Grouse Camp Tour

North Carolina/Georgia

RGS chapters are striving to ensure national forests are properly managed in the Southern Appalachian Region to preserve our grouse hunting traditions for future generations.

The famed conservationist Aldo Leopold once said, “We shall never achieve harmony with the land, anymore than we shall achieve absolute justice or liberty for people. In these higher aspirations the important thing is not to achieve but to strive.” The word “strive”, being the operative, is exactly what RGS chapter volunteers are doing in North Carolina and Georgia to ensure our public lands, namely national forests, are being properly managed for wildlife.

With two setters on point up a steep ridge off a North Carolina national forest trail, longtime RGS member and grouse hunter Jeff Johnson rounded one side for a better view as he directed 19-year-old college student Noah Smith to approach from the other. A report of one flush, and then another, escaped the hunters through the young forest. The grouse escaped, as the King of Gamebirds often does, straight up the mountain without a shot. The sequence of one generation of grouse hunter working in tandem with the next generation paralleled the discussions RGS staff had with the local volunteers from North Carolina and Georgia regarding the absolute need to have a bigger voice to influence proper forest management on national forests.

In North Carolina, the Tour met with Jim Gray, Jeff Johnson, Tom England and Noah Smith, among others from the local RGS chapters, to discuss the state of young forest habitat and hunting in their area. Through our discussions, Jim Gray urged that the continued decline of habitat populations, not just for grouse, is the biggest threat to their public lands. Jim, and others from the chapter, have spent countless hours making a stand for proper forest management on national forests in the region through numerous political processes including the current Nantahala and Pisgah National Forest Plan Revision process.

One of the first things Jeff Johnson stressed was the need to support the next generation of grouse hunters. The local volunteers had a profound understanding that in order to ensure future advocacy for habitat and wildlife, we need to increase the voice for young forest habitat. For example, Jim, Jeff and Tom have made a concerted effort to grouse hunt with Noah Smith, a 19-year-old college student, to educate the next generation on the importance of habitat and to “pass the torch”, in a sense, to new grouse hunters.

Noah stressed why he is passionate about grouse conservation and hunting, “Without grouse conservation, my dogs wouldn’t have anything to chase in the forest that is truly wild. The fact grouse are truly wild are what make them so special.”

The Tour had the pleasure to stay at a hunting camp along a trout stream owned by Monte Seehorn near Hayseville, North Carolina. The next day,  Monte and Bill Bunch showcased RGS chapter habitat projects in northern Georgia. Monte is an 83-year-old grouse hunter who continues to climb the mountains grouse hunting and to advocate for young forest habitat creation in Georgia. During our hunt, we asked Monte why grouse conservation continues to be important to him at his age. “I’m stubborn . . . I’m not willing to let the Forest Service get away with not doing what they should be doing on their own,” he adamantly responded. “I’m old enough to know what grouse populations used to be, and I know what habitat management can do for grouse here in the future.”

We found birds in Georgia, and while walking the trail back to the truck for the final steps of this year’s Tour, we heard a grouse drumming deep down a seemingly endless ridge, almost as if sounding a signal of goodbye as the Tour ended.

The grouse hunting story of the Southern Appalachian region is one of historic tradition with optimism and potential for the future. Throughout the Tour, we found birds where we found habitat, however the bottom line is that thousands of national forestlands are not being properly managed, and therein lies the potential for grouse populations and sporting traditions in this region for the future.

The purpose of the Grouse Camp Tour is to spread awareness about the need for young forest habitat by discussing regional and local habitat creation issues with chapter volunteers. For our North Carolina and Georgia stop, special thanks go to Jim Gray, Jeff Johnson, Noah Smith, Tom England, Monte Seehorn and Bill Bunch, among others from the local chapters,  for helping with the Tour and for donating your time and efforts for the benefit of forest wildlife.

Also, thanks to SportDOG Brand for being the official dog collar sponsor of this year’s Tour. www.sportdog.com.

RGS 2016 GROUSE CAMP TOUR – Monterey, Virginia

The Birthplace of the Ruffed Grouse Society

Walking down the short main street of Monterey, Virginia, a small mountain town in the northwestern part of the state, it would be difficult to assume that North America’s leading forest wildlife conservation organization was started there way back in 1961, but it was . . . welcome to the birthplace of the Ruffed Grouse Society.

That year, three gentlemen sat around a table in a downtown real estate office and decided it was important to conserve ruffed grouse populations for future generations. Unbeknownst to them, they started a national conservation organization in that little mountain town that grew to the well-respected national conservation organization that RGS is today.

During our Stop #2 in Monterey, we did a little research in town and located the original Articles of Incorporation from 1961 at the clerk’s office and stories from 1962 at the local newspaper. The 1962 newspaper article mentioned ruffed grouse as, “the king of upland game birds”. It is clear that passions for ruffed grouse were the same in the early 60’s as they are today.

The Articles of Incorporation state that the purpose of RGS is to ” study ruffed grouse and its habitats . . . to cooperate with all agencies, public and private, who have an interest in conservation and good sportsmanship . . . and to simply promote interest in, and conservation of, the ruffed grouse.” That same purpose still holds true today.

While in northern Virginia, RGS staff also had the pleasure of spending time with volunteers from the James River and H.C. Edwards RGS Chapters afield and in grouse camp. We enjoyed the camaraderie, stories, great food and laughing inherent in the grouse camp tradition. Thank you to the many chapter members that welcomed RGS staff with open arms and thanks for all you do to create healthy forest habitat so we can preserve our sporting traditions for future generations.

And, we found habitat. But, the wildlife in Virginia and the Southern Appalachian region need more habitat, the grouse need more, especially on national forests.

Where we found habitat, we found birds. Hunts resulted in flushes and a birds harvested. RGS member Middleton Smith bagged his first grouse during the Grouse Camp Tour, which we all know is a memorable moment in the lifetime of a grouse hunter. The bottom line is that where there was habitat, there were birds, which proves that the RGS mission of creating healthy forests based on scientific forest management works.

The purpose of the Grouse Camp Tour is to celebrate grouse and woodcock hunting and the creation of young forest habitat by visiting local chapter grouse camps within the region to thank them for their hard work and dedication to the mission of RGS/AWS. Special thanks goes to Darrell Feasel, Bill Sneddon, Mike Carpenter, Roy Lambertson, Middleton Smith, and many others for donating their time and efforts to show staff around the great place of Virginia. There are others who helped, and names missing from this list will be added here and mentioned in the Spring Issue of the Ruffed Grouse Society magazine. Also, thanks to SportDOG Brand for being the official dog collar sponsor of this year’s Tour. www.sportdog.com.