Agreement Narrative: Georgia Forest Wildlife Specialist
Primary Funder: Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Turner Foundation
Location: Chattahoochee National Forest, Gainesville, Georgia
Innovation: This agreement establishes a partnership between the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Forest Service to address the need for increased active forest management on the Chattahoochee National Forest. This agreement will provide funding to RGS & AWS to hire a Forest Wildlife Specialist to help plan and implement active forest management projects in the Chattahoochee National Forest. This position will be based in Gainesville in the Chattahoochee National Forest’s Supervisor’s Office.
Impact: Our Forest Wildlife Specialist will: 1) identify focal areas within the Foothills Landscape Project through GIS analysis to implement active forest management to benefit multiple wildlife species, 2) implement active forest management within focal areas in the Foothills Landscape Project, and other NEPA-ready projects, through existing RGS & AWS and U.S. Forest Service agreements, 3) execute Stewardship Agreements with the Chattahoochee National Forest to implement commercial timber harvests and noncommercial habitat improvements, 4) engage the Foothills Landscape Project stakeholder collaborative to advocate for active forest management, 5) coordinate a working group of implementation partners focused on active forest management on the Chattahoochee National Forest, 6) collaborate with Georgia DNR and the University of Georgia to perform focal area monitoring of wildlife populations and forest conditions, and 7) develop focal areas for mid- to high-elevation active forest management projects outside the Foothills Landscape Project footprint.
Partners and Chapter Contributions: We will collaborate with Georgia DNR, Chattahoochee National Forest, and other conservation partners including National Deer Association, National Wild Turkey Federation, The Nature Conservancy, and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers on active forest management projects on the Chattahoochee National Forest. Contracts will be awarded to local logging contractors and service work contractors.
Turner Foundation is providing $40,000 as nonfederal match towards this agreement to help fund our Forest Wildlife Specialist. The $40,000 from Turner Foundation will be leveraged against $120,000 in Pittman-Robertson Act funding from Georgia, for a total of $160,000 annually to support the position.
$3,000 in Drummer Funds from the Georgia RGS Chapter are supporting noncommercial habitat improvements in the Fightingtown Creek project area that is related to this agreement. Once hired, our GeorForest Wildlife Specialist will help implement the Chapter-funded work at Fightingtown Creek. The Chatt NF is providing $15,500 in federal funds through a Challenge Cost-Share Supplemental Project Agreement to support activities at Fightingtown Creek too.
A specific logo is not needed to recognize funders or partners.
Deliverables:
- RGS & AWS joined the Steering Committee of the Foothills Collaborative, a stakeholder collaborative being formed to help inform the implementation of the Chattahoochee National Forest’s Foothills Landscape Project. RGS & AWS is one of the few science-based conservation organizations involved in the collaborative focused on active forest management and wildlife habitat. Therefore, our engagement in the effort is critical in ensuring that wildlife habitat needs are prioritized in the project and that representation across stakeholders is equitable across different ideologies.
- In addition to joining the Steering Committee, RGS & AWS led the Guiding Principles Working Group of the collaborative focused on developing the fundamental organizational structure of the collaborative itself. This involved a series of sessions with other stakeholders to collaboratively build the governance structure of the collaborative, including the Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, and Georgia Forest Watch.
- RGS & AWS collaborated with Chattahoochee National Forest staff to identify implementation areas within the Foothills Project that are the highest priority sites for treatments at mid-elevations. Now that those sites have been identified, our Forest Wildlife Specialist will be prepared to assist with the planning and implementation of vegetation management treatments on-the-ground.
- RGS & AWS fully executed our partner agreement with Georgia DNR to hire our Public Lands Forest Wildlife Specialist for Georgia. The agreement will leverage Turner Foundation dollars with triple the amount of state funds from the Pittman Robertson program.
- RGS & AWS collaborated with the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest’s leadership team to develop a Forest-wide stewardship proposal. This document is the critical first step in developing supplemental stewardship projects on-the-ground with our new Forest Wildlife Specialist position. Once hired, our Forest Wildlife Specialist will be set up to start developing and implementing a stewardship project on the Forest.
- Pioneered an Active Forest Management Working Group of like-minded partners interested in working together to increase the pace and scale of habitat restoration efforts on the Chattahoochee National Forest. RGS & AWS facilitated the first meeting that brought together Georgia DNR, The Nature Conservancy, University of Georgia, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Orianne Society, Georgia Forestry Commission, and National Deer Assocaition. This group is working to identify focal areas at mid- to high-elevations to develop more vegetation management projects in addition to work that’s happening in the Foothills Project, and collaboratively working together on a local media pitch highlighting declining wildlife trends in north Georgia and the need for forest restoration.
- On June 5, 2023, we hired Dan Kutschied as our Forest Wildlife Specialist position in Georgia.
