Smith: Amid changes, Ruffed Grouse Society retains strong Wisconsin accent

Nineteen hundred and eighty-seven had a pair of seminal events in the history of the Ruffed Grouse Society.

The organization signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Forest Service, and the Society hired its first habitat biologist, a Hales Corners native named Dan Dessecker.

The last 30 years have shown the importance - as difficult as it may be at times - of conservation groups working with federal agencies to effect mutually-beneficial outcomes.

And Dessecker expertly guided the Ruffed Grouse Society as it ascended to its current position as a highly-respected, non-partisan player on the national conservation stage.

But as of this month, the organization had the sizable challenge of replacing its longtime director of conservation policy.

Dessecker, 59, retired on April 30.

"It was a great job, a great organization," Dessecker said. "The time has come to dote on our granddaughter a little bit more and maybe play a little more golf."

Dessecker grew up in southeastern Wisconsin, the son and grandson of pressmen at The Milwaukee Journal.

An ornithologist at heart, he decided to take a different career track.

Dessecker received a bachelor's degree from UW-Stevens Point and a master's from Penn State University. His master's thesis compared songbird populations across a range of wooded tracts with varying stem densities.

His affinity for upland birds was cemented when he met and studied under John Kubisiak, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources biologist who conducted ruffed grouse research at Sand Hill Wildlife Area near Babcock.

"It's no secret that having good habitat is fundamental to maintaining strong and diverse wildlife populations," Dessecker said. "But it can be tough to get programs in place to benefit certain species, especially ruffed grouse and others that are dependent on young forests."

The Ruffed Grouse Society and Dessecker seemed destined for each other.

The Society describes itself as "an international nonprofit wildlife conservation organization dedicated to promoting science-based management on public and private forestlands."

Dessecker and his wife Hali settled in Rice Lake where he established his Society office over the last 30 years.

As its first habitat biologist, Dessecker was able to work across North America to improve the odds for ruffed grouse, woodcock and other species that rely on young forests.

I've often thought of the Ruffed Grouse Society as the "little conservation organization that can." 

Its membership is about 17,000, compared to hundreds of thousands on the roles of Ducks Unlimited and National Wild Turkey Federation, for example.

But Ruffed Grouse Society has a laser focus on habitat that gives it an outsized influence in the conservation realm. It not only lobbies for wise policy in Washington, D.C., but helps conduct projects on the ground.

In 1986, the year before Dessecker joined the organization, it had $1 million in income for all programs.

In 2016, Ruffed Grouse Society paid out $4.66 million for habitat project funding alone.

Over the last 30 years, the certified wildlife biologist from Hales Corners became as savvy at navigating the halls of Congress as finding his way to grouse coverts in the Blue Hills of Wisconsin.

The job was particularly challenging in the 1980s and early 1990s. Fights over forestry policy became rancorous - the debate over the northern spotted owl and old growth forests was in the national spotlight - and agencies like the Forest Service began falling behind on their timber harvest goals.

“It was a tough time because few people were cutting trees," Dessecker said. "It was tough to get people to understand the need for forest management."

Dessecker says he "swam upstream" for a while, but eventually the tide began turning.

"Especially in the last decade, more people have started to realize that cutting trees is not a bad thing," Dessecker said. "Brown thrashers and golden-winged warblers need the same home as ruffed grouse and woodcock."

Dessecker said he was fortunate as a "wildlifer" to be able to travel widely across North America and work on issues that have high importance locally and globally.

Arguably more than any single person, Dessecker is responsible for Ruffed Grouse Society reputation as a non-partisan, science-based organization.

The organization has opposed the sale of public lands and supported efforts to change the way firefighting costs are borne by the U.S. Forest Service. Currently about 50% of the Service's annual budget is spent on wildfire suppression.

Dessecker was appointed to national panels by Republican and Democrat administrations.

"I'm proud to say we stuck to the issues, which were predominantly forest management for the sake of young forest wildlife," Dessecker said. "It's work that is never done, but I feel good about what we were able to accomplish."

Ruffed Grouse Society is based in Coraopolis, Pa., but Wisconsin residents, both as staff members and volunteers, have played a leading role in the organization over the years.

That's only appropriate, since the Badger State has one of the highest populations of ruffed grouse in the nation.

In addition to Dessecker, significant contributions have been made (to name a few) by the late David V. Uihlein of Milwaukee, who served as chairman of the national board from 1986 to 1988; Gary Zimmer of Rhinelander, who retired in 2015 as senior regional biologist; and James Hayett of Hartland, who helped establish the Under Broken Wings program and served on the national board of directors.

That legacy of Wisconsin involvement will continue after Dessecker's retirement.

The Society named two people to fill Dessecker's large shoes, including Scott Walter of Viola who will serve as director of conservation programs.

Brent Rudolf of Michigan was named director of conservation policy.

Walter will work to implement a wide range of programs and projects to develop early successional forest habitat utilizing sound scientific management principles. Walter has a doctorate in wildlife ecology from UW-Madison and worked as a professor at UW-Richland Center for 11 years and the DNR for five before joining Ruffed Grouse Society as a regional biologist in 2015.

Seth Dizard of Wauwatosa will further ensure the Society has strong input from Wisconsinites. Dizard was elected earlier this year to serve on the organization's national board of directors. Dizard is an avid hunter who works as an attorney at the Milwaukee firm of O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman, DeJong & Laing.