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RGS & AWS Provide Testimony Regarding Proposed Early Closure of WI Ruffed Grouse Season

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08/09/18

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August 9, 2018

For Immediate Release

Coraopolis, Pa. – The Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS/AWS) provided testimony  regarding the proposed early closure of the Wisconsin ruffed grouse hunting season at the August 8, 2018 Wisconsin Natural Resources Board (NRB) meeting in Green Bay through David Moore, RGS/AWS Board Chairman.

Based on the information available at the time of the meeting, the RGS/AWS concluded that the shortening of the 2018 ruffed grouse hunting season would not alleviate a population decline. If West Nile Virus or some other factor is affecting grouse beyond historic norms, a comprehensive approach based on a sound management plan would be necessary. Moore stated:

My name is David Moore, Chairman of the Ruffed Grouse Society’s Board of Directors. As our name implies, the ruffed grouse is a bird that’s near and dear to us. And not just to our 17,000 members, but to some three hundred thousand hunters who pursue grouse across the Lakes States. In fact, the ruffed grouse has become one of the great symbols of Wisconsin’s wildlife. And so it’s frightening to think about threats to this great bird and the hunting lifestyle we love. That’s what brings us together today.

We commend the Conservation Congress, Natural Resources Board, and DNR for bringing attention to declines in key ruffed grouse surveys. Although the slumps we saw in 2017 may be within historic norms, they got our attention, especially considering unknowns surrounding West Nile Virus. This is a serious issue and should be considered among top priorities for Wisconsin wildlife management.     

Although West Nile Virus is on our minds, there’s a lot we don’t know. The disease has not been confirmed in a Wisconsin ruffed grouse. That’s an important first step; we’ve got to know if it’s here and how prevalent. We support testing ruffed grouse in 2018, and beyond, to determine if and how the disease might affect the population. In fact, our staff has already coordinated with DNR to get test kits in the hands of grouse hunters this season.

If West Nile Virus is found, it will take a comprehensive effort to come up with management steps. A ruffed grouse management plan is the basic framework for a sound and understandable management program. I want to stress “understandable.” Grouse hunters will be supportive if we are informed and understand why regulations are being proposed. Building a ruffed grouse management plan will be a great start. Our biologists are ready to help in any way with writing the plan. It should be a top priority with draft completion by Spring 2019.

It is a core tenet of the Ruffed Grouse Society to support science-based management. Based on available information, we do not believe there is a sound basis for shortening the 2018 ruffed grouse hunting season. If West Nile Virus or some other factor is affecting grouse beyond historic norms, a comprehensive approach – based on a management plan – will be necessary.

The Ruffed Grouse Society is here to help in any way possible. We look forward to continued engagement with you toward conserving this amazing game bird.

The RGS/AWS stands fully committed to cooperating in this process, developing the statewide ruffed grouse management plan and engaging members to participate in West Nile Virus surveillance. The RGS/AWS will continue to work with our members, the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, Department of Natural Resources and Natural Resources Board to pursue a constructive path forward to promote healthy forests, abundant wildlife, and sporting traditions in the face of these concerning current conditions.

The RGS/AWS provided information and opportunity to members and the public to provide input prior to or in person at this meeting. An RGS/AWS website (www.ruffedgrousesociety.org/WI-Grouse-Season-Proposal) provides updates and further information for those who wish to learn and participate as the process unfolds.

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Established in 1961, the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society are North America’s foremost conservation organizations dedicated to preserving our sporting traditions by creating healthy forest habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and other wildlife. RGS and AWS work with landowners and government agencies to develop critical habitat utilizing scientific management practices.

More about the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society, mission and programs can be found at www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.

Media Contact:

Matt Soberg

RGS & AWS Editor & Director of Communications

(218) 232-6227

MattS@RuffedGrouseSociety.Org

Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society Welcome Benjamin C. Jones as New President and CEO

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06/14/18

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June 14, 2018

For Immediate Release

Coraopolis, Pa. – The Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS/AWS) announced the selection of Benjamin C. Jones as their new President and Chief Executive Officer. Following the planned retirement of then President and CEO John Eichinger, the Board of Directors began an exhaustive national search to find his replacement, and Ben emerged as a leader in science-based conservation.

“Ben brings the experience, skills and passion to lead our programs from habitat to hunter recruitment,” reported RGS/AWS Board of Directors Chair David Moore following Ben’s selection. “Ben was the unanimous choice among our search committee, and in my experience, that’s a rarity for an executive search. He’s a great fit for our organization, and we’re so excited to have him at the helm.”

