• Join / Renew – Celebrating 60 Years!
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
RGS

RGS

Healthy Forests, Abundant Wildlife, Conservation Ethic

  • Conservation
    • Eastern Great Lakes
    • Mid-Atlantic
    • Northeast
    • Southern Appalachian
    • Western Great Lakes
    • Ruffed Grouse Facts
    • American Woodcock Facts
  • Engagement
    • Join
    • Renew
    • Story Fair
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Events
    • Chapters
    • Recruiter Program
    • SUBSCRIBE
  • Blog
    • Media
  • Store
  • About
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • Annual Report
    • Contact
    • Employment
    • Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Finances
  • Take a Survey
You are here: Home / Read / Beyond The Bellwether of Our Forests – RGS

Beyond The Bellwether of Our Forests – RGS

April 5, 2021 by Ruffed Grouse Society

Photo Credit | Steve Oehlenschlager

While the perils and challenges faced by ruffed grouse and American woodcock may be familiar to our conservation-minded members, the continental and even global significance of these issues may not be fully recognized.

In a study published by the journal Science, it was noted that wild bird populations have declined by nearly 30% since 1970 in the continental U.S. and Canada. Sadly, we know these declines to have effected ruffed grouse and American woodcock too. Yet the ruffed grouse and woodcock are not alone in their struggles and we are not alone in our concerns for these birds. Others have taken notice, too.

Widespread Decline

At the Ruffed Grouse Society, we often focus our conversations on forest wildlife and rightfully so. Yet the study shows that there have been bird declines across every biome. From human impact, and in many cases, lack of human impact, to climate change and habitat loss, the declines are widespread and not species specific.

As mentioned in a recent release about ruffed grouse in the state of Indiana, in less than a grouse hunter’s life time, populations have declined over 99% in the state. During that same lifetime, nearly 3 billion adult breeding birds have disappeared from the continental U.S and Canada.

All Is Not Lost

Success stories like that of waterfowl are examples of what can be accomplished when conservation leaders utilize sound science to affect landscape level change and habitat improvement. The ruffed grouse and woodcock need your help now more than ever, as does the entire spectrum of bird life in North America.

We must join together in this conservation movement. Otherwise, we will behold the demise of these upland icons within our own lifetimes.

READ | Vanishing: More Than 1 in 4 Birds Has Disappeared in the Last 50 Years

Filed Under: Habitat, Read, Wildlife Ecology, Woodcock Ecology Tagged With: american woodcock, conservation, habitat, ruffed grouse, ruffed grouse society, wildlife

Footer

© 2023 • Ruffed Grouse Society &
American Woodcock Society

Shop the RGS Store

  • Grouse/Woodcock
    • Grouse Facts
    • Woodcock Facts
    • Woodcock Migration Map
    • Hunting Tips
  • Regions
    • Eastern Great Lakes
    • Mid-Atlantic
    • Northeast
    • Southern Appalachian
    • Western Great Lakes
  • Membership
    • Join / Renew
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Survey
    • Events
    • Chapters
    • SHOP
  • Organization
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • Contact
    • About
    • Blog
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Corporate Partners
    • Media
    • Finances
    • Policies