Vol. 18, No. 12 
Page 3 
Survey. U Is becoming «rs difficult -el-yea. to^ ‘/^Ta'leln!,’ 2) 
ST-flS? the market SW -an, -n recent years. Re present 
sanctuary acreage was purchased at an«era,epr,c W. P contrasc> some 
a rL P t r oub!irauc ions cf l^d clpafable to much of the present sanctuaries 
recent public auctio jasper County. Increasing 
^^^hn’^t^^l^^l^Uh^ that our goal -n acquiring 
Und can be accomplished, especially when funding depends on do,nations. There¬ 
fore each tract in the present sanctuary system must be develop d 
fullest potential for nesting prairie chickens. 
unfortunately, nearly 10 percent (143 acres) of the present sanctuary land 
is useless to prairie chickens, mainly because of the presence of woods and . 
brush. Woodland and brush dominate the Galbreath 110-acre sanctuary and portions 
o™J» other tracts (Fuson and Walters) at Bogota either by solid stands or by 
the hemming-in effect of woody cover in fencerows or dendritic draws. 
- for til 5^r-TUT=ra raw* :; aUy 
xnzixz "r' an r co ^r d w,th 
suItabte < ^s'Ites Y for^booming*grounds' 1 !n 
however, the provision for booming grounds need not comprise more than 8 percent 
of the total sanctuary acreage annually. 
Through prairie restoration it is theoretically possible » “ 
larger proportion of the sanctuary acreage in nest cover than w,th the Ipresent 
system, which is based largely on redtop-timothy management. Excellent den 
of nests and good nest success have been well documented by our annual " e “ 
study in these cover types; however ^because of problems assoc, ated^with^ 
rn d tiire th dim« n tin; n ei-is W oi i'risl: 2 Some'degree of prai rie restoration has been 
accomplished on 178 acres. We must now learn the best means of managing prari 
vegetation for the maximum benefit of nesting hens. About 50 acres of prairie 
vegetation are now sufficiently established to make management by hay harvest 
feasible. During the summer of 1975, five fields totaling 42 acres of native 
grasses were mowed for hay during late July and ear y August. The regrowth 
after haying was impressive in the five plots, and in 1976 they will provide 
bw first significant opportunity to test this cover type as nest c 
Thus, it is hoped that by (1) continuing our efforts at prairie restoration, 
m demonstrating its acceptance by both prairie chickens (for nesting) and loc 
perhaps pastule), and (3) minimizing the acreage o woodland 
and brush, we can increase the productive capacity of the P re *®nt s a"ctuary 
acreage for prairie chickens. Nest cover may ultimately encompass “P “ f 
percent of the sanctuary acreage on an annual basis instead of the 60 to 70 
percent maintained under the current management program. 
