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m3sarcher
PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:11 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 31 Jan 2019
Posts: 5
Location: MN

Besides the obvious benefits of what they do, which should be enough, RGS was giving away one year of onX maps with signup this last fall which offset the cost of membership. That was an immediate benefit to me as I was planning on signing up anyway, and they have a nice magazine.
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Two Barrels
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 6:39 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 11 Dec 2015
Posts: 83
Location: Upstate, SC

I was a member of RGS for a period of about 5 years. That was nearly 25 years ago. I left as I saw nothing positive in the areas I hunted in NC. I decided to rejoin last fall. The OnX promotion factored into that. They are the only organization promoting my interests in the Southern Appalachians with the NFS in NC. I am giving them another shot.

Years ago I was also a member of NWTF and Quail Unlimited. QU went by the wayside as they deserved, and the NWTF is not for me any longer. There is a new group in SC called the SC Bobwhite Initiative. This is state DNR sponsored and I think has a loose partnership with Quail Forever. They have several lanscape size focal areas in the state working both on public lands and with private landowners in those areas. In just a short 4 or 5 years, there are beginning to be some positive results. I need to check into Quail Forever.
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fourtown
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 10:35 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 25 Jan 2014
Posts: 223
Location: MN

Here in Minnesota, Pheasants Forever is doing a tremendous amount of habitat work. Ten years ago, Minnesotans voted to raise the sales tax to pay for Clean Water, Fish and Wildlife Habitat, Parks and Trails, and the Arts. Much of the fish and wildlife habitat funds are directed to projects coordinated by conservation groups, who must provide a minimum of a 10% match. Pheasants Forever has been the largest partner with these programs. PF has hired biologists and land acquisition specialists that work in the rural areas. Most of the acquisitions are then turned over the the USFWS or MN DNR for public hunting areas.

RGS is also doing habitat work but on a smaller scale. MN already has the most ruffed grouse habitat in the country, But RGS has a new regional director for MN and a new biologist for MN and WI, along with the new CEO Ben Jones who is a biologist. I expect RGS will be doing more habitat work in MN in the near future.

Both of these groups are doing good work on the ground in MN.
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 12:34 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

fourtown,

Great stuff, glad to hear PF and RGS are making a difference in your state!

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Some of our Potter County, Pa Grouse Habitat. This particular mountain goes on for about 50 miles of this incredible habitat.

[URL=http://www.jpgbox.com/page/56269_800x600/] [/URL]

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airmedic1
PostPosted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 7:42 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 23 Feb 2008
Posts: 191
Location: Nebraska (It’s not for everyone)

I have been a member of Pheasants Forever for at least 15 years maybe longer, I joined shortly after Quail Unlimited failed and went out of existence. The chapter I belong to is very active and dollar wise had the third biggest banquet in Nebraska behind Lincoln, in the number one spot and Omaha in the number two spot. Only about $20k difference between us and the number one but the town that hosts our banquet only has 600 people compared to the 280k in Lincoln.
But the biggest reason I support them is the money they spend in this area improving habitat and trying to get kids in to the sport. Through generous donations from the people in the area, every kid that comes to the banquet gets a prize. They give away lifetime hunting licenses every year, sometimes two or three. My wife and I donate and support them as best we can.
I have seen the difference in the county as well, pivot corners in habitat with the PF sign indicating it was sponsored by them, waterways seeded to prevent erosion and other projects sponsored by PF.
I believe it is a good organization.
AM

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gunflint charlie
PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:40 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 21 Jan 2006
Posts: 507
Location: Black Hills of SD

I've been a PF member since 1983 -- just after it was founded. Joined RGS in the late '90s. Was a lifelong MN resident until moving to the Black Hills in the fall of 2017. Can't attest to personally observing much of value from what RGS does, but I've seen wonderful habitat results produced by PF over the years. And their lobbying for habitat provisions in Federal farm bill legislation is tireless and I think effective.