Ben’s professional pursuit of forest and wildlife conservation began over 25 years ago, but his passion was sparked long before that. “From my earliest memories, I always wanted to be a forest ranger or a wildlife biologist tracking moose somewhere in the Canadian wilds. Young kids aspire to be professionals in uniform, and those were the ones that caught my eye! I’ll never forget seeing my first woodcock brood when I was about seven years old or harvesting my first grouse at age 15. Wildlife and the natural world have always been a passion for me, and I’ve been driven and very blessed to build that passion into a career.”

Upon graduating from Penn State, Ben left his native Pennsylvania to explore forest management and prescribed fire in Mississippi, then to western North Carolina to engage with the U.S. Forest Service on ruffed grouse biology and habitat as part of the Appalachian Cooperative Grouse Research Project. In 2005, he joined the Pennsylvania Game Commission as their Public Lands Section Chief and in 2010 became the agency’s Habitat Division Chief where he oversaw public and private lands, GIS and wildland fire programs. He’s also been active in helping woodland owners with sustainable timber harvests.   

“It’s so rewarding to see projects come together and know you’re making a difference across a landscape – that a grouse will raise her brood in there and a hunter and his dog could enjoy a hunt in the fall – or a father and his daughter might tag a deer there, and migrant songbirds will stop for a rest in the spring. That’s what it’s all about, and there are so many opportunities,” Ben continued.

Ben has spent the past week working with the RGS/AWS Board of Directors and getting to know staff. “I’m so excited to start building support and partnerships based on the RGS mission of healthy forests, abundant wildlife and sporting traditions. Our organization is in a great position to make a difference,” he said.

Ben earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries science with a forest science minor from Penn State, a master’s degree in wildlife ecology from Mississippi State, and a Ph.D. in natural resources from the University of Tennessee. He resides near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with his wife Michelle, three children and the family’s English setter. He is an avid outdoorsman, hunting at every available opportunity, with a passion for introducing the next generation of hunters to our sporting traditions. 

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Established in 1961, the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society are North America’s foremost conservation organizations dedicated to preserving our sporting traditions by creating healthy forest habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and other wildlife. RGS and AWS work with landowners and government agencies to develop critical habitat utilizing scientific management practices.

More about the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society, mission and programs can be found at www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.

Media Contact:

Matt Soberg

RGS & AWS Editor & Director of Communications

(218) 232-6227

Don’t Let Chronic Wasting Disease Kill Conservation

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ALL hunters should speak up to help stop the spread of CWD

Back when I ran a state deer program, I came to know CWD – the acronym for Chronic Wasting Disease – to also stand for Career Wasting Disease. I don’t recall where I first heard it, but I saw plenty enough evidence for this reference to stick in my mind. Wildlife managers found their attention and budgets consumed by CWD in every state where it was discovered. Managing habitat, conducting wildlife surveys, and engaging with the public on any topic OTHER than CWD all struggled to compete for time and resources. Why? Because wildlife agencies everywhere are fully aware that the emergence and spread of this always fatal deer disease presents an incredible threat to wildlife management in the United States.

In modern times, deer hunting is the backbone of our system of wildlife management. Hunting overall is made more broadly relevant by the 9.2 million Americans that participate in deer hunting each year, contributing more than $20 billion in economic activity, state and local taxes, and wildlife restoration trust fund excise taxes. This significance demands the immediate and strong actions that agencies have taken in response to emerging infections as the potential impacts of CWD on deer populations have become better understood.

An even better approach to the threats of CWD is preventing it from emerging in wild deer populations in the first place. For just one more week – until May 30, 2018 – you have an opportunity to speak up and help make that happen. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture is taking public comments on its Chronic Wasting Disease Herd Certification Program Standards. These are the rules that dictate how deer farms contain, move, and monitor their privately owned deer, to keep healthy deer healthy and sick deer contained and managed. These Program Standards have serious implications for the threat level these operations represent to wild deer populations, and therefore the future of our hunting heritage and system of wildlife management. The easiest way you can add your voice in support of sensible measures to minimize future problems is to make use of a tool provided by our friends at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP). The TRCP website (http://www.trcp.org) will feature the “Controlling Chronic Wasting Disease” call to action while this comment period remains open. You can use this tool to add your name to a letter calling APHIS to take more aggressive steps to address the growing issue of CWD.

