In this week's show, we introduce to you the Give for Grouse Initiative! We discuss what the Give for Grouse Initiative is all about, what we're hoping to accomplish, and how we want to give ruffed grouse a voice and advocate for healthy forests and forest management. 

In this week's episode of the Give for Grouse Podcast, we discuss ruffed grouse management 101. Ruffed Grouse are a specialist species that thrive in early succesional habitats and young forests, and we dicuss how to create those environments through logging and other habitat management techniques. From food sources to cover requirements, we talk about the habitat requirements adult ruffed grouse need, as well as nesting hens and brooding habitat for ruffed grouse chicks. We also discuss how managing for ruffed grouse impacts and benefits other wildlife species. Ruffed grouse need intentional management to create the type of habitats they need and if we're to continue to have ruffed grouse on the landscape, it's important that we manage our forests and habitats correctly! 

In this week's episode, we discuss what it takes to manage private property for ruffed grouse in Appalachia. We use Cody's property in Virginia, Rockin' Chair Ridge, as an example to illustrate the challenges, management practices, and successes he and his family have experienced in their land management journey. From communicating goals and objectives to family members, to contacting and implement NRCS plans and contracts, this episode is about unpacking the possibilities, options, and potential obstacles to consider when it comes to private land management and ruffed grouse.

• How to distinguish the difference between a male and a hen ruffed grouse in flight.
• How far ruffed grouse travel and how big their home range can be.
• Favorite food sources for ruffed grouse in Appalachia.
• The correlation between ruffed grouse populations and the hawk migration.
• How to create a grouse paradise on private land through timber cutting.
• Why managing for oaks is less important for ruffed grouse than it is for other wildlife.
• The impact high deer densities can have on ruffed grouse populations.
• And the best time of day to hunt ruffed grouse, and why.

In this week's episode of the Give for Grouse Podcast, we talk with ruffed grouse guide and outfitter, Wesley Hodges. Wes guides hunters for ruffed grouse in Virginia and, through his adventures and experiences, offers a perspective on ruffed grouse in Virginia that few people, if any, can match. We discuss:

• Why Wes thinks Ruffed Grouse are doing better in Virginia than most people think.
• The disconnect between Wes' in field observations of grouse populations versus how a state agency might collect data.
• How the economic impact and value of hunting a perceived declining species can actually be a positive for ruffed grouse.
• Why Wes thinks that logging alone won't fix the problem for ruffed grouse in Virginia.
• How unique Appalachian Ruffed Grouse are, and why we don't always find them in "typical" grouse habitat.
• His message to those who might look at his commercial guiding for ruffed grouse as negative for the species.
• Why Wes would like to see species-specific hunting licenses sold in Virginia.
• How hunting grouse could actually be what helps grouse in Virginia in the long run.

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• Where he sees the most birds while grouse hunting in Appalachia.
• The habitat types and plant communities that consistently support the most ruffed grouse.
• Managing for oaks and managing for ruffed grouse.
• Food sources for ruffed grouse in Appalachia
• His message to the general public and those who may be against logging and forest management.
• Does the forest product industry have the capacity and ability to support the landscape type of timber harvest that ruffed grouse need?
• The ebbs and flows of the supply and demand of forest products.
• His thoughts on the health of the forestry industry, both presently and in the future.

• Hear the story of his first successful ruffed grouse hunt.
• What he's learned about ruffed grouse hunting in Appalachia.
• His journey into hunting ruffed grouse.
• What's more important for ruffed grouse, food or cover?
• The different types of habitats he typically finds grouse while hunting.
• How he manages his family's land, grouse, and all wildlife.
• The different species of trees, shrubs, and vines he's planting for ruffed grouse.

• What does it really mean to take care of our forests?
• The difference between a conservationist and a preservationist mindset.
• Ethan's thoughts and experience using herbicides as a conservation tool.
• The emotional tug of war between cutting a tree, but loving a forest or shooting a deer and yet loving the species.
• It takes a sacrifice and compromise to build a healthy forest ecosystem.
• Why Ethan loves trees, but loves forests more.
• Choosing to do nothing is a bigger act of negligence in conservation than active forest management.
• The reality that our forest products market is dying and the impact that has on wildlife.
• How Ethan would fix our struggling forest products market, implement landscape-level forest management, and increase our biodiversity.

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• How does prescribed fire help create Ruffed Grouse habitat?
• How The Nature Conservancy uses prescribed fire to enhance biodiversity on its properties.
• The public perception of prescribed fire and educating the public on its benefits.
• Using fire as a management tool to restore native habitat and ecosystems.
• How many acres does the US Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy burn annually in the Alleghany Highlands?
• How do grouse respond to a prescribed fire, and how long does it take them to return to their home range?
• The logistics involved in burning several hundred, and sometimes several thousand acres, of burn units in the mountains.
• Using dormant season burns instead of growing season burns.
• The most fascinating story you will ever hear about ruffed grouse and prescribed fire.

• What does the habitat for Golden Winged Warblers look like?
• Is there any crossover between Golden Winged Warbler habitat and the habitat for ruffed grouse?
• The value of leaving residual trees in a timber harvest vs. a clear-cut.
• The impact high deer densities can have on the health of a forest.
• What does grouse habitat look like in terms of forest age classes and species composition?
• The benefits and value of a mature forest, as well as the species of wildlife that utilize woodland habitats.
• Jesse's favorite native shrubs for wildlife.
• Why oaks are so important to the health of a forest beyond just acorn production.

• On a scale of 1-10, how are Ruffed Grouse doing in Appalachia?
• On a scale of 1-10, at what urgency is RGS operating to turn the tide?
• The biggest challenges of managing our Eastern Forests include invasive species, disease pathogens, and preservationist mindsets.
• RGS Dynamic Forest Restoration plan to implement forest management intentionally on a landscape scale.
• The lack of social acceptance of logging, what good forest management actually is, and how we can better educate the general public on active forest management.
• Why it's important to keep grouse hunting seasons open in states like Indiana and Ohio.
• Mark's most memorable memory of a Ruffed Grouse in the Great Smoky Mountains.

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• Red flags to look for in a timber contract.
• The importance of forest management education and the recruitment of new foresters to the industry.
• The role of a consulting forester in wildlife habitat improvement, economic impact, and aesthetic enhancement.
• How and why has the young forest been declining in Ohio?
• The future of logging and forest management in Ohio.
• The importance of active forest management over passive forest management.

• How RGS Canada can learn from our mistakes in the US regarding the management of ruffed grouse and our forests.
• The difficult nature of creating an organization to advocate for a species like the ruffed grouse, where populations are plentiful.
• The social licensing and public perception of logging and forest management in Canada.
• The forest product market in Canada and how their forests are managed differently in the different forest ecosystems across the country.
• Is the future of forest management and logging brighter in Canada than it is in the United States?

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• First, who is the real King of Spring, the wild turkey or the ruffed grouse?
• The future of the US Forest Service is in question, given the recent changes by the administration.
• Breeding behavior and physiology of ruffed grouse.
• West Nile Virus can have on ruffed grouse and how a healthy forest ecosystem and good habitat can offset it's impact.
• The social licensing and public perception of forest management and logging, and how we can better communicate the positive impacts.
• How nonnative invasive species can disrupt native habitats and how they impact specialist species like ruffed grouse.
• The impacts of high deer densities on ruffed grouse.
• The unlikely relationship between the extinct passenger pigeon, ruffed grouse, and young forest habitats.