Jay
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pudelpointer
PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 3:01 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 14 Jan 2006
Posts: 1007
Location: Lancaster county, Pa

Charlie,
As you know the habitat differences for the 2 birds are stark contrasts. Grouse cover is not planted it is cut. a lot of my chapters money goes into building roads so the State can contract someone to cut relatively cheap timber. A good portion of the cutting here in the northeast is net loss timber. The other huge arm like you hit on for PH is lobbying for proper forest management that leaves a mix of age classes in the forest. We cannot create prairies of milo and switch grass that are very obvious to the eye. Last but not least a lot of the projects we fund here in our PA chapter are very remote and out of sight so the birds can use the new habitat to boost number to spread into adjacent covers. Both organizations do a great job but there impacts are very different in very different habitats. RGS uses cents per dollar on the habitat mission but unfortunately it a much smaller non profit with a lot less funds in hand. I just wanted to make sure you understood none of the money is wasted there national staff is less than 10 people they just don't have the funds of DU and PH just are not enough crazy people that hunt Woodcock and Grouse. I am biased but would suggest they make the biggest impact of any conservation organization with very limited funds and staff.
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2019 4:20 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

Pudlepointer,

What you say is true and here in the eastern part of the USA we have to battle the liberal nut cases in court just about every time we want to manage our forests by cutting to improve habitat for all the wild life.

I have been with RGS almost sense the beginning, while our intentions are good there was some mismanagement in the 80's and 90's that I will not go into. Today things have change back for the better, I hope it keeps going in that direction. RGS was not formed to be a conservation group, and for a while we lost our original charter mandate and a lot of the old time Grouse hunters who were the supporters of RGS dropped their memberships. I dropped out myself for a short time.

Conservation is a tool that RGS used like many others to assure increased Grouse populations thru out our country, for the Grouse hunter. Somehow the conservation aspect started too over shadow the RGS original charter mandate, and we lost many many members because of it. Unfortunately a lot of these members were the monetary support of RGS. Having been a sponsor myself this move to become a conservation group rather than a Grouse hunting Group was very disappointing, having put in a lot of time with Bill Palmer the PGC Grouse Biologist and his Grouse studies, I became very dismayed at what had happened. I am hoping that RGS will continue to grow once again and under the new management I believe that it will.

Our membership numbers have never been the same as DU, however at one time RGS was very influential as a Grouse management organization, thru out the entire USA. We need to get back to that, with our RGS Grouse Biologist working with the Game Commissions thru out the country. If RGS Biologists work with private land owners all members of RGS must be able to hunt the private property the RGS biologist help work on, RGS members make the organization possible.

RGS is a worth while organization, when it is managed correctly, I highly recommend becoming a member of RGS. At on time our HQ Banquets at the David L were the envy of every other sports organization, our contacts with the gun manufacturers, the Steeler organization the Pirate Base Ball team and others was incredible, some how we lost all this because of poor management, it's time we regained those contacts once again to help the RGS.

Our RGS numbers have dropped due to the age of our membership, if you can become a RGS mentor, introduce a young boy or girl to the incredible sport of Grouse hunting, in God's great wilderness.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Grouse hunting, a Sport to last a life time, while helping to increase the population of God's Greatest Game Bird. Become an RGS Mentor! Introduce a youngster to the Upland Shooting Life, with a great gun dog, fine double guns and the love of God's incredible outdoors.

[URL=http://www.jpgbox.com/page/56400_800x600/] [/URL]

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3birddogs
PostPosted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 6:42 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 07 Sep 2011
Posts: 567
Location: wheeling, wv

agree totally Pudlepointer!!

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pudelpointer
PostPosted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 8:08 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 14 Jan 2006
Posts: 1007
Location: Lancaster county, Pa

92 cents per dollar is what i meant to type it might have been a little higher forgot what charity navigator numbers were. RGS is still comprised of grouse Hunters who else would sacrifice there time and money for Grouse? Given the circumstances of our grouse populations and habitats conservation and creation of habitat is the only chance.
I don't support Pheasants forever in the east our birds are gone and no state or federal money should be spent on put and take Pheasants. Our resources should be spent on our native wild game birds. Out west I have a totally different view if we have wild breeding populations of Pheasants we need to support habitat and ensure the future of those stocks. Lancaster County was a Pheasant mecca in the 60's and 70's i miss hunting them. Our habitat was fragmented and our farming practiced changed greatly. The clean farming that is done now leave no residue no cover and no food. You cannot find a weed or insect in any of the fields. There is no fallow set aside land like there used to be. Our Pheasants are gone and with the cost of land there will never be area's big enough to create the vast habitats they need. Pa did try to bring in wild birds from Montana in the central part of the state with very limited success. If it did work the hunting pressure in those small area's would have defeated the purpose. They kept them closed to hunting for 10 years and the numbers have not increased enough to sustain hunt able populations. What we are blessed with in PA is forest and if managed properly we have millions of acres of Grouse habitat. I know I probably upset of few people with my view's but just trying to tell it like it is.
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Fri Mar 01, 2019 11:22 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2787
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