Most grouse and woodcock hunters also hunt deer. Even if you don’t, you need deer hunters to continue contributing conservation funding, supporting local businesses, and exposing the ever-increasing non-hunting public to the benefits of sustaining our sporting traditions, and healthy, sustainable deer populations are critical for those outcomes. The Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society will add our voice as an organization to this opportunity to provide input, but strong unity will be demonstrated if more individuals of varying interests speak up. It’s worth your time to do so now, for the interests of your brothers and sisters in deer hunting, for your own good, and for the benefit of our wildlife resources overall. If Chronic Wasting Disease or Career Wasting Disease don’t scare you into taking action, Conservation Wasting Disease certainly should.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: What are “Healthy Forests”?

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Pres Msg

            “I have read many definitions of what is a conservationist, and written not a few myself, but I suspect that the best one is written not with a pen, but with an axe. It is a matter of what a man thinks about while chopping, or while deciding what to chop. A conservationist is one who is humbly aware that with each stroke he is writing his signature on the face of his land.”

Aldo Leopold, Axe-in-Hand

Some people are under the false impression that the only component of a forest for which RGS and AWS are interested is young forest habitat. Those people are mistaken. As described in our mission, we are dedicated to preserving our sporting traditions by creating healthy forest habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and other wildlife. A healthy forest cannot be comprised exclusively of young forest habitat any more than it can be covered entirely with old growth trees.

No single forest type, by itself, offers the healthy sustainability a forest ecosystem gains from the extensive diversity of plant and animal life provided by a range of forest types within a single forest. There are different ways to define a healthy forest, but the key to promoting abundant wildlife (and ultimately, sporting traditions) is through a range of age classes that provide diverse forest structure and species of trees to sustain diverse wildlife populations. A healthy forest – one composed of a well-balanced range of age classes – also provides a consistent supply of services like water quality, yield and quality of wood and non-wood products, and wildlife habitat, all of which impact recreational, scenic, cultural and economic values. An ecosystem is comprised of biotic and abiotic factors functioning harmoniously and constantly seeking equilibrium. Ecosystems can be extremely small like a rotting log or landscape-scale encompassing entire watersheds.

Habitat Specialists

The key to relating the importance of healthy forests, by focusing on age class, community, and species diversity goals, rests in basic forest ecology. Forests are dynamic systems driven by the “competing” processes of succession and (historically) disturbance. As disturbance resets successional pathways, it allows disturbance-dependent plant and animal species (blackberries, ruffed grouse) and communities (aspen, oak and beech) to remain a vital component of the forest.

As human development has fragmented the landscape and motivated practices like aggressive control of wildfire, the natural forms of disturbance that historically shaped wildlife and wildlife communities of eastern forests have been substantially inhibited. As a result, we are seeing broad shifts toward older forests composed of later-successional species. Impacts on species associated with young forests are wide-spread and well documented. Succession moves forests forward, toward not only older classes, but also domination by certain species not well adapted to disturbance. Without disturbance we lose diversity, and we disrupt the conditions to which our forests are adapted on the landscape scale. In the absence of natural disturbance, the need to introduce disturbance to maintain diversity, or forest “health” is paramount. In that context, active forest management is not only good for particular species, it is mimicking natural processes that foster diversity across a landscape.

Declines in young forest habitats/communities/species is a conservation issue on par with recognized threats to other communities like wetlands, native grasslands and shore lands. While this is increasingly being recognized by resource scientists and managers, it has been a tougher sell to the public than have pleas for conservation of wetlands and grasslands.

We believe the reason for this tougher sell is that wetland drainage and grassland conversion result in dramatic changes that are readily perceived by the public, who are then eager to support wetland/grassland or species-specific conservation efforts.  A maturing forest, to most folks, is still a forest.  It requires more education and outreach, and a much more nuanced and detailed message to get them to understand the plight of young forest plant and wildlife species dependent upon early-successional communities.

Furthermore, for some “wilderness” and “old growth” advocates there is a fundamental interest in simply protecting trees, and we see in that growing mindset a similar issue to those opposed to hunting and other forms of wildlife management: the public increasingly relates to “conserving” individual animals and trees, rather than considering what is needed to conserve wildlife populations and forest communities. It’s not an easy task to get them to think on a larger-scale, and accept that to conserve populations and communities it is not necessary to save every individual – and that approach can in fact be detrimental.

