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Record Accomplishments Highlight 2014 for Quail Forever/Pheasants Forever in Missouri
Favorable nesting season, increase in upland wildlife complement efforts of “The Habitat Organization”
Columbia, MO -(Ammoland.com)- Quail Forever and Pheasants Forever improved habitat for quail, pheasants, and other upland wildlife on more than 30,000 acres in Missouri in 2014.
This includes 769 wildlife habitat projects completed by the state’s 26 chapters that improved a record-breaking 9,925 acres for wildlife, and 20,405 acres impacted by Quail Forever Farm Bill biologists in the state. Coming off a record low roadside survey in 2013 as conducted by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), quail populations showed dramatic increases statewide in 2014 with the highest statewide population average since 2010.
In addition to local Quail Forever chapters making a difference for bobwhite conservation efforts, the MDC has established twenty-one quail emphasis areas throughout the state with a goal of sustaining one quail per every two acres in each specific emphasis area. The complementary work of Quail Forever and the MDC will help continue the quail recovery.
“This is an exciting time for Quail Forever and Pheasants Forever in Missouri as young chapters find their stride for wildlife habitat conservation,” stated John Wallace, Quail Forever and Pheasants Forever’s regional representative for Missouri. “Our local volunteers more than doubled the amount of acres impacted in 2014 for statewide conservation projects over all prior years, a true testament to their passion for conservation.”
Additionally, Quail Forever’s six Farm Bill wildlife biologists in Missouri worked in partnership with 3,410 Missouri landowners and farmers to enroll more than 20,000 acres of habitat into federal and stateside habitat conservation programs (e.g. Conservation Reserve Program). These biologists also provided conservation technical assistance to impact nearly 8,700 additional acres not enrolled into federal or state programs.
Awards Received:
- In 2014, Quail Forever in Missouri won the Conservationist of the Year Award from the Conservation Federation of Missouri. Additionally, Quail Forever’s National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) focus area in Carroll County was awarded the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Tricia Radford Award for Partnership.
Quail Forever & Pheasants Forever in Missouri 2014 Award Winners:
- Conservation Excellence Award ($100K Expenditure) – Ten Rivers Chapter of Pheasants Forever
- Acre Maker Award – 2 C Chapter of Quail Forever
- State No Child Left Indoors® Award – Mark Twain Chapter of Quail Forever
- Brood Builder Award – Mid Mo. Uplanders Chapter of Quail Forever
- Mission Monarch Award – Heartland Chapter of Pheasants Forever
- National Membership Award – Missouri River Valley Chapter of Quail Forever
- National No Child Left Indoors® Award – Shortgrass Chapter of Quail Forever
For more information, please contact John Wallace at (937) 459-8085 / [email protected]. For all other inquiries, please contact Jared Wiklund, Quail Forever and Pheasants Forever’s public relations specialist at (651) 209-4953 / [email protected].
Quail Forever & Pheasants Forever in Missouri
Missouri’s 23 Quail Forever chapters and three Pheasants Forever chapters account for over 3,350 members statewide. Those chapters have spent over $1 million to complete 5,559 habitat projects since the first Missouri chapter was formed in 1989. Those projects have improved over 47,000 acres for wildlife habitat conservation in the state.
About Quail Forever & Pheasants Forever
Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 140,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent; the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure. Since creation in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent $508 million on 475,000 habitat projects benefiting 10 million acres nationwide.
For more information, please visit www.PheasantsForever.org.
Photo Credit: Elsa Gallagher
Source: http://www.ammoland.com/2015/03/record-accomplishments-highlight-2014-for-quail-foreverpheasants-forever-in-missouri/
