Biologist Notes

New Jersey Habitat Update 2008

Acre for acre, New Jersey continues to be one of RGS’ most active states in terms of volunteer involvement and habitat projects. Like many states in the East, however, NJ has lost a tremendous amount of grouse and woodcock habitat over the last 30 years. Since the 1970’s, the amount of quality grouse and woodcock habitat has declined by 80%. That is one huge decline! These forests, for the most part, have not disappeared, they have simply gotten older. This means that the trend in habitat is reversible!

Because of the relatively large amount of public land (New Jersey is around 27% public land, by far the most of any eastern state), there are many opportunities for management. The potential for reversing the trend in grouse and woodcock habitat and populations is very good. The northern half of NJ has the greatest potential for grouse while the southern half has long been considered very important for woodcock, but extremely spotty relative to grouse these days.

Advocacy remains an important component of the RGS mission. Enthusiastic support for timber management on public lands by RGS members is critical and RGS members are being heard. While RGS bases its unwavering support for forest management on sound science, there are plenty of well organized groups who base their opposition for forest management on deception, emotion and litigation. We have to get our message out. Without well-planned timber harvest and other habitat management, NJ will not be able to recover.

Most of our members want to know what RGS is doing in their neck-of-the-woods. The list of current projects that RGS is directly involved in changes each year. RGS has recent, on-going or proposed projects at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge and Delaware Water Gap National Reacreation area. Plans are in the works for Sparta Mt. WMA.

Thanks to two large grants and a unique relationship with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, RGS has been able to buy heavy Caterpillar equipment that allows us to take matters into our own hands. RGS has the capability to lend tree and shrub cutting equipment to state and federal agencies free of charge. We are also able to help private landowners create habitat on their property for a modest fee that is reinvested in conservation via RGS.

This winter, we cut several stands of aspen at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area where woodcock are abundant and grouse are showing some signs of an upswing. This likely marked the first time that RGS has worked cooperatively with the Park Service on a project of this magnitude anywhere in the U.S. Aspen cutting got underway in January and will continue until the project is completed.

Focusing on the bigger picture, RGS recently took the lead on developing a National Ruffed Grouse Management Strategy (which has now been approved), authored several sections of the National Woodcock Management Strategy, and co-authored two chapters of a book on the ecology and management of grouse in the southern Appalachians.

If you have never attended an RGS habitat field day or never written a letter or attended a meeting to support grouse and woodcock management, make it happen in 2008.

Mark Banker
Regional Biologist
Central/Southern Appalachians
Ruffed Grouse Society