Ultimately, the choice of whether or not to engage in active forest management is not just a choice between young trees or old trees, but because of succession processes it’s also a choice that can cause broad shifts in forest communities. Even the towering old growth “tree cathedrals” that many seek to create through formal wilderness designations crumble at the advance of pine beetles, gypsy moths, woolly adelgid and subsequent wildfire. There are ecological, recreational, and cultural benefits to representing these characteristics somewhere in our forest planning, but while this “wilderness character” does not last forever at a fixed point on the landscape, wilderness designations do.

Thus, the preservation of forest areas behind the cloak of non-use designations is neglect, not respect as these supporters often contend. Not managing is a human-caused impact just as much as managing is, and neither choice absolves us from the responsibility of considering and CHOOSING how we will affect our forests or other ecosystems.

For RGS and AWS, our keen focus and advocacy for young forest habitat must be viewed within the context of the entire forest ecosystem. Managing forests to sustain a well-balanced range of age classes is not motivated by preferring one age class over another, it is simply a commitment to ensuring the cycle of succession and disturbance continues to sustainably produce diverse forest ages, structures, species and the associated diverse wildlife species and services. It is true that the young forest habitats and wildlife that are so important to us depend upon our intervention through intentional management, but they also depend upon these cycles continuing to play out across the landscape. In choosing to manage a piece of the system without consideration in how the flow of biotic and abiotic factors is interrupted is not responsible management, nor does it demonstrate an understanding of forest ecosystems. Each of us must hold ourselves accountable to the collective responsibility we have for the needs of the entire forest ecosystem. This should be true for all of us regardless of whether we advocate for young forest habitat or single-mindedly campaign for wilderness or old growth.

Timber management is the tool which today’s forests require to withstand threats from wildfire, insect and disease, invasive species, and diminishing biodiversity. However, maintaining sustainable forest management programs and managing woodlands for timber production requires an infrastructure be in place to accomplish treatments over a larger landscape or encompassing an entire ecosystem. Continued wood supply keeps mills running with accessible timber contracting and trucking infrastructure, making these more readily available to all landowners within the region to apply treatments associated with forest health issues. The lack of continued timber harvesting on USFS lands has all but destroyed the existing infrastructure in many regions, making commercial forestry economically unworkable.

As a conservation organization, our responsibility to wildlife and our sporting traditions has not changed regarding our obligations to the generations that follow us, but the way we approach this responsibility may have to change. Our message, which is a model for science-based conservation of natural resources, should also be a message for citizenship and for stewardship. By doing so, we engage every individual in pursuit of their outdoor traditions as we all work together to achieve healthy forest ecosystems.

For more information on RGS/AWS programs to create healthy forests, visit www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.

C’mon President Trump . . . #FixOurForest

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By Brent A. Rudolph, Ph.D., RGS & AWS Director of Conservation Policy

A number of provisions favorable to hunters and healthy forests await the President’s signature later today…

Pen (2560x2560) (1280x1280)

On December 1, we released a National Update, asking our supporters to ask Congress for a budgetary fix to help the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) deal with out of control annual fire suppression costs. On January 12, we followed up right here on the RGS/AWS blog, identifying a number of provisions that could address the “fire borrowing” problem, including passing the Wildfire Disaster Funding Act (WDFA), H.R. 2862 and S. 1842.

Set down your coffee cup for a moment… Congress heard us!

Late this week, Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill, as required to make funds available to individual agencies and programs for the remainder of the current fiscal year. The bill includes other provisions, including the comprehensive wildfire funding fix that was part of WDFA.

President Trump can sign this bill into law later today. He recently said he might not.

Overall, hunters stand to benefit considerably from the omnibus bill. The President’s signature is still required to enact all of these provisions and avert a third government shutdown in the last several months:

  • Freeze the level of funds USFS will be required to annually budget for suppression, minimizing the budgetary impact of projected costs that are expected to escalate.
  • Use natural disaster funding to make up the difference when annual costs exceed the fixed budget level.
  • Provide USFS additional tools to facilitate forest management for wildfire prevention and control.
  • Boost overall funding to wildlife agencies and programs, including increases for the Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Land and Water Conservation Fund, and North American Wetlands Conservation Act.
  • Reauthorize another program RGS/AWS and other partners have asked Congress to address as a critical conservation tool for Western lands – the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA). FLTFA reauthorization (as addressed in R. 5133 and S.2185) would direct revenues from the sale of small or low-value federal parcels to fund acquisition of new USFS or DOI lands that provide hunting and fishing access or high-value habitat. Currently, proceeds from such sales simply go to the general treasury, placing public lands at risk of being sold simply to bolster the federal budget.

