RGS

Healthy Forests, Abundant Wildlife, Conservation Ethic

You are here: Home / Archives for admin

admin

About admin

Homecoming Week for Sporting Classics With Chris Dorsey

by

Chris Dorsey returns to Wisconsin to hunt ruffed grouse and woodcock with Ruffed Grouse Society

July 15, 2021 (Castle Rock, Colorado) — Officials from Dorsey Pictures announce that this week’s episode of Sporting Classics with Chris Dorsey – the most watched outdoor TV program in the world – features host Chris Dorsey returning to his home state of Wisconsin for a classic grouse and woodcock hunt.

Joining him are David Moore and Ruffed Grouse Society CEO Dr. Ben Jones. The timing is fortuitous as the birds are near the peak of their 10-year cycle, providing plenty of mixed bag opportunities in the aspens and alders of the Badger State.

[Read more…] about Homecoming Week for Sporting Classics With Chris Dorsey

Featured Habitat in Michigan: Pigeon River Country State Forest

by

Roger Moore RGS & AWS Chapter forged ahead with a key habitat project despite 2020 challenges and delays

By Glen Blackwood, Eastern Great Lakes Director of Regional Development

Originally published in Spring 2021 issue of Covers Magazine.

“Conservation is NOT canceled” has been the overriding mantra of RGS & AWS, our chapters and membership during the past year. While the pandemic’s impacts caused fundraising and other chapter events to be postponed, our work on young successional forest management and wildlife habitat creation continued in 2020. Through everything, RGS & AWS members and staff forged ahead, ensuring that conservation remained a priority. One such project occurred in the northern region of Michigan’s lower peninsula; an area best known as the Pigeon River Country.

[Read more…] about Featured Habitat in Michigan: Pigeon River Country State Forest

RGS & AWS Congratulate Randy Moore on Appointment as US Forest Service Chief

by

The Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) are pleased to congratulate Randy Moore on his appointment as Chief of the USDA Forest Service by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Randy Moore brings over 40 years of conservation experience and leadership to the appointment. His Forest Service experience includes service in multiple regions, and assignments as acting associate deputy chief for the National Forest System and as national deputy Soils Program manager in Washington, D.C. Mr. Moore will also take a unique place in Forest Service history as the first African American to hold the role of Chief of the Forest Service.

[Read more…] about RGS & AWS Congratulate Randy Moore on Appointment as US Forest Service Chief

SUMMER HATCH!

by

Now is the perfect time to join RGS & AWS

We’ve got a special offer for you, but only through Wednesday, June 30

For this limited time only, if you join RGS & AWS at the $60 Conservation Membership level, you’ll receive a 20%-off coupon to the Upland Store. And! You’ll also receive a 60th Anniversary tee, along with your Covers magazine annual subscription. 

And that’s not all – If you join as an Advocate, Uplander, or Centurion Member and you’ll receive a 40%-off coupon to the Upland Store, 60th Anniversary tee, AND a Covers Magazine annual subscription. 

Don’t delay, because this offer ends 6/30/2021.

JOIN RGS | AWS TODAY


Coupons will be emailed shortly after a qualifying membership is purchased. Gift coupons expire on July 31st, and are applicable to store merchandise (i.e. not events or additional memberships). Please allow 4 weeks for delivery from the date of your t-shirt and magazine.

Get the Picture: How to Capture the Spirit and Success of your Hunts

by

By Nancy Anisfield

Originally published in Covers magazine – Spring 2019

Get creative with your photos! For example, interacting with dogs can show more than a typical pose. Photo: Nancy Anisfield

Many of us have been seduced by the convenience of cell phones and pocket-sized digital cameras. Unfortunately, we take our smart phone cameras for granted and as a result, we snap away without careful thought. We end up with a few blurry shots of a dog’s head, lots of empty skies, a skanky grouse hanging off a post or a grainy indoor photo too dark to see who’s who. We also forget to ask if a picture will pay tribute to the real spirit of the moment. It can be hard to develop an image that tells its own story.

Here are some tips to improve the quality and composition of the photos that capture our special moments.

[Read more…] about Get the Picture: How to Capture the Spirit and Success of your Hunts

Defining the needs of our most beloved species

by

We need to take bold action for Species of Greatest Conservation Need

By: Todd Waldron, Northeast Forest Conservation Director

Ruffed grouse by Timothy C. Flanigan (For RGS & AWS use)

Have you ever heard the term “Species of Greatest Conservation Need” or “SGCN” and wondered what that means? Or maybe you’ve wondered how it applies to the future of grouse and woodcock populations. How does it drive the RGS & AWS conservation mission?

You’ve likely seen our monthly updates in The Bellwether newsletter or regularly on social media: Ruffed grouse populations are declining across much of North America. The decline is due to habitat diversity decline and grouse are now listed as an SGCN in 19 states, while American woodcock are listed similarly in 29 states.

What exactly does a SGCN designation imply and what conservation action is needed to address it? We’ll get into that in a minute, but first, let’s cover some background information.

[Read more…] about Defining the needs of our most beloved species

Ben Larson hired as Forest Conservation Director for RGS & AWS Mid-Atlantic Region

by

Larson brings a wealth of experience to Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society

The Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society announced today that Ben Larson has been hired as Forest Conservation Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region, which includes Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, parts of Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware.

[Read more…] about Ben Larson hired as Forest Conservation Director for RGS & AWS Mid-Atlantic Region

Jon Steigerwaldt promoted to oversee forest conservation across Lakes States and Midwest

by

RGS & AWS activity in Midwestern states will increase with Steigerwaldt’s expanded capacity

The Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society announced today that Jon Steigerwaldt, Forest Conservation Director for the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest, will now oversee work in both the Lower and Upper Peninsula of Michigan in addition to Ohio and Indiana.

[Read more…] about Jon Steigerwaldt promoted to oversee forest conservation across Lakes States and Midwest

Membership Special: Help us celebrate our 60th Anniversary!

by

With support from Pyke Gear, we’re offering a special deal when you join or renew at the $60 Conservation Membership level or above.*

We are celebrating 60 years of conservation success (1961 – 2021) at Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society!

Join or renew your Conservation, Advocate, Uplander, and Centurion Membership level and you’ll receive a Pyke Gear gift coupon, 60th Anniversary tee & neck gator, AND the annual subscription to Covers Magazine. A 60th Anniversary decal and the RGS & AWS patch are also included.

[Read more…] about Membership Special: Help us celebrate our 60th Anniversary!

RGS & AWS Northeast Forest Conservation Update: Part 2

by

How the Northeast’s public and private landownership patterns influence RGS & AWS conservation approach.

By Todd Waldron, Northeast Forest Conservation Director

In the most recent RGS & AWS conservation update from the Northeast Region, we looked at the Northeast Upland Gamebird Technical Committee 2017 findings in terms of how diminishing forest habitat diversity is impacting grouse, woodcock and many other forest wildlife populations. One consideration for how RGS & AWS and our partners will need to approach this challenge is to consider land ownership patterns across the Northeast.

[Read more…] about RGS & AWS Northeast Forest Conservation Update: Part 2