Ruffed Grouse Society seeking volunteers to plant shrubs
KANE - Want to help wildlife? Members of the Upland Bird Hunt and Allegheny Chapters of the Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) plan the planting of shrub seedlings for wildlife on Sunday, 5/5. The planting site is on lands owned by Collins Pine Company and open for public recreation use. The site is currently being used for gas exploration by Seneca Resources Company. All volunteers interested in helping to plant the shrub seedlings should meet at 10:00 a.m. at the parking lot of the new Wine Shop for the Winery at Wilcox, directly on US 219 just north of the intersection with SR 321. Volunteers will then caravan together north on SR 321 to the project site. Four-wheel drive vehicles are not necessary. The project site is right at the border of Elk and McKean Counties, about half way between Kane and Wilcox on SR 321 N.
Volunteers will be planting black chokeberries, scrub oak, white pine, and gray dogwood.
Now that the site is producing gas for society, Seneca Resources Company is working with the Ruffed Grouse Society to reclaim the site for wildlife use. The gas well site is near regeneration areas on Collins Pine Company lands, so the rehabilitation plan placed an emphasis on needs of grouse, but it is fully expected that songbirds, small mammals, and deer will benefit from the site rehabilitation.
No special skills are needed by volunteers to help on this project – come on out and plant some seedlings for wildlife! If volunteers are willing to help on this project, please contact Christopher Beaver at cbeaver2@verizon.net because we need to know how many planting bars and gloves to bring to support the volunteer effort.