If anybody is passing by 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW in Washington, DC today, stop in and let the folks there know you and your fellow hunters would like to see these provisions enacted. Bring a pen with you.

Read the Press Release here . . .

Nettle Ridge Drummer Fund Project Workday RSVP

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03/20/18

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Susquehanna River Valley and Northeast Pennsylvania Chapters will be holding a joint workday on Saturday, April 7, 2018. Most of the work will be the hand-felling and bucking of trees 4 – 10″ in diameter. If you’re comfortable with simply notching and back-cutting smaller diameter trees, you can help us fell! Most trees are easily pushed over to aid in the desired direction of fall. If your more comfortable cutting trees already on the ground, we need help bucking as well! There’s no obligation to perform any task your not comfortable doing.

Aerial Footage Before Work Began Fall of 2017!

Lunch will be provided. PLEASE RSVP BELOW if you plan on attending, this will greatly help us to ensure an organized, successful, and productive day making sure plenty of food and fluids are available.

Fill out my online form.

Ruffed Grouse Society Maintains 4-Star Charity Rating

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03/06/18

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PRESS RELEASE

451 McCormick Rd

Coraopolis PA 15108

412-262-4044 

For Immediate Release

March 6, 2018

Coraopolis, PA – The Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) was honored to maintain a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. The 4-star rating is a result of RGS continuing to maintain sound fiscal management practices and a commitment to accountability and transparency in efforts to preserve sporting traditions by creating healthy forest habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and many other forest wildlife species.

“We are again honored to receive this 4-star Charity Navigator rating for demonstrating strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency,” said RGS President and CEO John Eichinger. “This achievement is the result of a collective Ruffed Grouse Society effort by a dedicated board of directors, committed members, passionate volunteers and a talented staff.”

Since 2002, Charity Navigator has awarded only the most fiscally responsible organizations a 4-star rating. In 2011, Charity Navigator added 17 metrics, focused on governance and ethical practices as well as measures of openness, to its ratings methodology.  These “Accountability & Transparency” metrics, which account for 50 percent of a charity’s overall rating, reveal which charities have “best practices” that minimize the chance of unethical activities and whether they freely share basic information about their organization with their donors and other stakeholders.

“The Ruffed Grouse Society’s coveted 4-star rating puts it in a very select group of high-performing charities,” said Michael Thatcher, president and CEO of Charity Navigator. “Out of the thousands of nonprofits Charity Navigator evaluates, only one out of four earns 4 stars – a rating that demands rigor, responsibility and commitment to openness. The Ruffed Grouse Society’s supporters should feel much more confident that their hard-earned dollars are being used efficiently and responsibly when it acquires such a high rating.”

The RGS rating and other information about charitable giving are available free of charge on www.charitynavigator.org.

About Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator, www.charitynavigator.org, is the largest charity evaluator in America, and its website attracts more visitors than all other charity rating groups combined. The organization helps guide intelligent giving by evaluating the financial health and accountability and transparency of more than 8,000 charities. Charity Navigator accepts no advertising or donations from the organizations it evaluates, ensuring unbiased evaluations, nor does it charge the public for this trusted data. As a result, Charity Navigator, a 501 (c) (3) public charity itself, depends on support from individuals, corporations and foundations that believe it provides a much-needed service to America’s charitable givers. Charity Navigator, can be reached directly by telephone at (201) 818-1288, or by mail at 139 Harristown Road, Suite 101, Glen Rock, N.J., 07452.

Established in 1961, The Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society is North America’s foremost conservation organization dedicated to preserving our sporting traditions by creating healthy forest habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and other wildlife. RGS/AWS works with landowners and government agencies to develop critical habitat utilizing scientific management practices.

Information on RGS/AWS, its mission, management projects and membership can be found on the web at: www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.

Media Contact:

Matt Soberg

(218) 232-6227
editor@ruffedgrousesociety.org

RGS/AWS Hire Two New Wisconsin Forest Wildlife Specialists

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03/05/18

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For Immediate Release

 

Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society Hire Two New Wisconsin Forest Wildlife Specialists

Partnership with the USDA – NRCS and WI DNR improves forest wildlife habitat on private lands

Coraopolis, PA – Healthy forests are the centerpiece of the Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society (RGS/AWS) mission, and their importance is recognized by multiple other conservation organizations. RGS/AWS has entered into a novel partnership with the U. S. Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WI DNR), collaboratively supporting two new, full-time staff dedicated to forest habitat development on private lands in Wisconsin. This coordination enables sharing of skills and resources to impact forest management and conservation beyond what would be possible by each partner organization alone.

