesting season will help reduce bird nest destruc-tion. In addition, scattered hayfields, especiallythose without nearby trees, provide sharp-tailedgrouse with open areas suitable for dancinggrounds.

GrazingGrazing, particularly in tree-free areas with a mixof grass and brush, can maintain brushlands in amore open condition. Managed rotational or prescribed grazing systems, where livestock ismanaged to impact areas needing treatment, andremoved before the areas are overgrazed, are preferred over season-long unmanaged grazingsystems.

Hand-CuttingHand-cutting with brush saws or hand tools isanother effective method for managing stagnantbrushland. However, the amount of labor involvedgenerally restricts the use of this method to smallareas.

Timber SalesIf trees surrounding and within brushland habitatcomplexes are of merchantable size, and are pres-ent in sufficient quantity and quality, a timber salemay become a management option. A clear-cutwithout reserves (no trees left standing) is theappropriate type of harvest scheme in brushlandareas. Timber sales provide personal income andresult in excellent habitat for various brushlandwildlife species. A private forestry consultant oryour local DNR Wildlife Manager and DNRForester can help you determine the value of yourtimber and facilitate harvesting.

Food PlotsFood plots are not a replacement for good habitatmanagement; however, food plots consisting ofsmall grains, sunflowers, clovers, or corn areanother way to benefit and attract brushlandwildlife to your property. Food plots provide con-centrated sources of readily available food relishedby a variety brushland wildlife including white-tailed deer, sharp-tailed grouse, waterfowl, bear,and sandhill cranes. Basically, a food plot is simplya “fast food restaurant” next to the “health foodstore”.

Photo Credit: Penny Backman

Additional DNR publications that are available include:• Managing Your Woodland for White-tailed Deer• Managing Your Woodland for Ruffed Grouse• Managing Your Woodland for Wild Turkey• Managing Your Land for Sharp-tailed Grouse• Landscaping for Wildlife• Woodworking for Wildlife• Woody Cover Plantings for Wildlife• DNR Reports

Contact Information:For information and materials on natural resources,or DNR facilities, services, and regulations contact:

DNR Information Center500 Lafayette RoadSt. Paul, MN 55155-4040Toll Free: 1-888-MINN-DNR (646-6367)651-296-6157 Fax: 651-297-3618Telecommunication Device for the Deaf651-296-5484800-657-3929

Credits:Minnesota DNR Section of Wildlife651-296-6157The Minnesota Sharp-tailed Grouse Society218-326-4253The Ruffed Grouse Society888-JOIN-RGSThe Minnesota Deer Hunters Association800-450-3337

© Minnesota Department of Natural Resources