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Eastern Great Lakes Projects

National Trails Day Celebrates Access, Conservation and Healthy Forests

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Each year on National Trails Day, outdoor enthusiasts head outside to enjoy the public lands that make America special. For hunters, bird dog owners, hikers and wildlife watchers, trails provide more than recreation. They create access to wildlife habitat, connect people with conservation and support the active forest management needed to sustain healthy working forests. “At RGS & AWS, trails are an important part of our conservation mission. Hunter walking trails promote foot travel through high-quality grouse and woodcock habitat while providing access for habitat management projects that benefit wildlife and forest health. Road maintenance and sustainability are also essential components...

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UP Wildland Enhancement Project – Ottawa National Forest and Hiawatha National Forest

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2024 Wildlife Habitat Grant Program Project Agreement Agreement Narrative: GLR-MIDNR-24-2 (UP Wildland Enhancement Project)  Primary Funder: Michigan Wildlife Habitat Grant Program (WH24-128)  Location: Ottawa National Forest and Hiawatha National Forest  Innovation: This DNR Funded state grant expands our long-standing partnership and the Ottawa National Forest and Hiawatha National Forest. Working together to directly affect habitat within the forest, this project aims to improve multiple cover-types and access issues for a variety of different wildlife species; including ruffed grouse, American woodcock, sharp-tail grouse, and spruce grouse.  By improving and maintaining young forest, shrub species, and open lands through prescribed burning, we are addressing multiple levels...

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Glinda Stewardship SPA (Michigan)

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Agreement Narrative: Glinda Stewardship SPA

Primary Funder: Ottawa National Forest (Stewardship)

Location: Kenton Ranger District, Ottawa National Forest, Michigan

Innovation: Repackaging timber sale that previously went no-bid when offered as a conventional timber sale contract. Commercial timber harvests will create young and open forest conditions by clearing decadent, over-mature aspen stands. Non-commercial service work items include alder shearing and brush pile creation to further improve wildlife habitat quality and quantity throughout the project area.

Impact: The stewardship project will generate the following outputs across the 271-acre project area:

1.) 271 acres of commercial thinning and clearcuts to create young and open forest conditions

2.) 50 acres...

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2024 Northern Ohio Chapter of The American Woodcock Society Tree Planting Project (Ohio)

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Agreement Narrative: 2024 Northern Ohio Chapter of The American Woodcock Society Tree Planting Project Primary Funder: National Wild Turkey Federation Location: Highlandtown Wildlife Area: Ohio DNR Innovation: This is a small grant that the Northern Ohio Chapter of The American Woodcock partnered with Ohio DNR and National Wild Turkey Federation on to conduct chapter led habitat improvement on the Highlandtown Wildlife Area that is managed by the OH DNR. It is a small $6,000 grant and will involve plant 200 apple and 100 pear trees into an existing American Chestnut grove at Highlandtown Wildlife Area. The OH DNR Division will mow approximately 2650...

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Big Wild Habitat Improvement Project (Michigan)

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Agreement Narrative: Big Wild Habitat Improvement Project Primary Funder: Michigan Wildlife Habitat Grant Program (WH23-160) Location: Pigeon River Country State Forest, Michigan Innovation: As a continuation in a long-standing partnership between RGS & AWS and the Pigeon River Country State Forest (PRCSF) working together to directly affect habitat within the forest, this project aims to improve multiple cover-types and access issues with a variety of different strategies.  By improving and maintaining forest openings and trails, introducing wildlife forage with the planting of soft-mass trees, creating early successional habitat, and working with the PRCSF to aid their prescribed burn program in a large complect...

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Copper Country Habitat Restoration Project (Michigan)

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Agreement Narrative: Copper Country Habitat Restoration Project MOD01 Primary Funder: Ottawa National Forest  Location: Kenton Ranger District, Ottawa National Forest, Michigan Innovation: This cost-share agreement allows for the funding of an RGS-employed project coordinator who works with USFS staff to implement forest management projects on the Ottawa NF. This is mutually beneficial as it allows for RGS to implement on-the-ground habitat projects while assisting the often-understaffed Ottawa NF wildlife management division to implement goals outlined within the forest’s management plan.  2023 MOD Update: In 2023, working with the Ottawa NF, a Modification that added $262,622.83 in Great Lakes Restoration funding extended the employment of...

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