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Success Stories

Copper Country Habitat Restoration Project (Michigan)

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Agreement Narrative: Copper Country Habitat Restoration Project MOD01 Primary Funder: Ottawa National Forest  Location: Kenton Ranger District, Ottawa National Forest, Michigan Innovation: This cost-share agreement allows for the funding of an RGS-employed project coordinator who works with USFS staff to implement forest management projects on the Ottawa NF. This is mutually beneficial as it allows for RGS to implement on-the-ground habitat projects while assisting the often-understaffed Ottawa NF wildlife management division to implement goals outlined within the forest’s management plan.  2023 MOD Update: In 2023, working with the Ottawa NF, a Modification that added $262,622.83 in Great Lakes Restoration funding extended the employment of...

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RGS & AWS Awarded $180,000 to Launch New York and Vermont Forest Block Initiative 

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The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation’s New England Forests & Rivers Fund awarded the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) Northeast conservation team $180,000 to implement critical forest habitat work throughout the region. Known as the New York and Vermont Forest Block Initiative, the project will advance landscape-level forest habitat projects aimed at increasing habitat diversity across the St. Lawrence Valley of New York and the Champlain Valley of Vermont. The project will include:

2 large-scale dynamic forest restoration blocks in NY and VT with 4,000 acres under management

1,000 acres under improved forest management on surrounding private…

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Funding Opportunity for Northeast Wisconsin Landowners – Joint Chiefs Project

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by Stefan Nelson – RGS & AWS Forest Wildlife Specialist Private forest landowners within the Northeastern portion of Wisconsin now have an additional funding opportunity available under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to address conservation concerns. This additional EQIP fund pool is available to landowners within Oneida, Forest, Florence, Marinette, Oconto, Langlade and Shawano counties. Landowners still need to follow all normal eligibility and application procedures under EQIP for this project. Farm Bill grants provide funding for landowners to carry out the work or hire a contractor to do so. The chief of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Natural Resources…

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RGS & AWS Secures Nearly $105,000 Habitat-Improvement Grant in Michigan

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The Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) recently secured $93,500 from the Michigan Wildlife Habitat Grant Program with $5,000 of matching donation from the Roger Moore Chapter of RGS and $6,000 from Jim Juries, totaling $104,500. The money will be put towards the ongoing Big Wild Habitat Improvement Project on the Pigeon River Country State Forest (PRCSF) in Michigan. The project, a continuation in a long-standing partnership between RGS & AWS and the PRCSF, will directly impact 160 acres of habitat on the 109,000-acre property – the largest block of undeveloped land in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. “We…

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Improving Habitat on Private Lands in Pennsylvania

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by Ben Larson | RGS & AWS Forest Conservation Director – Mid-Atlantic & Jake Tomlinson | RGS & AWS Forest Conservation Coordinator – Pennsylvania Those of us working on game habitat in the East face a dilemma: Because most forestland is privately owned, it’s critical to work on private as well as public lands. But what about hunting access on private lands? Luckily, numerous states have programs that provide hunting access to lands owned by participating private landowners. The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s (PGC) Hunter Access Program includes more than 1.8 million acres. Beginning in 2022, RGS & AWS has been partnering with the…

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Timberdoodle Pre-commercial Thinning and Site Preparation for Wildlife Habitat Enhancement (Virginia)

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Agreement Narrative: Timberdoodle Pre-commercial Thinning and Site Preparation for Wildlife Habitat Enhancement  Primary Funder: USDA Forest Service (BIL funds) Location: Clinch Ranger District, George Washington & Jefferson National Forest (GW-Jeff) Innovation: This agreement is being created as a mechanism through which to utilize funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation (BIL), toward vital program activities in the Timberdoodle Ruffed Grouse Habitat Improvement Project area. The Timberdoodle Project is being implemented through a Stewardship Agreement with the RGS & AWS. This existing partnership is the vehicle through which these funds will be utilized in the project area. The purpose of this agreement is to document the...

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