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Healthy Forests, Abundant Wildlife, Conservation Ethic

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Sugar Mountain Project: A Crucial Step for Ruffed Grouse Conservation in Tennessee

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The U.S. Forest Service is moving forward with the evaluation process for the Sugar Mountain Project on the Tellico Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest. This initiative is a critical opportunity to restore high-elevation forests and improve habitat for ruffed grouse and other wildlife that depend on young forest conditions. Project Overview The Sugar Mountain Project in its current form focuses on 12,241 acres of national forest east of Tellico Plains, Tennessee, with management activities targeting areas above 3,000 feet where ruffed grouse populations were once abundant. Over time, declining timber harvest levels, fewer natural disturbances and ongoing forest maturation have...

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Featured Artist – Tom Bates

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Digital art on matte paper using giclée printing Tom Bates is a graphic designer and artist based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He’s gained a strong following on Instagram under the handle Only Bird Art – @only.bird.art – known for his clean, structured illustrations of feathered wildlife. The Only Bird Art collection resonates with hunters, bird watchers, ornithologists, conservationists, farmers and city dwellers alike. Bates enjoys the challenge of capturing each species’ essence using simple graphic elements and color. “It started as a study, but then it resonated with a whole lot of people, so I transformed that study into a store, making...

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Know Your Cover – Champlain Valley, New York and Vermont

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by Luke McNally, RGS & AWS Champlain Region Forester “I used to see a lot of birds around here and now I don’t.” This is the comment I hear more than any other in response to my introduction. Standing in line at the gas station in Addison, Vermont, a farmer, a tradesman or a local cabin-dweller tells me: “We used to see those on the side of the road all the time… I don’t see them anymore.” There are several reasons why folks in the country don’t see “pah-tridge” as much these days. A reduction in wildlife occupancy should always be blamed...

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Country Journal and Old Man’s Musings

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by Ken M. Blomberg Ten 16 Press, Waukesha, WI Retail Price $14.99 I was sharing a tailgate lunch of charcuterie, cheese, olives and fruit with sporting artist C.D. Clark alongside a woodcock covert a few Octobers ago when our discussion turned to the fright of staring at a blank slate. In his case, a canvas; mine, a yellow legal tablet. As our pack of spaniels, brittanys (C.D.’s), springers and a cocker (mine) focused on dropped scraps of salami and Swiss, we continued the conversation, resulting in, “As scary as a blank slate is, releasing the final product is just as frightful,...

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The Hunted

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by Timothy C. Flanigan Seeing the dark-eyed barred owl rise silently from the forest floor with my very much alive woodcock in its talons sparked a realization that the intrepid American woodcock lives a perilous existence daily, not just during the short fall gunning seasons. The timberdoodle shares the spotlight with the ruffed grouse as North America’s classic combination of upland game birds. Those addicted to the pursuit of woodcock are typically super fans who revere this elusive little bird with deep-seated enthusiasm. The occasion of the owl-interrupted woodcock hunt was also an introduction of an inexperienced hunter and his beautiful, young...

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A Story of Succession – Restoring 43 Acres at Bald Eagle State Park in Pennsylvania

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Bald Eagle State Park’s 1,730-acre lake is a recreational oasis, nestled in the divide between the plateau and the ridge and valley regions of Pennsylvania. It’s a short drive off route 80, yet separated by a ridge that reduces the interstate noise. Although the lake is the central feature, the surrounding bottomlands holds one of our favorite little game birds, the American woodcock. The valley that’s currently occupied by the lake was once like most of the valleys in central Pennsylvania – farmland. The construction of the lake flooded most of the farms, but those on the high grounds remained above...

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