The west virginia division of natural resources, wildlife resources section (WRS) is responsible for the management and conservation of our states wildlife resources and for providing wildlife…

The Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service Region 5 awarded the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources $874,248 on January 1, 2026, under the Wildlife Restoration and Basic Hunter Education and Safety program (CFDA 15.611) to study ruffed grouse population dynamics and landscape-scale management practices in West Virginia through December 31, 2029.

The Division will conduct research to identify where ruffed grouse currently occur in the state, assess how existing forest conditions contribute to grouse occupancy and abundance, evaluate landscape-level management opportunities on both state and private lands, and investigate the potential role of West Nile Virus in population declines. The work uses autonomous recording units (ARU) paired with West Nile Virus sampling to link disease prevalence to population trends.

Performance occurs across West Virginia. West Virginia University serves as sub-recipient, conducting field research and analysis under a sub-award dated August 20, 2025.

The Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act funds this program through excise tax revenues on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment, with amounts apportioned annually to state wildlife agencies under a legislatively established formula.

The west virginia division of natural resources, wildlife resources section (WRS) is responsible for the management and conservation of our states wildlife resources and for providing wildlife associated recreation for the citizens of our state. In 2011, the ruffed grouse society published the ecology and management of appalachian ruffed grouse (stauffer 2011), which summarized the known body of research on ruffed grouse (bonasa umbellus) including a summary of the appalachian cooperative grouse research project (acgrp). More recently, the eastern grouse working group finalized their eastern grouse conservation plan which emphasized and highlighted the importance and significance of landscape-scale strategies for creating a mosaic of forest conditions to benefit, and reverse declining appalachian ruffed grouse populations. However, there remains a significant lack of progress on understanding 1) where ruffed grouse are occurring in west virginia, 2) how current conditions are contributing to ruffed grouse occupancy or abundances, 3) where opportunities exist on state and private lands for landscape-level planning and management, and 4) how west nile virus (WNV) could be affecting ruffed grouse recovery in west virginia. We are going to study how management practices impact ruffed grouse populations on both private and public lands. In addition, we will pair ARU data with WNV samples to determine how that disease may cause population declines in WV.