Overview

Biologists and conservationists created the Upper Great Lakes Woodcock and Young Forest Initiative in 2007 to promote the stewardship of early successional habitats (young forest and shrublands) in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, within Bird Conservation Regions 12 (Boreal Hardwood Transition) and 23 (Prairie Hardwood Transition). A stepdown of the Woodcock Conservation Plan for the Upper Great Lakes region outlines habitat goals.

An important partnership in the initiative is the collaboration between the Woodcock Task Force and the Golden-Winged Warbler Working Group. The population of golden-winged warblers is also falling in the region, likely due in part to habitat loss.

Partners in this regional initiative include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Golden-Winged Warbler Working Group, the Ruffed Grouse Society, Woodcock Minnesota, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the Wildlife Management Institute.

A Webless Migratory Game Bird Management Grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helps fund the Upper Great Lakes Woodcock and Young Forest Initiative.

There are both effective and ineffective ways to try to create woodcock habitat. Partners in the Upper Great Lakes Woodcock and Young Forest Initiative are creating Demonstration Areas to showcase habitat management techniques to help woodcock and other young-forest wildlife.