Dan Hoff (stationed in the Lena NRCS field office; covering Northeast Wisconsin) and Jared Elm (stationed in the Ladysmith NRCS field office; covering Northwest Wisconsin) have already begun working in these forest wildlife specialist positions. Hoff and Elm will work with forest landowners to identify and implement sound forest management practices on their lands, emphasizing those that enhance or expand the young forest habitat base. From initial consultation to practice implementation, landowners will receive all the technical assistance needed to achieve their forest wildlife habitat objectives, and financial assistance via the application of Federal Farm Bill conservation funding.

“We are very excited about this initiative,” stated Eric Allness, NRCS Assistant State Conservationist for Partnerships and Initiatives. “Private landowners manage the majority of forested land in Wisconsin, and through these positions we envision being able to better provide needed technical and financial services to this community.”

“We are thrilled to have Dan and Jared contribute their energy and expertise to this partnership,” noted Mark Witecha, WI DNR Upland Wildlife Ecologist and Farm Bill Specialist. “With their assistance, Wisconsin landowners have an excellent opportunity to receive support for managing and sustaining their forests and wildlife habitat.”

Hoff was an active participant in a ruffed grouse project at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, where he earned his B.S. in Wildlife Ecology. He earned his M.S. degree from Oklahoma State University. Hoff was previously employed with the Aldo Leopold Foundation, and worked on sharp-tailed grouse conservation for North Dakota State University. He can be reached at DanH@RuffedGrouseSociety.org, or (920) 829-5406 ext. 126.

An Iowa native, Elm earned his B.S. from Iowa State University, and previously worked as a Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist with Pheasants Forever where he gained a solid working knowledge of Farm Bill conservation programs. Elm has also worked to assist in the development and implementation of forest management plans for the Antrim Conservation District in Bellaire, Michigan, where he became familiar with ruffed grouse, and the traditions of grouse and woodcock hunting. He can be reached at JaredE@RuffedGrouseSociety.org, or (715) 532-3786 ext. 111.

This initiative will greatly expand the RGS/AWS ability to directly improve habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and other wildlife dependent upon young forests, and is only possible due to the hard work and passion of our partners at NRCS and WI DNR. More information on RGS/AWS can be found at www.RuffedGrouseSociety.org.

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Established in 1961, the Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society is North America’s foremost conservation organization dedicated to preserving our sporting traditions by creating healthy forest habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and other wildlife. RGS/AWS works with landowners and government agencies to develop critical habitat utilizing scientific management practices.

RGS/AWS is designated as a Charity Navigator Four-Star charity, for recognition as a financially healthy, accountable, and transparent organization. Information on RGS/AWS, its mission, management projects and membership can be found on the web at: www.RuffedGrouseSociety.org.

Media Contact:

Brent Rudolph

(517) 980-4570

BrentR@RuffedGrouseSociety.org

EDITOR NOTE: GIVE ME A WINDOW . . . That’s all I need . . .

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Nagy Illustration

By Matt Soberg, RGS & AWS Editor & Director of Communications

Now is your window to help RGS & AWS create healthy forests and increase the voice for  the future of grouse and woodcock – New member drive ends April 1!

***

I was flying to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home of the Ruffed Grouse Society headquarters, watching a movie on my smartphone through the GoGo entertainment app offered by Delta, when I heard a character say, “Give me a window, that’s all I need.”

I hit pause. That statement hit home to me for some reason, probably the positivity and determination in its message, and caused a moment of reflection. Does that ever happen to you?

I took a moment to send myself an email with just that statement thinking it may be a good article idea someday. The statement hit me, but the context of the character and the specific movie did not, although I believe the character was referring to taking advantage of chance to create an opportunity.

This happened months ago, but for some reason I remembered the “window” statement in the middle of the night, 2:31 a.m. to be exact as my notes reflect. Similar to emailing myself ideas mid-flight, I keep a notepad next to the bed for just these moments. If I try to remember them, these brilliant midnight ideas (tongue in cheek), they are gone the next morning.

