Grouse Habitat, Biology and Property Layout

Whitetail Landscapes - Hunting & Habitat Management

In this episode, Jon Teater (Whitetail Landscapes) and Todd Waldron (Ruffed Grouse Society) discuss ruffed grouse habitat, biology, and designing a property specific to grouse. Todd explains the lifecycle of grouse and how they choose habitat types to survive on the landscape. Todd explains habitat options and preferences that will overlap with deer preferences and related habitat. Todd considers ruffed grouse as an indicator species of diverse forest settings.

Jon explains the importance of grouse to deer and Todd goes into detail on how grouse habitat changes over the year. Todd details grouse foraging, nesting, brooding and courting areas and how to set those up on your local property. Todd explains why grouse are so sensitive to specific cover and the relative home ranges for grouse. Todd discusses the importance of both open and closed canopy settings and how they relate to nesting. Jon explains in the field examples of nesting sites and how he would develop nesting locations based on this information.

Jon and Todd discuss microclimates that can be created on the landscape to attract wildlife. Jon discusses aspen cutting techniques for grouse. Todd and Jon discuss invasive plants and other trees and shrubs that should be considered for grouse. Todd explains the ideal layout and plant species that will create both grouse and deer habitat. Jon discusses fire on the landscape with Todd, and both explain its importance in establishing better habitat.

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RGS & AWS - RGS (ruffedgrousesociety.org)

Todd Waldron - Massachusetts Dynamic Forest Restoration Initiative Lead - Ruffed Grouse Society | American Woodcock Society | LinkedIn