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In this Bird Camp Podcast episode, Zach Evans, RGS’s new Forest Conservation Director for the eastern Great Lakes joins Gabe Stone to discuss progress on Michigan’s federal forest systems.
Hear about recent accomplishments, ongoing habitat projects, and the future of upland conservation across the state.
by Sean Barry | RGS & AWS Forest Conservation Coordinator, Southern Appalachians Laurel Bed Lake at Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Virginia The faint change of leaves glistened along Laurel Bed Lake’s shore as early fall made itself vaguely known. One of those mornings that begins brisk and then warms up – a start in a jacket, end in a t-shirt type of day. The plan was to mark boundaries for a crop tree release at Clinch Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in southwest Virginia. This work is part of our project with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources and made...
RGS & AWS is expanding its team in the Southern Appalachians with the addition of two Forest Wildlife Specialists: Justin Ireland in Tennessee and Pan Tankersley in South Carolina. Justin Ireland Ireland is a Tennessee native and life-long hunter with a bachelor’s in wildlife from Tennessee Tech and master’s of science in forestry from the University of Tennessee. After serving five years in the U.S. Marine Corps, Ireland worked as a field forester and consultant in Tennessee, and a wildlife research technician in Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi. Ireland’s role spans both private and public lands. On private lands, preparing Natural Resources...
Featured Habitat Project – Covers Winter 2025 by Amelia “Melly” Napper | RGS & AWS Vermont Public Lands Forester In September 2023, RGS & AWS entered into its latest agreement with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to support forest management and implement on-the-ground habitat improvements on 6,000 acres across four iconic American national forests from Minnesota to Vermont’s Green Mountain National Forest. The Somerset and South of Route 9 Integrated Resource Projects (IRP) on Green Mountain National Forest include management activities that aim to achieve multiple goals related to the Forest Plan. Creating forest habitat for diversity is an important objective for both...
by Kristen A. Schmitt On Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, hours after making landfall at peak intensity along the Big Bend region of Florida, Hurricane Helene roared across the southeastern U.S., triggering catastrophic flooding in western North Carolina, East Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. The Category 4 storm took the area by surprise, coupling the onslaught of rain with gale force winds that snapped oaks and hickories like twigs, leaving a decimated landscape in its wake. For Sean Barry, a resident of Marshall, North Carolina, no one believed it would be as bad as it was. “It caught us off guard,” said Barry, RGS &...
by Kris Millgate It’s the crunch of color-faded leaves flattening underfoot and the snag of elbow-patched sleeves passing branches. It’s also the feel of frost on face, gun in gloves and butterflies in belly. Add to those marvelous sensations, dogs on point and birds on wing. The scenario is outdoor perfection and it’s thrilling so the last thing you’re thinking about is the why behind what you’re experiencing. That’s understandable in the heat of the hunt, but afterward, after feathers weave through fingers, consider this: There’s actually years of strategy behind that fleeting moment. “We’re focused on forest health and it just...