The fall hunting season was fast approaching, and I woke up at said time sweating and stressed out about how short the hunting season is and how much we had to get done during that short “window”.  It caused me to think about taking advantage of chances and creating an opportunity in the short season we have. I started typing on my laptop the next morning.

Here were the first two midnight “window” thoughts I had, one humorously literal, and the other figuratively important:

The day was opening Saturday of the 2017 Minnesota grouse opener. The place was Central Minnesota, and I was with a good hunting buddy, his bird dog and one of mine. The weather was low 60s, and we were amped to brave the green jungle of early season leaves.

We had scouted a new area, one ripe with a large, young rectangular stand of aspen probably cut around eight or so years ago. The stand was surrounded by a healthy diversity of other forest types all around, hidden from the roadside.

We hunted the edge of the stand, pointed and flushed many woodcock, although they were not yet in season. Still fun though. The grouse were hard to come by with two flushes and neither bird viewed through the naked eye.

We made one last loop and were only about 200 yards from the truck where we’d drink some coffee, check the maps and find the next spot.

I called my young setter by name as we approached the vehicle, and he first swerved near my hunting buddy who immediately hunched over, hand over nose and mouth, in disgust. “What in the he## is that smell?” My setter next neared my location, and I could see, and smell, he had rolled in a carcass, a disgustingly rotten carcass at that. I too hunched and covered nose and mouth, and my buddy laughed and laughed and laughed.

For all you numbers folks out there, here is how my opening day went: 12 grouse flushes. umpteen woodcock flushes, 1 hunting buddy, 3 birddogs, 1 dog rolling in rotting carcass, umpteen expletives, 1 hunting buddy uncontrollably laughing, 4 windows rolled down from the rancid smell, 1 lake to wash dog which didn’t work, umpteen more expletives, and 1 hunting buddy still laughing.

As we drove home, the smell forced me to think, “Give me a window, that’s all I need.”

***

banner-2017-member-promo-2My other more figurative midnight thought was about the Ruffed Grouse Society membership and how we move the needle. How do we increase the voice for habitat, grouse, woodcock and hunting so that future generations of upland hunters experience these fine seasons as we do?

My personal feeling is that if you hunt grouse and woodcock, you should give back to the resource, whether you receive an incentive or not. The Ruffed Grouse Society is the leader in forest management, the only organization grouping and energizing grouse hunters and forest conservationists across the grouse and woodcock range. The Ruffed Grouse Society is keeping a pulse on forest conservation and upland hunting legislation and policy and the force influencing positive change.

The overwhelming majority of those reading this column will have hunted grouse or woodcock during our short window of our hunting season. Many of you will have hunted with others – Ask yourself and then ask your hunting buddies if they are members. Ask if they are giving back to the resource we need and love. Imagine what we could do if each one of us recruited one new member to the Ruffed Grouse Society – we’d double membership, increase the voice for hunting and habitat and create that much stronger of a foundation for the future.

The unbelievable promotional deal of our current Ruffed Grouse Society new member drive is still in place – but only for a limited time! – Ends April 1, 2018 – where new members receive a logo’d blaze, meshback hat along with a graphic, long-sleeved T-shirt, both of which are quite popular, not to mention this award-winning magazine, may I say so myself (tongue in cheek). Only $35!

But current members can participate too, and I urge you to do so – it’s quite easy. First, if you recruit your hunting buddy by gifting a $35 membership, you, the current member, receive the shirt and hat. Now, that’s an easy way to give back to the resource. Second, if you are currently a Ruffed Grouse Society member, but not a member of the American Woodcock Society (or vice versa), you can receive the shirt and hat by joining the other organization too.

Before this promo runs out, recruit a hunting buddy to join the effort, ask a Ruffed Grouse Society biologist to manage your private forests, volunteer for a chapter habitat day on public land, go to a banquet, volunteer for the New Hunter Mentor Program or Women’s Intro to Wingshooting program or participate in the new member drive. Take a chance and create an opportunity.

As we all know, our window of opportunity is too short, but, “Give me a window, that’s all I need . . . to make a difference.”

***

Back to the opener and on the bright side, again for all the numbers folks, we had some good luck too: 2 shots fired, 1 grouse in the bag, 1 high-five, 1 shot of scotch at hunt’s end (ok, maybe two), and despite the rancid dog, we had 1 toast to grouse and good times, and 1 plan to do it all over again.

Give me a window, that’s all I need . . .

