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Friendship, Access, Opportunity: A Call to Action for the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan Revision

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Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan Revision

Act now to impact the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan Revision

The above photo showcases one of my favorite memories from this past hunting season and I’m so grateful to Durrell Smith, host of The Gun Dog Notebook Podcast, for capturing it. Durrell, Tyler Ross (featured along with his son, Brennon), and I gathered for a day of ruffed grouse hunting in western North Carolina. Wil Sensing tagged along with his two cameras in tow to film the southeast segment of Public Grouse. That morning Brennon knew his dad was headed out to follow a few bird dogs and refused to stay home. His smile in the photo is the result of a breakfast of the few oreo cookies I slipped him, an homage to the diet coke and powdered donuts of my childhood. Treats reserved only for hunting Saturdays.

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Last Day of Upland Gunning Season

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An upland hunter reflects on his last day of the season.

Saturday Morning, February 29, began with a crisp, cool, but sunny morning. It was also the last day of the upland gunning season and a day that brings bittersweet thoughts to my mind each year. It is with regret that I know that it hearkens an end my days afield with my canine companions. Yet I also know that my body needs a rest from endless treks across the mountains, my wife would like to see me around a wee bit more, and spring chores await. And gardening season is upon us and fishing in the creeks is just around the corner as the weather warms.

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Minnesota Forests | Success in Conservation and Habitat – RGS

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woodcock-in-minnesota-forest

Take a look at the successful creation of habitat and conservation in Minnesota forests with the Ruffed Grouse Society and American woodcock Society

If you’re reading this post in the great state of Minnesota, it’s likely that you may have spent time grouse hunting in Minnesota forests. And if it also feels like Minnesota has it pretty good when it comes to grouse habitat and populations, you wouldn’t be wrong. In part, that’s due to your continued support of Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS/AWS). Our staff are involved in several important conservation programs to increase and improve habitat across Minnesota – not just for grouse and woodcock, but many other wildlife species too.

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A Winter Grouse Hunt in Wisconsin – RGS

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Winter-grouse-hunt
Photo by | Mark Parman

The sights, sounds and silence of a winter grouse hunt.

On a winter grouse hunt all is quiet, save for the creaking of my snowshoe bindings and the webbing crunching the snow underneath. Not wearing his usual Swiss bell, which would clog with snow, even the dog is quiet. He mostly walks behind me in the packed snow, occasionally stepping on my snowshoes. When Jenkins steps out of my tracks, he swims in snow as he breaks his own trail.

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Heather Shaw featured on The Hunting Dog Podcast – RGS

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Heather-Shaw

Tune in to The Hunting Dog Podcast | Grouse Update featuring Heather Shaw

In December, Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society biologist Heather Shaw was featured on an episode of The Hunting Dog Podcast with host Ron Boehme,

The Hunting Dog Podcast
“RGS Biologist Heather Shaw joins me to talk about the status of grouse around the great Lakes. and a few nuggets of info that you need to hear.”

Listen | The Hunting Dog Podcast – Grouse Update featuring Heather Shaw

A Working Forest is Not Lacking in Wildness – RGS

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working-forest-woodcock

The working forest we hunt is full of wildness and we are drawn to these special places.

We make a big deal about preserving and protecting wilderness areas. Groups, such as the Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club, work diligently and spend millions to protect these pristine lands. On the other hand, we have far fewer people and organizations interested in protecting working landscapes and the wildness in these “ordinary” places. 

These working landscapes — the farms and orchards that grow our food as well as the forests that supply our wood and paper — are just as important and just as worthy of our devotion and protection. The majority of our grouse and woodcock come from these working forests as well.

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The Downfall of New Jersey Grouse Hunting – RGS

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new-jersey-grouse

Emergency closure of the New Jersey grouse hunting season.

On July 17th the Fish and Game Council of New Jersey voted for an emergency closure of the ruffed grouse season in New Jersey. The Fish and Game Council is comprised of three farmer and six sportsmen representatives, as well as the Chairman of the Endangered and Nongame Species Council and a public representative at large. Their purview is to “adopt a Fish and Game Code for the purpose of providing a system for the protection and conservation of fish and game” in the state.

Essentially, they advise, suggest, and oversee the regulations dictating season lengths, restrictions, bag limits, zones, and other factors relating to recreational take of game through hunting and trapping. For hunters in New Jersey, the most obvious effect of these changes are highlighted notes in the new year’s Hunting and Trapping Digest. One of those highlighted changes will affect me directly as well as any other grouse hunters left in the state.

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Winter Grouse Hunting Strategies – RGS

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Things to consider before your next winter grouse hunt.

Here in Wisconsin, the snow is deep, and the winds are howling, and we have settled in for the winter. However, winter grouse hunting is possible and there are still areas that have not seen as much snow or cold temperatures as certain areas of the ruffed grouse range.  

If I am considering going to a new area this time of year, I first do some research.  Here are some of the things that I consider before heading out:

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Ruffed Grouse Hunting with a County Forester

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Mike Amman | County Forester

A day in the grouse woods with a forestry professional.

Aldo Leopold wrote in Sand County Almanac that it’s best to just tag along behind a bird dog because it knows “grouseward better than you do.” This tends to be true, but a northern Wisconsin forester, especially one who hunts ruffed grouse with a passion, is a close second. That’s why when Bayfield county forester Mike Amman asked me to join him on a hunt, I immediately asked when and where.   

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Jon Steigerwaldt and Jared Elm featured on Project Upland Podcast – RGS

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Listen | Project Upland Podcast #84

Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) biologist Jon Steigerwaldt along with RGS forest wildlife specialist, Jared Elm joined host Nick Larson on a recent episode of the Project Upland Podcast.

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