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Grants-Stewardships Q1 2024

Fightingtown Creek Habitat Improvement Project on the Chattahoochee National Forest

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by Daniel Kutschied | RGS & AWS Forest Wildlife Specialist – Public Lands Georgia Ruffed grouse in North Georgia are at the southernmost extent of their range in the Eastern United States and face unique challenges and vulnerabilities. Conserving and improving habitat through active forest management in North Georgia — at the fringe of their range — is critical to ensure the continued presence of ruffed grouse in the Southern Appalachians. In the Chattahoochee National Forest (CNF), young hardwood forests with high stem density and herbaceous cover have become increasingly rare. Forest conditions are dynamic and can change rapidly. Common hardwood trees...

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RGS & AWS Chapter Volunteers Plant Help Plant 15,900 seedlings in Kentucky’s Daniel Boone National Forest

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On March 16, volunteers from the Kentucky River Chapter planted 900 shortleaf pine seedlings on public land within the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF) as part of the Peter’s Branch Stewardship Agreement between RGS & AWS and the DBNF. This agreement allows RGS & AWS to improve forest habitat diversity on hundreds of acres of the DBNF’s London Ranger District, including the creation of oak-pine woodlands. Oak-pine woodlands are an open-canopy forest type that provides a mix of low cover and abundant forage for wildlife. These once-common ecosystems have become rare due to changes in land management and outbreaks of southern...

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Featured Habitat Project – Dynamic Forest Restoration on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee

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by Nick Biemiller | RGS & AWS Forest Conservation Director – Southern Appalachian Region The Cumberland Plateau is located at the southwestern edge of the Appalachian Mountains and includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee with portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. In Tennessee, the Cumberland Plateau is dominated by very flat, dry sites at the top of the plateau known as tablelands, with deep gorges and ravines dropping off the plateau into the Ridge and Valley Ecoregion. The plateau contains one of the largest expanses of continuous forests in the eastern U.S. and is dominated by a variety of...

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Little Flat Creek Stewardship Project (Kentucky)

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Agreement Narrative: Little Flat Creek Stewardship Project
Primary Funder: USDA Forest Service
Location: Daniel Boone National Forest, Peabody, Kentucky
Innovation: This is a stewardship agreement between RGS & AWS and the Daniel Boone National Forest. The purpose of this agreement is to promote forest health and improve wildlife habitat. Commercial timber harvests will create young and open forest conditions across 255 acres. Service work items include noncommercial habitat improvement treatments across 757 acres. RGS & AWS’s forest wildlife specialist in Kentucky will administer the project on-the-ground.
Impact: The project will accomplish the following outputs: 1.) 255 acres commercial timber harvests, 2.) 166 acres of...

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Promoting Young Oak Forests Through Noncommercial Habitat Improvements in the Southern Appalachians

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Agreement Narrative: Promoting Young Oak Forests Through Noncommercial Habitat Improvements in the Southern Appalachians
Primary Funder: American Forests
Location: Daniel Boone National Forest (KY), George Washington & Jefferson National Forests (VA), Chattahoochee National Forest (GA) and Cherokee National Forest (TN).
Innovation: Our project will restore young oak forests by implementing a noncommercial habitat improvement treatment on the Nantahala Ranger District of the Nantahala National Forest. The habitat improvement treatment will thin smaller diameter trees in the forest’s midstory to promote a high density of oak seedlings and saplings. The treatment will be completed in advance of a commercial timber harvest. Once the oak...

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Minnesota Hunter Walking Trails, Public Land Recreational Access (Minnesota)

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Agreement Narrative: Minnesota Hunter Walking Trails, Public Land Recreational AccessPrimary Funder: Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund through Legislative Citizen Commission Minnesota Resources Location: Throughout northern Minnesota Innovation: Approximately 1,000 miles of hunter walking trail networks across about 250 sites across state, federal and county lands exist in Minnesota.  Most were created in the 1970’s through 1990’s, often utilizing logging access routes and intending to be maintained to facilitate both recreational walking traffic and future disbursed timber harvests.  Many of these trail systems were established with support of RGS.  Long term or dedicated maintenance funding and maintenance planning have not been established. ...

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