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Friendship, Access, Opportunity: A Call to Action for the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan Revision

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Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan Revision

Act now to impact the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan Revision

The above photo showcases one of my favorite memories from this past hunting season and I’m so grateful to Durrell Smith, host of The Gun Dog Notebook Podcast, for capturing it. Durrell, Tyler Ross (featured along with his son, Brennon), and I gathered for a day of ruffed grouse hunting in western North Carolina. Wil Sensing tagged along with his two cameras in tow to film the southeast segment of Public Grouse. That morning Brennon knew his dad was headed out to follow a few bird dogs and refused to stay home. His smile in the photo is the result of a breakfast of the few oreo cookies I slipped him, an homage to the diet coke and powdered donuts of my childhood. Treats reserved only for hunting Saturdays.

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Dear Hunter Podcast features RGS & AWS CEO Ben Jones – RGS

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RGS & AWS President and CEO Ben Jones, joins the Dear Hunter Podcast to discuss the future of ruffed grouse.

About the episode:
“In this episode of the Dear Hunter Podcast, we’re joined by the President and CEO of the Ruffed Grouse Society, Dr. Ben Jones. We discuss the fragile future of the Ruffed Grouse, and what steps we can take to conserve the species and help improve its habitat. Ben also shares with us details about the Ruffed Grouse Society’s new Model of Working Forests, and how he envisions this new, big picture approach to conservation and habitat management will impact sustainable forest use, conservation, and habitat management.”

LISTEN | Ep. 18: The Fragile Future of the Ruffed Grouse with Dr. Ben Jones

Young Forest Initiative Creating Habitat for Grouse and Woodcock in New York – RGS

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Forest Management at Mongaup Valley WMA | Photo by: Gregory Cerne

Young Forest Initiative in New York Creates Habitat for Ruffed Grouse and Woodcock

Mongaup Valley Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is nestled against a part of the Delaware River that slithers between New York and Pennsylvania. In 2016, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) completed a project to create new wildlife habitat at Mongaup Valley as part of its Young Forest Initiative (YFI), an ongoing effort launched in 2015 to increase habitat within 93 WMAs for species dependent on early successional forests and whose populations are in steep decline.

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Minnesota Forests | Success in Conservation and Habitat – RGS

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Take a look at the successful creation of habitat and conservation in Minnesota forests with the Ruffed Grouse Society and American woodcock Society

If you’re reading this post in the great state of Minnesota, it’s likely that you may have spent time grouse hunting in Minnesota forests. And if it also feels like Minnesota has it pretty good when it comes to grouse habitat and populations, you wouldn’t be wrong. In part, that’s due to your continued support of Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS/AWS). Our staff are involved in several important conservation programs to increase and improve habitat across Minnesota – not just for grouse and woodcock, but many other wildlife species too.

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Nantahala and Pisgah Draft Forest Management Plan Released – RGS

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Nantahala and Pisgah National Forest

Action Alert: Nantahala and Pisgah Draft Forest Management Plan

RGS/AWS membership response in the process so far expressing the need for Young Forest Habitat has been outstanding and has already been impactful.

Now we need your voice again to influence the direction of management on our National Forests for the next 15-20 yrs.

[Read more…] about Nantahala and Pisgah Draft Forest Management Plan Released – RGS

Ruffed Grouse Society | American Woodcock Society Working to Improve Aspen Management in the Huron-Manistee National Forests

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  • Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS|AWS) staff are engaged in review of an exciting proposal to reinvigorate aspen management on the Huron-Manistee National Forests 
  • Comments may be submitted on the proposal by Feb 5, 2020
  • RGS|AWS public comments are included for members and supporters that may wish to provide substantive input of their own
  • We encourage comments to request consideration for additional, responsible forest treatments

The Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS|AWS) have been engaged in discussions with United States Forest Service (USFS) staff regarding the need to address the decline in aspen harvest within the Huron-Manistee National Forests (HMNF) in Michigan. We are pleased that USFS is now accepting public comments on their Zone Aspen Project Scoping Document that outlines considerable improvements to HMNF aspen management. RGS|AWS supports the responsible management of our nation’s vast forest system and the HMNF Zone Aspen Project seeks to fulfill objectives that are true to the core principles at RGS|AWS. 

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Ohio DNR Proposes Changes to Ruffed Grouse Hunting Season – RGS

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Proposed Ohio ruffed grouse hunting season changes.

Following the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Wildlife Council meeting on January 16, 2020 the Ohio Division of Wildlife has recommended the following regulation changes for ruffed grouse:

Ruffed Grouse Season Length:
Public Land Oct 10-Nov 29 (Currently to Jan 31)
Private Land Oct 10-Jan 1 (Currently to Jan 31)
One bird bag limit (Currently two bird bag limit)

Ohio has seen a dramatic reduction of young forest age class on the landscape, however even in large scale state forest land where forest management has stabilized, grouse populations have not recovered.

Data courtesy of Mark Wiley, OH DOW.
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The Special Relationship Between Grouse and Aspen – RGS

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aspen-forest

Why Well-Managed Aspen is the Best Grouse Habitat

If you hunt ruffed grouse on the southern fringe of its range, aspen forest may not be all that relevant to you. But if you’re an upland hunter in the Great Lakes states or Northeast, it’s almost guaranteed that one of your favorite hunting spots includes an aspen stand. Throughout its lifecycle, it provides everything a grouse needs: dense cover and food.

Managed properly, aspen stands are excellent habitat for ruffed grouse. If you’re unfamiliar, here’s some more information about aspen and its importance for upland birds and other early successional species alike.

[Read more…] about The Special Relationship Between Grouse and Aspen – RGS

The Downfall of New Jersey Grouse Hunting – RGS

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Emergency closure of the New Jersey grouse hunting season.

On July 17th the Fish and Game Council of New Jersey voted for an emergency closure of the ruffed grouse season in New Jersey. The Fish and Game Council is comprised of three farmer and six sportsmen representatives, as well as the Chairman of the Endangered and Nongame Species Council and a public representative at large. Their purview is to “adopt a Fish and Game Code for the purpose of providing a system for the protection and conservation of fish and game” in the state.

Essentially, they advise, suggest, and oversee the regulations dictating season lengths, restrictions, bag limits, zones, and other factors relating to recreational take of game through hunting and trapping. For hunters in New Jersey, the most obvious effect of these changes are highlighted notes in the new year’s Hunting and Trapping Digest. One of those highlighted changes will affect me directly as well as any other grouse hunters left in the state.

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Reversing Ruffed Grouse Declines in Indiana

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Photo Credit | Steve Oehlenschlager

Up against an endangered listing, how can we help ruffed grouse in Indiana?

Ruffed grouse used to be present across the Indiana landscape, but now they could be joining the ranks of endangered species listed under the Indiana Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act. In October 2018, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Division of Fish & Wildlife sought input from Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) to add ruffed grouse to the list of endangered species of birds in Indiana. After reviewing the evidence, biologists at RGS agreed with the proposal and submitted a petition to adopt the Administrative Rule Change. Here’s how this issue all started, how we could reverse its course, and how you could play an important part in that process.

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