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Habitat

For the Health of the Spirit and of the Forest 

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By Charlie Booher Photo Credit: White Oak Initiative White oaks (Quercus alba), like most good bourbons, take years to mature. However, white oak groves are disappearing or, more accurately, are not being replaced as these trees are being harvested or dying. In the near-term, stocks will remain available, but we are facing a long-term sustainability problem due to a lack of young trees.  For maintaining healthy forests across the East – and for keeping coopers, distillers and other craftspeople in business – this has become a major issue.  Stands of white oak currently occupy more than 104 million acres – roughly the size of...

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Hand-Cutting Hope: Non-Commercial Aspen Regeneration in the Great Lakes

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by Seth Finkel, RGS & AWS Western U.P. Public Lands Project Coordinator In the Great Lakes region, it’s difficult to understate the importance of young aspen for ruffed grouse and American woodcock as well as a multitude of other non-game species. For decades we could count on the timber industry’s hunger for pulp to keep aspen cut on rotation and keep habitat on the landscape. Unfortunately, this situation is no longer the case. There are tens of thousands of acres of rapidly aging aspen forest that will never be commercially harvested, typically due to terrain that makes operating equipment dangerous or…

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Project Highlight: Jersey Shore AWS – Prospertown Lake WMA

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The Jersey Shore chapter of the American Woodcock Society and the NJ Fish and Wildlife team have completed our fourth partnership for a habitat project on NJ Wildlife Management areas. This important partnership between the two organizations has delivered 4 successful projects in NJ over the past 4 years. We assembled on Sunday May 19th, 2024 at Prospertown Lake WMA, Monmouth County NJ. This was a continuation of our 2021 project. We planted 126 alder trees to create staggered growth edges and also planted 20 persimmon fruit trees for the turkeys. We then applied seedling protector tubes so we can protect…

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Fightingtown Creek Habitat Improvement Project on the Chattahoochee National Forest

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by Daniel Kutschied | RGS & AWS Forest Wildlife Specialist – Public Lands Georgia Ruffed grouse in North Georgia are at the southernmost extent of their range in the Eastern United States and face unique challenges and vulnerabilities. Conserving and improving habitat through active forest management in North Georgia — at the fringe of their range — is critical to ensure the continued presence of ruffed grouse in the Southern Appalachians. In the Chattahoochee National Forest (CNF), young hardwood forests with high stem density and herbaceous cover have become increasingly rare. Forest conditions are dynamic and can change rapidly. Common hardwood trees…

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Featured Habitat Project – Dynamic Forest Restoration on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee

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by Nick Biemiller | RGS & AWS Forest Conservation Director – Southern Appalachian Region The Cumberland Plateau is located at the southwestern edge of the Appalachian Mountains and includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee with portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. In Tennessee, the Cumberland Plateau is dominated by very flat, dry sites at the top of the plateau known as tablelands, with deep gorges and ravines dropping off the plateau into the Ridge and Valley Ecoregion. The plateau contains one of the largest expanses of continuous forests in the eastern U.S. and is dominated by a variety of…

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Know Your Cover – Where to Find Woodcock

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And Active Land Management for Them by Larry Partridge | RGS & AWS Lower Michigan and Eastern U.P. Forest Conservation Coordinator The American woodcock is one of our most beloved upland bird species. Prized by all types of outdoor and wildlife groups, they delight hunters (for their energetic flush) and birdwatchers (for their impressive aerial displays) alike. And, whichever camp you find yourself in, understanding the woodcock habits and habitat will greatly improve your user experience and maybe even help you to attract a fall of timberdoodles to your own piece of land. Woodcock are particular creatures and, while they can be found…

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