http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/9/pdf/pub068.pdf
"It reaches its greatest abundance in the aspen forests of the Upper Great Lakes region and is famous for the 10-year population cycles associated with fluctuations in snowshoe hares and predators such as Northern goshawks and lynx."
"Grouse populations in Ohio do not reach the high densities or undergo the dramatic population cycles found in some parts of the range. In good habitat, fall grouse densities may average five to eight birds per 100 acres."
"As settlement occurred in the early 1800s, grouse populations increased rapidly as timber was harvested and young forest cover increased. However, as settlement progressed, massive deforestation left only remnant grouse populations."
"In the twentieth century, abandoned farmlands reverted to forest and brush in northeast, east-central, and southeast Ohio and provided increased habitat for expanding grouse populations in the 1970s and early 1980s"
"In more recent years grouse populations have declined to low levels as forests have matured and resulted in lower quality habitat. Presently, grouse can be found in low, but stable, numbers in 40 eastern Ohio counties."
"Good grouse habitat includes three general forest types: mixed species stands of hardwood shrubs, saplings, and brush-vine tangles; moist areas with dense clumps of shrubs interspersed with lush herbaceous growth; and young forest stands of mixed hardwoods."
"Habitat management for ruffed grouse involves increasing the amount and distribution of young forest cover through the use of even-aged timber harvests. A well-planned timber rotation can enhance and maintain grouse habitat for many years."
In summary, grouse are a upland bird that thrives in young timber cuts. Logging is required to keep up a grouse population.
