Forest conservation coordinator, grouse advocate: 'Most efficient water treatment facility is a forest'

Riverkeeper note: The following article was written by Northern Tier Regional Director Emily Shosh. You can contact her directly at [email protected]

Aaron Lewis is the newly appointed Pennsylvania Forest Conservation Coordinator, working to improve, maintain and establish grouse and woodcock habitat in Pennsylvania.

“Ruffed grouse benefit from a mosaic of habitat, forest types and age classes and they require them to be pretty close in proximity,” he said, adding that his efforts with the Ruffed Grouse Society on protecting and encouraging grouse habitat protects forests, which in turn protects water quality.

​"The most efficient water treatment facility is a forest which is why so many municipalities in Pennsylvania own forests, and we will work with them as well,” he said.

​A native of Hillsgrove, Lewis had early exposure to the timber industry through the family business, Dwight Lewis Lumber Company. Working the sawmill led him to Penn State Mont Alto for an associate’s degree in forestry, which later led him to University Park for a four-year forestry degree.​

Throughout college, Lewis worked the gamut of forestry-related jobs, including a trail maintenance job in New Hampshire, timber improvement crew for Sierra National Forest in California and one season working for a consulting company in California involving owl surveys, timber cruising and timber marking. In 2021, Lewis took on a role as land manager for LandMark Forestry out of their Kentucky office.

"Ruffed grouse and American woodcock like young, early successional forest. To have young forests, there must be some sort of disturbance," said Lewis. "Much of Pennsylvania’s forests are older, on a landscape scale. At Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society, we promote active forest management so that across the landscape we can have a mosaic of habitat types." 

This means a diversity of age, structure and species composition.

An example of ideal habitat for grouse, in Weiser State Forest. Supporting this budding new area of habitat will hopefully hold "seed" birds that will help repopulate the area. Photo by Aaron Lewis.

The ruffed grouse is Pennsylvania's state bird.

“Having that diversity in a forest makes it healthier, more climate resilient and capable of hosting a myriad of wildlife,” Lewis said, adding that another goal embedded into this work is incorporating this active management into the forest products industry in Pennsylvania.

“Wildlife habitat and forest products should go hand in hand," he said. "Often there’s that disconnect between a wooden piece of furniture and the wildlife habitat that the piece of furniture contributed to.”

In terms of habitat work so far, Lewis shared that “partnerships are key in making these projects work across the landscape. Typically a chapter member, partner organization, or a member of the RGS team initiates a project with local public lands, and then through that we can begin to formulate how to improve the land for ruffed grouse, woodcock,\ and other wildlife that favors early successional forests.”

Partners and stakeholders with similar interests are then brought together to create a plan for work including harvests, plantings, invasive species control and more. Some of these partners include the game commission, DCNR, the nature conservancy, the Audubon Mid Atlantic and others.

“From there we usually look for additional funding to support the work," Lewis said. "We’re fortunate that we can find federal or state grants or even generous private foundations."

One habitat project example Lewis has been involved with so far includes in the Weiser State Forest, where he has met with a member of the local Ruffed Grouse Society chapter and DCNR foresters to make a plan for supporting current and future habitat.

“It is great grouse habitat now, but in five years it won't be as great. So getting a little bit of diversity in the forest age and structure was the goal,” Lewis said. “We were able to map an area and get an idea of a plan to create grouse habitat through planting trees, burn areas, encouraging Scrub Oak regeneration and getting the existing small ‘seed’ population to expand in a region that is not currently known for grouse. Unfortunately, we did not get the grant, but we’ll keep working to get this work funded."

The Ruffed Grouse Society promotes sustainable forest management, which encompasses best management practices. These are recommendations that protect soil and water resources in forestry operations.

“This might mean riparian buffers, roads and log landings, retiring and seeding the areas, grading them so water doesn’t pond up or flow too fast to create erosion and limiting roads on timber sales,” Lewis explained.

The Ruffed Grouse Society and a group of partners, including a municipality, recently applied for a grant to fund several of these best management practices within the Kittatinny Ridge Region, which runs from the Laurel Highlands over to the Poconos.

“It’s the separation between the northern forests and southern ag lands,” said Lewis. “In this particular situation we found that logging on a municipality had negatively affected their water quality. Logging is an important tool in forest management and it should be utilized, but it can be planned so that it doesn’t have a negative impact on the water and landscape."

Lewis hopes to use this grant to create an environment where professional foresters aid in watershed planning and that water quality is prioritized for the community.

The best way to get involved with this work is through Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society chapters. These chapters fundraise, organize habitat days, tree plantings, and more.

“It’s more than just hunting and that’s in our mission statement: ‘Grouse, Woodcock and all Wildlife,’” Lewis said.

You can find and connect with your local RGS chapter here. Many chapters maintain a Facebook page as well.

See the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s ruffed grouse wildlife note here. Also read on PGC’s responsive management here.

Click here for more on other impacts to Ruffed Grouse, including West Nile Virus, and for information on how landowners can manage land for grouse. ​