RGS and USFWS Agreement Provides $50,000 for Wisconsin Young Forest Habitat

The Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to expand support for young forest habitat restoration efforts across northern and central Wisconsin.

A new agreement secures $25,000 in FWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife program funding for forest management practices that will benefit ruffed grouse, American woodcock, golden-winged warblers and other young-forest-dependent wildlife species over the next three years.

RGS/AWS biologist Scott Walter and Kurt Waterstradt, Wisconsin State Coordinator of the USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, celebrate approval of a new agreement bringing $50,000 in dedicated funding to young forest habitat efforts.

RGS has also committed an equal amount of staff time and habitat funding over this time period, resulting in $50,000 in total support for critical habitat efforts in the state.

Landowners across northern and central portions of the state will be eligible for assistance, with support focused on identified priority areas for woodcock and golden-winged warblers. The Partners for Fish and Wildlife program provides technical and financial assistance to landowners interested in enhancing fish and wildlife habitat on their land.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service has long been a leader in private lands conservation work in Wisconsin, and we’re thrilled to be able to collaborate with their staff and bring additional resources to address our shared mission of supporting healthy forests in the state,” noted RGS and American Woodcock Society (AWS) regional biologist Scott Walter.

“This agreement is a great example of how, by partnering with agencies that have similar conservation goals, we can magnify our ability to meet conservation objectives,” Walter added. “This agreement also brings assistance to those who own 90 percent of the land in the upper Midwest – private landowners.”