RGS

Healthy Forests, Abundant Wildlife, Conservation Ethic

You are here: Home / Archives for Mid-Atlantic

Mid-Atlantic

RMEF Strikes Major Conservation Agreement with Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society

by

Read the original article on RMEF.org MISSOULA, Mont. — Help is on the way for elk, ruffed grouse, woodcock, turkey, whitetail deer and many other wildlife species across the Great Lakes and Appalachian States.  The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) entered into a three-year conservation agreement to maintain and enhance habitat within priority areas across Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin, while improving hunting opportunity. “This agreement allows two long-time, hunter-based conservation organizations to pool our combined energy and resources to carry out meaningful and measurable conservation work,” said...

Read More

Update on PA Game Fund Diversion Bill  

by

As a follow-up to our prior email on HB 1300, RGS hopes the following information and links help clarify the situation and stakes for PA Game Commission, for habitat improvement, and for hunters.   Detailed background info  Our partners at Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) have assembled an excellent webpage with relevant, detailed information on HB 1300 and how it’d jeopardize Pittman-Robertson funding.   https://www.backcountryhunters.org/pa_hb_1300 Statement from US Fish and Wildlife Service on HB 1300  Here’s a link to the letter from the US Fish and Wildlife Service explaining the issue and consequences of HB 1300:  https://assets.nationbuilder.com/backcountryhunters/pages/14171/attachments/original/1694181188/PA_PGC_HB_1300_FWS_9.1.23_26_.pdf?1694181188 Make your voice heard  If you haven’t already called your PA state representative,...

Read More

Central MD Chapter: Habitat Day

by

Members in Central Maryland attended a habitat day at the Frederick Watershed Forest that RGS planned with the Maryland Forest Service, which manages the Frederick Watershed Forest. Members cut and removed Mountain Laurel so that the MD Forest Service can conduct a prescribed fire later this Fall, which will improve habitat for woodcock and other wildlife.

Oppose diversion of wildlife conservation funding in Pennsylvania 

by

During a habitat coordination meeting with the Pennsylvania Game Commission on August 31, the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society learned of action taken in the State Senate that would transfer $150 million from the Pennsylvania Game Fund and divert it to other uses. The Game Fund is a long-standing trust established to fund wildlife, habitat management and hunter access in the Commonwealth.      The last-minute amendment was added to HB 1300 with little advance notice. It sets a dangerous precedent for a fund paid into by nearly a million hunters annually through hunting license fees. The Game Commission operates without...

Read More

Improving Habitat on Private Lands in Pennsylvania

by

by Ben Larson | RGS & AWS Forest Conservation Director – Mid-Atlantic & Jake Tomlinson | RGS & AWS Forest Conservation Coordinator – Pennsylvania Those of us working on game habitat in the East face a dilemma: Because most forestland is privately owned, it’s critical to work on private as well as public lands. But what about hunting access on private lands? Luckily, numerous states have programs that provide hunting access to lands owned by participating private landowners. The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s (PGC) Hunter Access Program includes more than 1.8 million acres. Beginning in 2022, RGS & AWS has been partnering with the...

Read More

Join Or Renew Now