Where Have All The Ruffed Grouse Gone?
By Tom Allen Research on one of West Virginia’s most prized game birds began in the summer of 1995 because of a concern over low or dwindling ruffed grouse populations throughout the state. Biologists designed a project to investigate the bird’s mortality factors, survival, production, and habitat preferences. Because wildlife agencies in surrounding states expressed an interest in the same information, West Virginia chose to do a pilot study to determine the feasibility of such an in-depth undertaking. A study area was selected on the Westvaco Ecosystem Research Forest in Adolph, Randolph County. Initially, 36 birds were captured and fitted with small radio transmitters around their necks during the summer of 1995. Once the year-long pilot study was completed, four other states (Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio) joined the project in 1996. At that time a joint study was designed to run for six years, from 1996 to 2002. During that period every aspect of grouse biology would be st