Poodlepointer,

Your opinion is actual reality here in Pa. Like yourself I saw our once great wild Pheasant Program destroyed. Politics will never let it be re-established in western Pa where we do have the land and old farms and farming practices to make the program work, if avian predators were controlled. I no longer belong to Pheasant Forever either. However if I lived out west I would be an active member for sure.

We do have the SGL and SFL here in Pa to have an incredible Grouse population once again, it could actually happen in about 5 years if the forests were managed properly. I will remain a RGS member, to help try to make this happen.

One other problem we have here in Pa is this WNV scare. This needs to be proven or disproven by actual biological testing. I believe RGS can help with this as they have been doing out west, with the studies they have been helping Game Commissions institute.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Sat Mar 02, 2019 9:46 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 16 Jul 2015
Posts: 2124
Location: Hudson,Wy

Pudelpointer is right. You have to focus efforts where needed and where they will actually be effective. I love pheasants dearly and out west will fight tooth and nail for them since we do have land that will support wild populations as long as our managers do what is right. Back east forest management practices have devastated ruffed grouse and there is still plenty of forest that can be healed by proper management plans and techniques. Putting time and money into those will solve a lot of problems. Putting the same money and effort into pheasants there will just net everyone an empty sack rather than healthy populations of woodland creatures that will take care of themselves once habitat is up to snuff.

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Soggy socks
PostPosted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 4:31 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 26 Apr 2016
Posts: 369
Location: Vermont

Dave we used to have nice cover like you have posted in that pic in S. Vermont. Now its mostly mature hardwoods since logging is not viewed as kindly as it once was. I still have a few coverts left but hey are fading fast. My best covert now has condo units on it! Joe
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tramroad28
PostPosted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 5:45 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 20 Jul 2011
Posts: 625
Location: Ohio..where ruffed grouse were

"5 years" is a bit unrealistic for a return of ruffed grouse into many areas of PA.
Again, forest management requires more than shouting "kill raptors" and "chainsaws"....it requires markets, mill capacity and manpower along with an understanding of federal protection and federal process.

PA is indeed lucky with boh it's PGC and it's Gameland system, compared to many eastern states, but.....short of magic wands waved over keyboards and ignoring the reality of oppostion/ignorance, those "many areas" suffer the same fate as other areas within that central appalachian region...a region where ruffed grouse numbers were artifically boomed only from a focus on a growing country.
A return to boom days......carries trade-offs few would wish....who think.

Even with CREP, PA pheasants do face an uphill slog to nowhere in all but some localized and highly private land. That said, the PA pheasant release program, put&take, whatever moniker is attached depending upon like or dislike....does serve a purpose for many folks.....same for Preserves, tho granted, with less income focus and far better habitat and w/o as many walking paths.

Focusing upon ruffed grouse is too narrow a view to take in a day when particulars and people have changed so much.
Sounds good, I agree....receives high-fives and wonderful anecdotal memories galor but.....lacks a bit of thought and reality of the real world.
Focusing upon birdhunting is exacty the reason that so many non-hunters are remaining untouched and unenlisted to a cause greater than a return to better hunting days....East or West.
I don't see us ever learning.
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WyoChukar
PostPosted: Wed Mar 06, 2019 9:52 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 16 Jul 2015
Posts: 2124
Location: Hudson,Wy

Well, here's the deal. Ruffed grouse habitat is also important habitat for other species, some of which are of considerable concern for hunters and non hunters alike. The eastern cottontail is a good example. Projects to keep them from being listed as threatened or endangered will benefit your grouse as well.

That is the key to success in changing management practices, selling the idea to the general public. Out west, we need some of the same changes in forest management, but virtually nobody out here shows any respect or love for blue and ruffed grouse. However, most folks are darn tired of massive, uncontrollable forest fires and that has brought about recent changes. We are living in an age where public relations/ perceptions are everything and having organizations that can master that is an important component in restoring some of the world we came to know and love.

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