RGS and AWS Name NEW Forest Conservation Director for the Northeast
Megan Plete Postol 02.26.21
The Ruffed Grouse Society and American Woodcock Society (RGS & AWS) recently announced the name of the newly appointed Forest Conservation Director in the Northeast Region. Todd Waldron will serve to build and manage a network to achieve forest wildlife goals across several states.
His management region will include New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. He is based in Chestertown, in the Adirondack Mountains of Northern New York State. For more than 50 years, the Ruffed Grouse Society has been dedicated to creating healthy forest habitat for the benefit of ruffed grouse and American woodcock. The organization works with landowners and government agencies to develop critical habitat utilizing scientific management practices. Todd Waldron had these words to share:
“My goal as the Northeast Forest Conservation Director will be to build and manage a collaborative, well-funded forest wildlife network that achieves habitat improvement goals in a way that will help transition RGS/AWS from individual habitat projects toward scalable, landscape efforts with our partners. I’m incredibly excited to be working with my new colleagues and RGS/AWS chapter members to improve forest habitat conditions on the ground across the Northeast. RGS/AWS President Ben Jones has an incredible vision for forest health and resiliency in the Eastern US and has been building this team with inspiring professionals who can help achieve this vision.“
Waldron is the founder and host of the East to West Hunting Podcast. His podcast was inspired by a lifetime love for the outdoors, according to his website. East to West Hunting Podcast strives to promote access and opportunities for all individuals and communities so that they can experience hunting and angling in a way that respects nature and creates meaningful connections to food and the outdoors.
“Along with my professional background in forest conservation, I also have a passion for the outdoors that is rooted in my upbringing in the Adirondacks. One of my personal conservation goals is expand access and community for all who wish to connect with nature, regardless of their background. That’s the reason I’ve spent several hundred hours volunteering for regional hunting, angling and conservation groups, and its why I started the East to West Hunting and Outdoor Feast podcasts – mentorship, community and conservation. This role with RGS/AWS is incredibly exciting to me because it weaves everything that I’m passionate about together – working with the incredible team at RGS/AWS to promote forest habitat diversity, abundant wildlife and a strong conservation ethic that ultimately benefits all forest wildlife and helps people connect with the outdoors.“
Outdoor mentorship and conservation are important pillars to Waldron.
“America’s treasured wild places, wildlife, and future generations can’t speak for themselves. Hunting and fishing are a wonderful privilege, and with this privilege comes an ongoing responsibility of stewardship; a responsibility to pass it on to the next generation.“
Todd is a life member of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, a Sustaining Member of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and a member of Pheasants Forever and Ruffed Grouse Society/American Woodcock Society. He has a B.A. in Natural Resource Management from SUNY ESF and an A.A.S. in Forest Technology from SUNY ESF’s New York State Ranger School.
