Maryland · UplandRuffed grouse

MD DNR's own species page (read directly) is explicit that ruffed grouse in Maryland is confined to the Appalachian forests of western Maryland, with Garrett and Allegany Counties holding the greatest abundance and Washington and western Frederick Counties holding smaller populations at the easternmost edge of the state's range -- Maryland's western counties sit at the southern edge of the species' broader Central/Southern Appalachian range, which is itself limited to higher-elevation forest. Independent hunting-press sourcing corroborates this with a named public-land anchor (Green Ridge State Forest) specifically called out for grouse and woodcock hunting in western Maryland's forested terrain.