Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) received the prestigious Friend of Forestry Award at the Massachusetts Forest Alliance (MFA) Annual Meeting at Greenfield Community College on November 4, 2023.
The Friend of Forestry Award is presented to an organization that supports forest management in Massachusetts, and this year, it went to RGS & AWS. The award recognizes our Northeast Region team’s leadership role in the Massachusetts Dynamic Forest Restoration Initiative. This U.S. Forest Service landscape-scale restoration grant-funded program seeks to restore 2,000 acres of wildlife habitat and forest diversity across three major landscapes in central and western Massachusetts. For several years, RGS & AWS has worked tirelessly to mobilize partners across the Commonwealth around healthy forests and wildlife. These partners include non-profit conservation groups like Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust, Franklin Land Trust and National Wild Turkey Federation, as well as agency partners like Mass Wildlife and Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation.
RGS & AWS Northeast Forest Conservation Director Todd Waldron states, “We’re thrilled and honored to receive this award from the Massachusetts Forest Alliance and their members. RGS & AWS holds so many shared values with MFA’s vision, which recognizes forest management as a responsible approach to conservation and supports working forests and thriving forest economies. From their modern wood heat initiative, their tree farm work and empowering forest landowners, MFA is a key leader and an invaluable conservation partner for forest wildlife in Massachusetts and beyond.”
Founded in 2012, The Massachusetts Forest Alliance represents and advocates for citizens and businesses who support a strong, sustainable forest economy. Its annual meeting brought forest landowners, foresters, agency leaders and conservation partners together to highlight the numerous shared benefits that Massachusetts’ 2.9 million acres of forests provide – including wildlife habitat, clean water, renewable forest products and ecosystem services. You can learn more about MFA at the Massachusetts Forest Alliance website.
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