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habitat management

Cherokee National Forest Timber Sale Adds Habitat Diversity

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by Zac Chandler | RGS & AWS Forest Wildlife Specialist – All-Lands Tennessee Forester Ruffed grouse populations in the Southern Appalachians are declining, mainly due to the loss of suitable habitat. As the bulk of Appalachian forests increase in age, this results in a drop in ruffed grouse numbers as they primarily depend upon early successional forests for much of the year. Ruffed grouse thrive in forests kept young and vigorous through repetitive, active forest management like prescribed fire and timber harvesting. These repeat disturbances create an abundance of woody and herbaceous diversity, maintaining critical food and cover resources necessary for supporting...

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Maryland Volunteer Habitat Day

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Save this date for a Maryland Volunteer Habitat Day at the 7,000-acre Frederick Watershed Forest.

The Maryland Forest Service is assisting the city of Frederick to conduct active forest management and ecosystem restoration that will improve habitat for woodcock and other wildlife. On the morning of Saturday September 9 2023 Potomac Valley Chapter members and additional volunteers will be removing mountain laurel to reduce dangerous fuel loads, assisting the Maryland Forest Service to prepare for a prescribed fire, which they hope to conduct this Fall.

All volunteers are welcome! Exact meeting time and location are TBD.

For questions and to RSVP to the...

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Featured Habitat Project – Ruffed Grouse Habitat Demonstration Area: Maximizing Impacts and Paying Dividends

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by Jon Steigerwaldt | RGS & AWS Forest Conservation Director – Great Lakes & Upper Midwest With funding from the Uihlein Foundation, RGS & AWS worked with the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point (UWSP) in the summer of 2019 to create a Ruffed Grouse Habitat Demonstration Area at their Treehaven facility (a 1,300-acre education, demonstration and research facility outside Tomahawk, Wisconsin). Treehaven is a logical location for a demonstration area, as it functions as the summer field station for the College of Natural Resources, where every year, approximately 240 natural resources college students complete...

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RGS & AWS sign Stewardship Agreement with USFS for work in Ottawa National Forest

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ottawa national forest sign

RGS & AWS will lead implementation of an $85,700 project focused on creating more forest wildlife habitat in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan June 24, 2022 – A Stewardship Agreement has been signed between the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for work on the Ottawa National Forest. The Copper Country Supplemental Project Agreement as the project will be a $85,700 project focused on improving nearly 350 acres for grouse, woodcock, and forest wildlife habitat. Thanks to dedicated RGS & AWS Michigan members, this project has been made possible. The work on...

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Land Trusts: A Natural Partner in Habitat Protection and Management

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by Anne Fleming Published in Covers Summer 2020 The hunting community has a long-standing land conservation legacy across the United States. A tremendous amount of conservation is and has been funded by hunting license fees, firearm and ammunition taxes and other related user costs. In Michigan, the Ruffed Grouse Society Drummer Fund is yet another example of the ability to leverage fundraised dollars toward forest management and wildlife diversity while maintaining upland-hunting traditions that we hold so dear. In more recent history, the national land trust community has also been accomplishing remarkable – and permanent – land conservation across the United States. The...

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FEATURED HABITAT PROJECT – Town Forests for Local Conservation

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Errol Town Forest and Milan Community Forest Printed in Covers Spring 2020 We derive great benefit from public land as a venue – for many of us, the only venue – for our outdoor pursuits. The RGS & AWS works with many federal, state and county agencies to improve grouse and woodcock habitat and access on national forests, state forests/wildlife management areas and county forests across the country. In northern New Hampshire, three towns have taken conservation into their own hands, each forming a town forest that’s actively managed for multiple uses. The towns of Errol, New Hampshire (population 291 in 2010),...

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