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Healthy Forests, Abundant Wildlife, Conservation Ethic

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Covers Magazine

RGS Canada Appoints New Coordinator

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by Jeff Helsdon The new coordinator for RGS Canada brings a passion for upland birds and enhancing their habitat to his position. Chris Madej started as Canadian coordinator last fall. “I first heard of the Ruffed Grouse Society 1989 while working in Toronto,” he recounted. “I joined a few years later to learn more about grouse hunting and habitat. In those days, I spent many fall weekends driving north in pursuit of grouse. I was a late bloomer, starting hunting in my mid-30s. I told my family and friends I needed more exercise and also got a Brittany to help me with that.” Since...

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NAVHDA: Leaving a Lasting Impression

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by Erin Kalpin I was 12 years old, sitting in my bedroom nestled at the back of the small home I was growing up in. There, I touched the golden wings on the ruffed grouse pin before placing it on my blaze orange Ruffed Grouse Society hat. The following day I’d be heading to a North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) test, where we’d be running the small 7-month-old puppy I claimed as my own, named Ben, in his Natural Ability test. During the test, I proudly stood next to my dad when we reached the water and we paused for...

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RGS & AWS Chapter Volunteers Plant Help Plant 15,900 seedlings in Kentucky’s Daniel Boone National Forest

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On March 16, volunteers from the Kentucky River Chapter planted 900 shortleaf pine seedlings on public land within the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF) as part of the Peter’s Branch Stewardship Agreement between RGS & AWS and the DBNF. This agreement allows RGS & AWS to improve forest habitat diversity on hundreds of acres of the DBNF’s London Ranger District, including the creation of oak-pine woodlands. Oak-pine woodlands are an open-canopy forest type that provides a mix of low cover and abundant forage for wildlife. These once-common ecosystems have become rare due to changes in land management and outbreaks of southern...

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Purina – Body Condition System

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by Keith Schopp The Purina veterinarian took one look at Emma, my 8-year-old Labrador retriever, and noted: “She hasn’t missed any meals lately.” Then Dr. RuthAnn Lobos announced Emma’s score on the Purina Body Condition System. “She’s a solid 6, maybe even a 6.5,” said Dr. Lobos. I was crushed. View a PDF copy of Purina’s Body Condition System With apologies to Bo Derek, when you’re a Labrador retriever competing in the Purina Body Condition Scoring game, you don’t want to be a 10. That would be a 55-gallon barrel with legs. You want to score a 4 or 5, which is “ideal” according to...

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’Round the Barn

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by Marc Fryt “Stupid barn!” I yelled, ejecting two more smoking spent shells from the shotgun. My voice carried off deeply into the early winter woods. Windsor, my English setter, was bug-eyed and excitedly bounced his head up through the brambles. The sound of the grouse whirring up through the branches reverberated in my head. “No bird!” I shouted down, looking at the final wisps of smoke circling out from the chambers. It was a soft pitch, and I’d whiffed. The large male ruffed grouse had kicked up slowly, profiling itself against bare sky while it lumbered through the forest opening, providing two shot...

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Book Review: Woodcock in Print

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by Glen Blackwood, RGS & AWS Director of Regional Development – Lower Peninsula/Eastern U.P. of Michigan & Indiana 2024 is the 10th anniversary of the American Woodcock Society. In honor of this diamond event, a discussion of the literary gems within the genre of American woodcock seems appropriate. Much has been written about these interesting and mystifying migrants. Since the 1700s, naturalists and hunters have put pen to paper in honor of the woodcock’s uniqueness. They’ve been described in numerous ways on both the biological and lyrical sides of the aisle, with the common thread being the bird’s peculiar body and behavior....

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