by Benjamin C. Jones, President & CEO
Photo by Diane Grace
Close to Home
It’s early October. My road partner Phoebe and I will soon set out from Pa., weaving through the Upper Midwest, then back again. I’ll meet with supporters, attend RGS & AWS events and of course spend time with this little English setter in some of the best grouse and woodcock covers around. All good!
Yet there’s something subliminal slowing me down with trip preparation. Like there’s a stretch of quicksand between my gear closet and the truck. What? Why in the world would my feet drag before a 2,000-mile upland pilgrimage? This being no time for mixed emotions, I set forth to expel the subconscious combatants. After a good bit of reflecting, some potential causes of my hesitation were identified. That was close. I also decided there just might be room for mixed emotions heading into such a trip.
Like many of you, I enjoy experiencing new places and returning to faraway favorites. Travel is one perk of tending to RGS & AWS business. At the same time, I also have a strong sense of place. I like to travel, but I love the familiarity of being close to home.
There’s a section in this magazine aptly titled “Home Covers” that highlights the local affinity we all feel. Indeed, there’s a sense of accomplishment for the greater calling of national conservation. At the same time — here come those mixed emotions again — we also want to experience the benefits in our own zip codes.
The beauty of the RGS & AWS mission is that both can be true simultaneously. We can have expansive effect through local impact.
In this issue, we celebrate a truly broad-scale habitat agreement with the U.S. Forest Service. While I worked with Eastern Region leadership on the overall concept, our conservation team detailed projects on individual national forests. The result is a large pool of funding (more than $2 million) that will be applied to local habitat improvements, projects that are close to home for many of you.
For my home chapters (Ridge Country and Susquehanna River Valley) it’s essential that we have local efforts to sink our teeth into. It brings us together, both for the work and for the hunting later on. In fact, we’re working right now with Forest Conservation Director Ben Larson on a large grant to fund a dozen or so forest improvements across the five counties where we live. Which brings me back to the original conundrum…
Here at home, I’ve been watching the hillsides go from winter gray, to spring olive, to deep summer green — all with an eager eye toward autumn. Now, as the ridges hint at yellow and red, I’m just going to pack up and take off? Leave the coverts where I took my first grouse and woodcock and where my kids are still experiencing their firsts in the woods? Where we’ve been managing habitat on our own ground? Yes! And once I get in the seat of that truck, all doubt will be cast aside.
Along the way, I’ll end up in habitats that are close to home for some of you. In return, you should join me back here in November. Back where I’ve made tracks with family and friends for some 35 years, close to home.
Local chapter fundraising plays an essential role in securing large grants. Each funded agreement requires RGS & AWS to provide “match.” For example, to receive $2 million from the Forest Service, we have to account for an additional $400,000 above and beyond the grant amount. For our chapters, that means we can turn each dollar we raise into $4 of additional mission work. Clearly, local fundraising is vital to what we can accomplish.
Find your local chapter here.
