Habitat

Know Your Cover – Species-group profile: Cherries

March 24, 2022 by Ruffed Grouse Society

by Stefan Nelson, RGS & AWS Forest Wildlife Specialist The Upper Great Lakes states have three species of native cherries, all belonging to the Prunus genus and the Rosaceae family (roses, apples, plums, cherries, hawthorns, etc.). Cherries are utilized by many interest groups, including for timber harvest/forestry products, firewood and horticulture, and comprise a seasonally important forage for a variety of wildlife species. Like many other plants in this family, these cherry species have bright white aromatic flowers during late spring and early summer. Cherries are somewhat shade-tolerant and grow well in forest understory, fence rows, canopy gaps and new clear-cuts....

Know Your Cover: Southern Appalachian Forest Types

February 21, 2022 by admin

Southern Appalachian forests are some of the most biologically diverse forests on the planet. Western North Carolina alone contains all the major forest types you would see driving from Georgia to Maine, concentrated in one region and distributed by elevation. The incredible diversity of forest types makes active forest management in the region exciting, complex and challenging! Across our diverse Southern Appalachian forests, we observe the same trend, an unnaturally high level of closed canopy, middle-aged forests and a lack of appropriate levels of young, open and old forest structure. The lack of structural diversity across the regions’ forest types...

Radio Tracking Woodcock Chicks

February 7, 2022 by admin

Unique study finds downed logs used extensively for predator cover before green up Story by Mark Herwig A first-of-its-kind study by the University of Minnesota-Duluth on woodcock chicks has found pre-flight birds made frequent use of downed logs and large branches to avoid predators before forest green up. Researchers made these discoveries using radio transmitters on woodcock chicks ages two days old and up. Birds under two days could not bear the transmitter’s weight. Lotek NTQ2-3-2 transmitters were used for the woodcock hatchlings, a device that weighs only 0.67 grams, but costs $185. Once the chicks grow a bit, a thin elastic thread that holds...

Conservation organizations partner with Domtar to improve forest wildlife habitat

December 14, 2021 by admin

Pennsylvania’s state bird, the ruffed grouse, and a wide range of other Species of Greatest Conservation Need will benefit from the partnership Ruffed grouse by Tim Flanigan December 14, 2021 (Coraopolis, PA) – The Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS), American Bird Conservancy (ABC), Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), and Audubon Mid-Atlantic (AMA) are excited to partner with Domtar to improve habitats through active forest management and pulpwood sourcing. The project will improve habitat for game and non-game wildlife, using an innovative approach that creates landowner income and jobs in rural Pennsylvania. A lack of critical habitat for birds...

Out of Balance

October 21, 2021 by Ruffed Grouse Society

by Tim Flanigan The Ruffed Grouse Society was just 15 years old in 1976 when I attended the Society’s annual meeting in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The audience included the “whose-who” of the grouse-hunting community, and the keynote speaker for the meeting was the highly-regarded, Dr. Roger Latham, Ph.D. His word was gospel to outdoor enthusiasts of the time, and rightfully so. Dr. Latham was the Director of Wildlife Management for the Pennsylvania Game Commission and a widely-published outdoor writer. As the latter, he enjoyed great credibility due to his vast knowledge and field experience. The readers of his Sunday column in the...

Land Trusts: A Natural Partner in Habitat Protection and Management

August 31, 2021 by Ruffed Grouse Society

by Anne Fleming Published in Covers Summer 2020 The hunting community has a long-standing land conservation legacy across the United States. A tremendous amount of conservation is and has been funded by hunting license fees, firearm and ammunition taxes and other related user costs. In Michigan, the Ruffed Grouse Society Drummer Fund is yet another example of the ability to leverage fundraised dollars toward forest management and wildlife diversity while maintaining upland-hunting traditions that we hold so dear. In more recent history, the national land trust community has also been accomplishing remarkable – and permanent – land conservation across the United States. The...

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