Tennessee · UplandRuffed grouse

TWRA's own species page states plainly that the range of the ruffed grouse in Tennessee once extended throughout East and most of Middle Tennessee, and that it is now found only on the Cumberland Plateau and the high ridges and mountains of eastern Tennessee. The species is confirmed absent from West Tennessee and most of the historic Middle Tennessee range today. Secondary hunting-press sourcing corroborates the same footprint by naming specific public-land anchors: Cherokee National Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Roan Mountain, and Northern Cumberland WMA. TWRA also confirms a marginally-successful reintroduction attempt on the Western Highland Rim (Middle Tennessee), which does not appear to have restored a broad Middle Tennessee population but is worth noting as a distinct, smaller pocket outside the two main named regions.