Latvian Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences
Department of Forest Sciences

On the scientific expert review of the Hazel Grouse (Bonasa bonasia) conservation plan

According to the assessment of members of the Latvian Ornithological Society (hereinafter referred to as the Society), the hazel grouse population in Latvia is severely threatened. To identify this problem and seek solutions, the Society has developed a hazel grouse conservation plan commissioned by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, which recommends actions and measures to improve the status of the species. The plan developed by the Society pays significant attention to the alleged negative impact of forestry on the hazel grouse population and offers proposals for improving the situation, in some cases recommending substantial changes to forest management.

While not disputing the assumption that the hazel grouse population has declined in recent decades, the conclusions, arguments and proposed solutions for improving the status outlined in the species conservation plan are debatable and raise serious doubts about their validity and the effectiveness of their implementation. The community of Latvian forest scientists essentially questions the style and adopted practice of contracting such research-based work to various public organisations, including societies.

Hazel grouse habitats are characterised by a high variation in stand parameters, including diversity in tree species composition, age, height, density and other forest-describing characteristics. If we consider the conservation of a species, the forest owner/manager (the potential implementer of the hazel grouse conservation plan) would need information on the species' requirements for a specific habitat. The exposition of a conservation plan should be clear, precise and based on concrete data. Such scientific studies have not been conducted in Latvia to date, and it is therefore doubtful that such information was available to the authors of the hazel grouse conservation plan. In our view, the plan does not contain information on what the target stands inhabited by hazel grouse are, or what their variations should be in order to improve the state of hazel grouse habitats. The authors of the species conservation plan limit themselves to information obtained in other countries or manipulate a very small volume of data obtained in Latvia. Given the differences in the history, tradition and existing practices of forest management in each country, this amount of information is insufficient to make reasoned and balanced decisions.

The forest sector is a very important part of the Latvian national economy, which is why any restrictions on the forest management process should be carefully weighed and scientifically and economically justified. To achieve the desired result in improving the status of the hazel grouse population, the hazel grouse's habitat requirements should be determined and described, taking into account Latvian conditions, including existing forest management practices and stand characteristics. It would be equally important to prepare recommendations on how to achieve the desired result – the measures to be carried out (or avoided) to improve the quality of hazel grouse habitats (method of execution, timing, intensity, etc.), thereby fostering an understanding of the problem and its potential solutions.

In addition, it should be clarified what influence the natural predators found in Latvia (birds of prey and mammals) and their population dynamics trends have on the hazel grouse population. It should be assessed to what extent global climate change affects the hazel grouse as a boreal forest species. Without assessing these factors, the invested resources and decisions taken, including restrictions on the operations of a strategically important sector for the Latvian state, may prove futile, failing to ensure the stability or improvement of the hazel grouse population in the long term.

Academician Tālis Gaitnieks, Head of the LLMZA Department of Forest Sciences

(Photo by Konsta Punkka)