RGS

Healthy Forests, Abundant Wildlife, Conservation Ethic

You are here: Home / Archives for Ecology

Ecology

Featured Habitat in Michigan: Pigeon River Country State Forest

by

Roger Moore RGS & AWS Chapter forged ahead with a key habitat project despite 2020 challenges and delays

By Glen Blackwood, Eastern Great Lakes Director of Regional Development

Originally published in Spring 2021 issue of Covers Magazine.

“Conservation is NOT canceled” has been the overriding mantra of RGS & AWS, our chapters and membership during the past year. While the pandemic’s impacts caused fundraising and other chapter events to be postponed, our work on young successional forest management and wildlife habitat creation continued in 2020. Through everything, RGS & AWS members and staff forged ahead, ensuring that conservation remained a priority. One such project occurred in the northern region of Michigan’s lower peninsula; an area best known as the Pigeon River Country.

[Read more…] about Featured Habitat in Michigan: Pigeon River Country State Forest

Grouse are dangerously close to disappearing in the Southern Appalachians, but we can do something about it.

by

Looking out over the Southern Appalachian landscape from the Blue Ridge Parkway, one sees a beautiful landscape of rolling hills and vibrant green forests as far as the eye can see. The lush, closed canopy forests that dominate the region’s public lands are no doubt aesthetically beautiful, but they lack diverse forest habitat that many forest wildlife depend upon.

In December 2020, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ (AFWA) Eastern Grouse Working Group released a report highlighting that ruffed grouse populations have declined by 71% since 1989 in the Southern Appalachians. The primary reason for this is a lack of forest habitat diversity at large scales, especially the loss of young forests from the landscape.

(Read article via Backcountry Hunters & Anglers blog)

[Read more…] about Grouse are dangerously close to disappearing in the Southern Appalachians, but we can do something about it.

Put Me In – Summer 2021 President’s Message

by

President’s message from Ben Jones, RGS & AWS President & CEO – originally printed in Summer 2021 issue of Covers Magazine

As I write this, it’s mid-April, the sun is out, but it’s damp and chilly. That has me reminiscing about heading to the Pittsburgh Pirates opener at Three Rivers Stadium every year with my dad: The emerald green field as we emerged from the concourse, the smack of the ball hitting gloves during warmups and the cutting chill posed by the spring air and all that concrete in the old stadium. I still love baseball, although my own playing time was cut short with the realization that it impeded on trout fishing and spring turkey hunting.

[Read more…] about Put Me In – Summer 2021 President’s Message

Wisconsin members: Your voice is needed!

by

The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program in Wisconsin needs to be renewed and fully funded

Ruffed Grouse by Timothy C. Flanigan

Wisconsin’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program provides valuable funding to conserve wildlife habitat and natural areas, expand opportunities for outdoor recreation, and protect water quality and fisheries.

Over the past three decades, the Knowles-Nelson program has invested more than $825 million in nearly 7,000 projects across the state. Though diverse forms of outdoor recreation are supported by these projects that involve purchasing lands or easements and sustaining infrastructure, a program review  found 94% of lands purchased with Knowles-Nelson grants since 2007 are open to hunting.

[Read more…] about Wisconsin members: Your voice is needed!

Defining the needs of our most beloved species

by

We need to take bold action for Species of Greatest Conservation Need

By: Todd Waldron, Northeast Forest Conservation Director

Ruffed grouse by Timothy C. Flanigan (For RGS & AWS use)

Have you ever heard the term “Species of Greatest Conservation Need” or “SGCN” and wondered what that means? Or maybe you’ve wondered how it applies to the future of grouse and woodcock populations. How does it drive the RGS & AWS conservation mission?

You’ve likely seen our monthly updates in The Bellwether newsletter or regularly on social media: Ruffed grouse populations are declining across much of North America. The decline is due to habitat diversity decline and grouse are now listed as an SGCN in 19 states, while American woodcock are listed similarly in 29 states.

What exactly does a SGCN designation imply and what conservation action is needed to address it? We’ll get into that in a minute, but first, let’s cover some background information.

[Read more…] about Defining the needs of our most beloved species

Working Lands for Wildlife — The Long View: Sustaining Our Oak Forests

by

Register today for this virtual event: Wednesday, May 12, 11 am – 1 pm EST

This FREE working lands webinar hosted by Ruffed Grouse Society &American Woodcock Society and the NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife program will educate landowners and natural resource professionals on working lands conservation programs intended to benefit wildlife species and promote forest diversity.

This webinar has been approved for the following. Please register here to receive credit.

  • 2 CFE credits (category 1) with the Society of American Foresters
  • 2 CEUs (category 1) of the Certified Wildlife Biologist® Renewal/Professional Development Certificate Program for participation in the webinar
  • USDA-NRCS Conservation Planner Certification
[Read more…] about Working Lands for Wildlife — The Long View: Sustaining Our Oak Forests

Beyond The Bellwether of Our Forests – RGS

by

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.

[Read more…] about Beyond The Bellwether of Our Forests – RGS

Action Alert for Michigan

by

Deadline set for Monday, March 8 to ensure Improved Aspen Management on the Manistee National Forest

The Huron-Manistee National Forests (HMNF) have seen a decline in aspen harvest over the past few decades. This has led to an imbalance in the age structure of aspen stands that negatively affects habitat critical for ruffed grouse, American woodcock, and other forest wildlife.

[Read more…] about Action Alert for Michigan

RGS & AWS Northeast Forest Conservation Update: Part 2

by

How the Northeast’s public and private landownership patterns influence RGS & AWS conservation approach.

By Todd Waldron, Northeast Forest Conservation Director

In the most recent RGS & AWS conservation update from the Northeast Region, we looked at the Northeast Upland Gamebird Technical Committee 2017 findings in terms of how diminishing forest habitat diversity is impacting grouse, woodcock and many other forest wildlife populations. One consideration for how RGS & AWS and our partners will need to approach this challenge is to consider land ownership patterns across the Northeast.

[Read more…] about RGS & AWS Northeast Forest Conservation Update: Part 2

RGS & AWS Northeast Forest Conservation Update: Part 1

by

A primer for those curious about ecological issues impacting the Northeastern Region of the U.S.

By Todd Waldron, Northeast Forest Conservation Director

Photo by Todd Waldron

February 22, 2021 – If you and your dog have been covering countless miles through New England’s autumn woods and have only been flushing a fraction of the birds that you used to see – there is a reason for it.

[Read more…] about RGS & AWS Northeast Forest Conservation Update: Part 1