183 
WATERFOWL BREEDING GROUND SURVEYS 
CHIPPEWA NATIONAL FOREST, MINNESOTA 
1937 to 1950 
Jerome H, Stoudt 
The annual Chippewa National Forest waterfow! 
time since 1937 with the assistance of U. S. Game Mana 
of Bemidji, Minnesota, 
census was run for the ninth 
gement Agent, Dwight Morse, 
Methods and Area Covered 
el ee 
The census was run one week later this year (July 16-22) due to the late. 
spring break-up. Although the time of census was just about right, the highest water 
levels in 50 years prevailed on all areas affected by the War Department dam at Lake 
Winnibigoshish. As half of the census areas are directly affected by this dam, diffi- 
culty was again encountered and an accurate census was impossible for most species. 
On Bowstring Lake, which lies in the Hudson Bay drainage, water levels were about 
normal and here the duck population was very close to the 1939 and 1940 average, 
which is considered normal for this area, 
Data Collected 
The following table illustrates the results of the 1950 census as compared to 
previous years and to the 1939-40 period which has been considered "par' for the _ 
Chippewa area. 

Table 1, -+ Waterfowl Censuses, Chippewa Forest, 1939~+50 
Change From 
Area 1939-40 1947 1948 1949 1950 1939-40 
Bowstring Lake 519 498 461 337 521 - 2 
Burns Lake 215 107 170 84 108 — 107 
Kitchi Lake 241 168 239 48 “69 i T%2 
Lower Pigeon Lake _ 28 _ 5 24 30 57 4+ 29 
Mud Lake 181 230 271 200 8l — 100 
Rabideau Lake 94 119 215 49 64 — 30 
Raven Lake 198 33 22 17 25 — 173 
Round Lake 580 490 606 574 382 — 198 
Third River 650 420 1010 526 301 — 349 
L. Winnibigoshish 568 262 88 224 157 — 411 
Totals 3274 2332 3106 2089 1765 —1509 
— 46% 
It is believed that high water levels on the Chippewa do not affect the 
production of the mallard, baldpate, and golden-eye which make up about 90 percent 
of the breeding population. However, the accuracy of the census is affected due to 
the fact that many mallard broods stay in the flooded meadows, swamps, and brush- 
covered lowlands; and‘do not come down to the lakes and streams until water levels 
recede. Analyzing the data a bit further we find that on certain census areas where 
water levels were nearly normal the duck population was closer to the "par'"' of 1939 
and 1940. Table 2 illustrates this fact. 
