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.
[Read more…] about Recovering America’s Wildlife Act UpdateConservation Policy
Friendship, Access, Opportunity: A Call to Action for the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan Revision
Act now to impact the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan Revision The above photo showcases one of my favorite memories from this past hunting season and I’m so grateful to Durrell Smith, host of The Gun Dog Notebook Podcast, for capturing it. Durrell, Tyler Ross (featured along with his son, Brennon), and I gathered for a day of ruffed grouse hunting in western North Carolina. Wil Sensing tagged along with his two cameras in tow to film the southeast segment of Public Grouse. That morning Brennon knew his dad was headed out to follow a few bird dogs and refused to stay home....
RGS & AWS Shares USFS Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan Revision Fact Sheet and Position Statements
Act Now: Submit Comments Here Numerous forest wildlife are at-risk in the southern Appalachians due to lack of forest diversity and an unnaturally single-aged forest (i.e., lacking very young and very old forest interspersed across the landscape). Many, including ruffed grouse and American woodcock, are listed as species of greatest conservation need in North Carolina’s State Wildlife Action Plan. Some are even considered species of concern at the federal level (golden-winged warbler and Appalachian cottontail). The conservation needs of these species center mainly on habitat restoration and management. [Read more…] about RGS & AWS Shares USFS Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan Revision Fact...
Young Forest Initiative Creating Habitat for Grouse and Woodcock in New York – RGS
Forest Management at Mongaup Valley WMA | Photo by: Gregory Cerne Young Forest Initiative in New York Creates Habitat for Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock Mongaup Valley Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is nestled against a part of the Delaware River that slithers between New York and Pennsylvania. In 2016, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) completed a project to create new wildlife habitat at Mongaup Valley as part of its Young Forest Initiative (YFI), an ongoing effort launched in 2015 to increase habitat within 93 WMAs for species dependent on early successional forests and whose populations are in steep...
RGS Supports Ruffed Grouse Symposium in Wisconsin Rapids – RGS
Upper Great Lakes Ruffed Grouse Symposium
On February 25, 2020, Wisconsin hosted an Upper Midwest Ruffed Grouse Symposium. This event was geared towards professional wildlife biologists, foresters, and researchers managing ruffed grouse in the Upper Midwest.
In total, 120 professionals from eight different states attended the symposium. The day was well rounded with talks on current research, management efforts, and planning. Discussions also focused on learning about factors impacting ruffed grouse such as disease, policy, forest product market trends and climate.
[Read more…] about RGS Supports Ruffed Grouse Symposium in Wisconsin Rapids – RGSTake Action Now! Help Secure Conservation & Outdoor Recreation Funding: Support 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...
