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Healthy Forests, Abundant Wildlife, Conservation Ethic

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President's Message

Ben Jones Addresses West Nile Virus Testing in Ruffed Grouse – RGS

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Grouse enthusiasts are abuzz this week with hunting seasons in full swing and recent press releases from key states. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan shared 2018 West Nile Virus testing results after an unexpected laboratory delay (details can be found here).

I read the reports, completed phone interviews with reporters and braced myself. When West Nile Virus appears in the news, it can even eclipse dog breed and shotgun choice “discussions” in level of interest and disagreement. Justifiably so. The appearance of a new disease threatening our beloved ruffed grouse is reason for concern.

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President’s Message

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October 1, 2019

Don’t you just love this time of the year?

The air is crisper, skies are brighter, and  colorful  foliage fills the forest. These are the days we live for, and to celebrate our love for October, we’re launching an amazing membership promotion you don’t want to miss!

During October, when you join, renew or rejoin the Ruffed Grouse Society or American Woodcock Society as an auto renewing Regular ($35)member, you’ll receive our latest Upland Awesome Forests t-shirt as a special gift.

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2018 Annual Report | Taking Stock

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READ Full Version | 2018 Annual Report

Last April, the Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society Executive Board and I had our first conversation—the first of many. Initially, the CEO interview brought us together. By the end of that discussion, it was clear we were converging on much more in our conservation pathways.

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President’s Message: Spring Magazine

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I had to smile when my son came flying through the house with the mail last week. He was holding a magazine – the start of his Ranger Rick subscription from Grandma. His own name was right there on the address bar. Magical! Of course, he wanted to read the whole thing that night. I counseled him in the art of savoring a magazine, relishing articles, hence minimizing downtime until the next issue. Sage advice, but admittedly hypocritical since I rip through my favorite periodicals within days of receipt. Then, when the next installment finally appears on the kitchen counter, everyone at home really enjoys my response. Kind of like a 5-year old!

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE: What are “Healthy Forests”?

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Pres Msg

            “I have read many definitions of what is a conservationist, and written not a few myself, but I suspect that the best one is written not with a pen, but with an axe. It is a matter of what a man thinks about while chopping, or while deciding what to chop. A conservationist is one who is humbly aware that with each stroke he is writing his signature on the face of his land.”

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – Pause to Reflect

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It won’t be long before it’s time for us to think about New Year’s resolutions. Personally, I’ve never really taken this practice very seriously, but I know a lot of people who do. I can see some value in making promises to ourselves at the beginning of every year aimed at making some change for the better or improving some aspect of our lives. To me it’s another form of goal-setting . . . so why confine that activity to just one day of the year?

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE – ONWARD AND UPWARD WITH TECHNOLOGY

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ONWARD AND UPWARD WITH TECHNOLOGY

Maybe it is just that I have gotten a little older, but during the last grouse season it seemed birds flushed and accelerated away from me a lot faster than ever before. Of course, if you talk to my hunting partners, they would probably say it slightly different – they would tell you that I am missing them by a wider margin now than ever before. But, after very thorough questioning, I’ve been assured by our great team of RGS and AWS biologists that the birds we are hunting today are not any faster than their ancestors.

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