**First published as the Editor Note from the Winter 2017 Issue of Ruffed Grouse Society magazine.

To join the effort, go to www.ruffed.org

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – Stay Focused on Habitat

by

RGS Mag Pres Msg Fall 2017

When I hunt grouse and woodcock next fall, I want to better clear my mind of all things occupying my thoughts . . .  I want to stay focused on what I’m doing . . . I want to stay focused on hunting, and when I do, I pick up little cues from the surrounding habitat, I pay closer attention to the dog work, I react to flushes better and shoot straighter, and I’m quite sure you’ve made a similar observation. Staying focused helps us enjoy all the hunt has to offer and gives us a much more fulfilling and satisfying hunting experience regardless of whether we bring back any birds at the end of the day.

With our busy lives, we become more easily distracted, and it takes real discipline to maintain focus on what we’re doing. My buddy from Texas describes the task of staying focused this way:

“It says easy, but does hard!”

Similarly, we must maintain our focus to carry out our critical RGS/AWS mission, which is to create healthy forest habitat for ruffed grouse, American woodcock and other forest wildlife. During the past few years, much attention has been paid to the impact of West Nile Virus (WNV) on ruffed grouse populations. WNV is an arbovirus transmitted by mosquitoes and was first detected in North America in 1999 (in New York). Human and wildlife infections have been reported in all contiguous 48 states. Clearly, we need to understand how this disease mechanism affects the birds we champion.

Grouse 2
Photo by James Boburka

The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) is working to better understand the impact of WNV on ruffed grouse populations in a study started in 2015, and RGS/AWS has been, and continues to be, a partner in this effort. PGC, with RGS/AWS support, sampled hunter-harvested grouse in the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 seasons.

WNV does not apply annual and steady pressure on grouse populations throughout their range, as risk to grouse fluctuates over time.  In Pennsylvania, dramatic WNV peaks occurred from 2001 to 2004 and again from 2012 to 2014. WNV peaks are triggered by weather conditions, and the timing of peaks will vary in other states, regions and time periods. Pennsylvania’s population monitoring indicates that regions with high-quality and abundant habitat show a strong grouse population recovery between WNV peaks, and flush rate data from Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan appears to support this connection.

These preliminary findings seem to make sense and reaffirm the crucial role habitat plays in bird health, disease resistance and population resilience. So what should we take away from all this? We, as hunters, should be disappointed that our Pennsylvania grouse season was cut short as PGC temporarily shortened the 2017-2018 season based on the effect of WNV. We should be even more disappointed because the lack of high-quality and abundant young forest habitat made grouse vulnerable to disease in many parts of Pennsylvania in the first place (where the ruffed grouse is the state bird!). In 2011, the PGC adopted a Ruffed Grouse Management Plan and, to their credit, some of it was implemented, however, given the grouse population’s response to WNV, partial implementation was not adequate. We must disrupt this status quo – the very same thing may happen all over again whenever the next disease or threat arises if we don’t stay focused on the bottom line now . . . young forest habitat.

Photo by Matt Soberg
Photo by Matt Soberg

We need to challenge our public land managers to stay focused on implementing their grouse and woodcock management plans, which call for scientifically sound active forest management that benefits many species of forest wildlife. Having a plan and failing to implement it is worse than not even having a plan at all.

A primary challenge faced by natural resource professionals today is to enhance the understanding of an increasingly nature-deficient public of the critical role played by disturbance in the conservation of wildlife.  The public must be helped to better understand the very real consequences to wildlife from decisions to NOT impart a particular habitat management action on a particular landscape.  The public must be helped to better understand that the long-term implications of inaction must be given equal consideration in decision-making processes to the potential short-term implications of action. The failure to compel this enhanced understanding will seriously compromise efforts to conserve game and nongame wildlife associated with habitats sustained only through periodic disturbance.

“As the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion be enlightened accordingly.”

— Inscription on the dome of the Missouri State Capitol Building.

High-quality and abundant habitat is where RGS/AWS will maintain our focus. We will stay focused on working with and educating landowners, government agencies and the public of the necessity to create this critical healthy forest habitat through scientific forest management. Similar to human populations, bird populations will be more resilient to threats from diseases when they are strong, healthy and safe. Healthy forests produce abundant wildlife that enable hunters to enjoy our cherished sporting traditions this season and many seasons to come.

For more information on Ruffed Grouse Society programs, visit www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.

To join and give back to habitat and hunting, go to www.ruffed.org.