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Brent Rudolph

America’s hunters and anglers lead by example in the fight for conservation

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Global Connections of the Hunt Fish 30×30 Campaign

By Brent A. Rudolph, Ph.D. | RGS & AWS Chief Conservation & Legislative Officer

sunset canoeing
Photo by Brent Rudolph/RGS & AWS

Please consider signing the petition supporting the Hunting and Fishing Community Statement

In a report to the National Climate Task Force released yesterday (“Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful”), the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality laid out the plan for our nation’s involvement in the Thirty-by-Thirty Initiative (Thirty-by-Thirty). The initiative is a global effort to establish a goal of placing 30 percent of the planet’s lands and waters under “protected status” by the year 2030.

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Action Alert for Michigan

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Deadline set for Monday, March 8 to ensure Improved Aspen Management on the Manistee National Forest

The Huron-Manistee National Forests (HMNF) have seen a decline in aspen harvest over the past few decades. This has led to an imbalance in the age structure of aspen stands that negatively affects habitat critical for ruffed grouse, American woodcock, and other forest wildlife.

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Coalition Supports Conservation on Indiana’s Hoosier National Forest

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Photo By Steve Oehlenschlager

Amicus brief filed in support of Indiana’s Hoosier National Forest habitat project by Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society, coalition of conservation groups

The ruffed grouse was listed as an endangered species in Indiana on December 16, 2020.

January 12, 2021 (New Albany, IN) – The Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society led a coalition of conservation groups that filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana, related to the Houston South Vegetation Management and Restoration Project (Houston South Project) within Hoosier National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service faces a lawsuit that aims to shut down the project; RGS & AWS is not a party on the lawsuit, but the brief supports the Houston South Project and its objectives to restore habitat for ruffed grouse and other wildlife. The State of Indiana officially listed the ruffed grouse as a state endangered species on December 16, 2020.

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Early Successional Habitat Creation Project in Vermont

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early-successional-habitat

Featured in Fall 2020 issue of Covers Magazine.

Authored by: Brent Rudolph, PH.D and Anthony Giattino

People born east of the Hudson River extend this prayer of John Winthrop’s when hunting grouse in the west: “May the Lord make it like that of New England.” Writers like Burton Spiller and William Harnden Foster helped enshrine New England as a “City Upon a Hill” for grouse hunters. Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society members in New England recognize that much work needs to be done if the revered heritage memorialized by Spiller and Foster are to endure. Fortunately, other partners also understand the serious conservation needs that demand commitment to this work.

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Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society Applaud Senators Stabenow, Braun for New Bipartisan Bill to Help Family Forests

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The Rural Forests Markets Act will create revenue for family forests and sustain healthy forests and wildlife habitat

WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry, and Natural Resources, introduced the bipartisan Rural Forests Markets Act to help small-scale, family foresters access new economic opportunities through climate solutions like carbon markets. 

“Big or small, our forests are an important part of the solution to the climate crisis,” said Ranking Member Stabenow. “For too long, environmental market opportunities have been out of reach for many family foresters due to high upfront costs. Our bipartisan bill is a win-win for forest owners and the environment.” 

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Action Alert | Indiana Ruffed Grouse Need Your Help

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SUBMIT ONLINE COMMENTS HERE – Deadline July 30th

Ruffed grouse in Indiana need our help. With just a little effort, you could take an opportunity this week to speak up on their behalf.

Two Indiana Natural Resource Commission (NRC) public hearings will take place on July 29th and July 30th to address proposed fish and wildlife rule changes. These amendments include adding ruffed grouse to the list of state endangered species. We strongly urge speaking up in support of this listing, and have included some talking points and rationale below, reiterating the reasons for the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) long-term commitment to this cause.

