Nate Kennedy, Northeast Regional Engagement Coordinator
Orvis Sandanona Game Fair 2021
On Sept. 18 and 19, the Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds were filled with bird hunters, competitive shooters, firearms enthusiasts, and conservationists from around the world. It was a beautiful weekend filled with great conversations and hunting stories, and connecting with old friends and new.
[Read more…] about Conversations & Partnerships – Northeast Region Fall 2021Glen R. Blackwood
September brought members together with successful fundraising banquets in Cadillac, Grand Rapids, and West Branch. On top of these volunteer-driven fundraising events, we had the successful completion of the Roger Moore chapter’s habitat projects in the Pigeon River Country. Trees were planted, habitat was created by mowing trails, and wildlife openings were created. All of this was done utilizing Michigan Drummer Fund and Michigan DNR Wildlife Habitat Grant dollars.
[Read more…] about Michigan Update for Fall 2021
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently announced that the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society was awarded a State Wildlife Habitat Grant in the amount of $56,800.
[Read more…] about Michigan Wildlife Habitat Grant Awarded to RGS & AWSChris Dorsey returns to Wisconsin to hunt ruffed grouse and woodcock with Ruffed Grouse Society
July 15, 2021 (Castle Rock, Colorado) — Officials from Dorsey Pictures announce that this week’s episode of Sporting Classics with Chris Dorsey – the most watched outdoor TV program in the world – features host Chris Dorsey returning to his home state of Wisconsin for a classic grouse and woodcock hunt.
Joining him are David Moore and Ruffed Grouse Society CEO Dr. Ben Jones. The timing is fortuitous as the birds are near the peak of their 10-year cycle, providing plenty of mixed bag opportunities in the aspens and alders of the Badger State.
[Read more…] about Homecoming Week for Sporting Classics With Chris DorseyRoger Moore RGS & AWS Chapter forged ahead with a key habitat project despite 2020 challenges and delays
By Glen Blackwood, Eastern Great Lakes Director of Regional Development
Originally published in Spring 2021 issue of Covers Magazine.
“Conservation is NOT canceled” has been the overriding mantra of RGS & AWS, our chapters and membership during the past year. While the pandemic’s impacts caused fundraising and other chapter events to be postponed, our work on young successional forest management and wildlife habitat creation continued in 2020. Through everything, RGS & AWS members and staff forged ahead, ensuring that conservation remained a priority. One such project occurred in the northern region of Michigan’s lower peninsula; an area best known as the Pigeon River Country.
[Read more…] about Featured Habitat in Michigan: Pigeon River Country State Forest
President’s message from Ben Jones, RGS & AWS President & CEO – originally printed in Summer 2021 issue of Covers Magazine
As I write this, it’s mid-April, the sun is out, but it’s damp and chilly. That has me reminiscing about heading to the Pittsburgh Pirates opener at Three Rivers Stadium every year with my dad: The emerald green field as we emerged from the concourse, the smack of the ball hitting gloves during warmups and the cutting chill posed by the spring air and all that concrete in the old stadium. I still love baseball, although my own playing time was cut short with the realization that it impeded on trout fishing and spring turkey hunting.
[Read more…] about Put Me In – Summer 2021 President’s MessageBy Brent A. Rudolph, Ph.D. | RGS & AWS Chief Conservation & Legislative Officer
Please consider signing the petition supporting the Hunting and Fishing Community Statement
In a report to the National Climate Task Force released yesterday (“Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful”), the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality laid out the plan for our nation’s involvement in the Thirty-by-Thirty Initiative (Thirty-by-Thirty). The initiative is a global effort to establish a goal of placing 30 percent of the planet’s lands and waters under “protected status” by the year 2030.
[Read more…] about America’s hunters and anglers lead by example in the fight for conservationBy: Todd Waldron, Northeast Forest Conservation Director
Have you ever heard the term “Species of Greatest Conservation Need” or “SGCN” and wondered what that means? Or maybe you’ve wondered how it applies to the future of grouse and woodcock populations. How does it drive the RGS & AWS conservation mission?
You’ve likely seen our monthly updates in The Bellwether newsletter or regularly on social media: Ruffed grouse populations are declining across much of North America. The decline is due to habitat diversity decline and grouse are now listed as an SGCN in 19 states, while American woodcock are listed similarly in 29 states.
What exactly does a SGCN designation imply and what conservation action is needed to address it? We’ll get into that in a minute, but first, let’s cover some background information.
[Read more…] about Defining the needs of our most beloved species
The RGS & AWS family of volunteers represent a diverse group of individuals that at the core, deeply care for young forest habitat and the wildlife that benefits from these woodlands. Today, we’re recognizing Perry Seitzinger as a featured member of that work.
[Read more…] about Featured Member: Perry Seitzinger, Indiana Chapter of RGS & AWS
This FREE working lands webinar hosted by Ruffed Grouse Society &American Woodcock Society and the NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife program will educate landowners and natural resource professionals on working lands conservation programs intended to benefit wildlife species and promote forest diversity.
This webinar has been approved for the following. Please register here to receive credit.