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American Wildlife Conservation Partners Share Conservation Policy Recommendations in the Sixth Edition of Wildlife for the 21st Century

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July 15, 2020
For Immediate Release

Coraopolis, Pa. – The nation’s top 50 hunting conservation organizations today released their policy recommendations for the next White House Administration and the next two Congresses. The groups that participate in the American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP) developed Wildlife for the 21st Century: Volume VI to provide specific actions that could be taken to improve wildlife conservation and management. The 10 recommendations made by the AWCP focus on conservation funding, access and management of federal lands, habitat conservation in a changing climate, integrating wildlife goals into energy planning, private land and species conservation, wildlife disease management, and big game migration corridors. All of the recommendations encourage collaboration and cooperation between federal agencies, state fish and wildlife agencies, and private landowners.

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Recovering America’s Wildlife Act Update

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recovering-americas-wildlife-act

Some great news came from Capitol Hill heading into the 2020 Fourth of July holiday weekend. On Wednesday, July 1, the House of Representatives voted to pass an infrastructure bill (H.R. 2) that had been amended to include the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA). The Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) has been working towards passage of RAWA legislation for nearly three years as a member of the Alliance for America’s Fish and Wildlife, a broad coalition of organizations and businesses.

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Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society Continue Support for Eastern Woodcock Migration Study

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Animation provided by: Alex Fish, University of Maine

Studying woodcock migration with RGS & AWS funded GPS technology.

The Virginia Chapters of the Ruffed Grouse Society have provided the latest commitment of member support for an international collaborative research effort examining American Woodcock migration. The H.C. Edwards Chapter, the James River Chapter, and the Ruffed Grouse Society Virginia State Drummer Fund (SDF) provided support for purchasing three additional GPS transmitters for deployment by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF).

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Take Action Now! Help Secure Conservation & Outdoor Recreation Funding: Support the Great American Outdoors Act

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United States Capitol - The Great American Outdoors Act

The Great American Outdoors Act (S. 3422) was introduced this week by Senators Manchin (D-WV), Portman (R-OH), Warner (D-VA), Gardner (R-CO), Daines (R-MT), Heinrich (D-NM) and 50 other bipartisan cosponsors. The bill integrates the Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act (S. 1081 by Senators Manchin and Gardner) and the Restore Our Parks Act (S. 500 by Senators Portman and Warner), but with critical expansion to also address crumbling infrastructure on National Forests, National Wildlife Refuges, and lands under the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Education schools.

The legislation would provide full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), dedicating $900 million annually to a program that has helped conserve some of the most important lands in our nation for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation. More than a year ago, the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS|AWS) celebrated Senate and House approval of the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (S. 47), which was then signed into law to include permanent reauthorization of LWCF. LWCF authorization had expired despite a 50-year track record of successfully conserving habitat and expanding recreational access. Permanent authorization was a big victory. However, even with permanent reauthorization, Congress has previously redirected approximately $22 billion of funds intended for LWCF implementation to instead pay for unrelated budget items. RGS|AWS staff, along with a coalition of our conservation and forest industry partners, has previously worked to increase individual year appropriations for LWCF and secured its future with permanent reauthorization. Now let’s score another win and secure annual, dedicated funding for the program!

With widespread infrastructure problems in the form of crumbling roads, trails, blinds, piers, campsites, parking lots, and boat ramps across public lands where millions of Americans hunt, fish, hike, and camp, expansion of S. 500 to address a broader public land base is also a significant accomplishment. The Restore Our Parks Act originally addressed only National Parks Service lands, but input from the hunting community has seen our needs considered in the Great American Outdoors Act. Your voices can help ensure Congress continues to see the nearly $10 billion the Great American Outdoors Act would dedicate to infrastructure maintenance on public lands over the next five years as an investment in your future ability to recreate and support conservation and local communities through your visits to these lands.

What You Can Do Find your Senators here, and track the list of S. 3422 cosponsors here. If your Senators are supportive, thank them for committing to this bipartisan effort. If they’ve not yet sponsored the bill, ask them to do so. You can reference our letter of support here. Add your own personal stories of how you’ve been affected by failing infrastructure, and simply how much it means to you that Congress supports conservation, recreation, and continued access to these priceless public lands. Placing a call to your local office can be more effective than writing an email, but any effort may help. Be firm but polite, thank them for their time, and assure them that these are top priorities that you will continue to track and follow up on accordingly