Has it been 10 years?

The last step in the morning routine is standing at the dresser and loading pockets with keys, wallet, chapstick, a pen and, if I'm lucky, a few dollar bills. A quick check of the calendar hanging over the dresser confirms the day and date. Yesterday morning I noticed some fine print at the bottom of the Monday square and my eyes no longer what they used to be, fetched a pair of readers.

Once in focus it read:

Aug 10, 2005 - PF launches quail conservation division Quail Forever (QF)

Yes, it's a QF calendar.

Hard to believe it's been that long since PF jumped into the quail world. At the time, Quail Unlimited was still in existence and although it was facing some headwinds, it claimed quite a few members. Many saw the formation of QF as a direct assault on QU, an attempt to wrestle away the disgruntled on the hunch that more would follow. Others saw it as a move to use PF's reputation to tap a group that up until that point hadn't jumped on the quail conservation wagon.

History being the great teacher that it is, I don't really care why they did it, I'm just glad they did. Ten years and 15,000 members later they are helping conserve quail in 27 states. There would have been a huge void nationally when QU folded up the tent had QF not been established and actively incubating local chapters.

Grass roots conservation organizations like QF and PF are an invaluable link the chain of restoring and maintaining gamebird habitat across native ranges. State and federal governments can't do the work alone. It takes people working locally and lobbying nationally to keep the movement going. If you haven't joined QF or a similar organization already, step up today. 

Counciled

This is what four years of work looks like:

It may not seem like much, but this is a huge step in restoring bobwhite populations in a place where there were once more quail hunters than deer or turkey hunters. It started with a few casual conversations back in 2011 that evolved into an appearance before the DNR's board of directors. A year later a finished plan was presented to that same board and the keystone to that plan was this council.

The council will be the steering committee for the work that gets done, all of the partnerships that form and all of the people we manage to bring into the fold. It's the first piece of a very large puzzle. Made up of over 20 federal, state and non-profit organizations and a handful of individuals, the level of enthusiasm and eagerness to participate was overwhelming. Seems people were just waiting to be asked. Let's hope that's the case as this little experiment grows.

Ed: Sorry to all those who clicked on the links in this post during the last 24 hrs. Appears there were some server issues. All should be working again.  11/11/14

This guy gets the award

A story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune last Friday details the quest of Thurman Tucker, a guy who moved to the Twin Cities area around the time I was born and has been working ever since to restore quail populations in the state. Keep in mind that Minnesota is on the fringe of native bobwhite settlements.  They don't even have a quail season.

Undeterred, Thurman started his own non-profit to support the effort and later merged it into Quail Forever. The guy is a purist if ever there was one, devoted beyond imagination and persistent in the face of what most would consider impractical. And we need a few more like him.

Thurman Tucker
photo courtesy of the Star Tribune

Why? "I'm 70 years old, and I like to stay with a job until it's done."

Dog Names from A to Z

Ok, ok, this is a cheap link to someone else's post.  But I like it and the season hasn't opened yet and I felt like posting something so indulge me. Everyone has his opinion about dog names and Bob St. Pierre of PF/QF took it a step further in a piece for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He ran the English alphabet, all 26 letters (even X, although he took the easy way out), with a dog name for each.

Some of these I love, a few are a bit over-used and a handful I can't imagine ever yelling across a field, but hey, I'm not gonna yell at your dog anyway. Dog names are a curious thing, a window into the corners of an owner's mind. They're often tied to a memory or an experience, a hero or idol, or on occasion something completely random.

A friend got a lab several years back and named it Quarter because, already having 3 kids, the dog was now a quarter of his problems. It turned out to be more like 2/3 of his problems and it now lives with another friend waaaay out in the country.

I tend to favor human names for my dogs, but only those that are a bit less common.  My first bird dog was named Curtis, hatched by a line from Fast Times at Ridgemont High of all things. Bonus points if you can remember that line without clicking the link. 

Not sure what the name of my next pup will be yet, although I do have a few contenders. In the end the dog won't mind what you call him, but the further off the beaten path you go, the more explaining you'll do. There will never be a best name for a dog, only a best name for your dog.

PS - One minor correction, Bob: it's Inigo Montoya, not Iago Montoya.

Well whaddaya know

Ever have that dream when you walk into a high school or college exam and it's already half over?  Same feeling I had on Friday when I showed up a half hour early, or so I thought, for the 10am board meeting of the Department of Natural Resources, the one where we were going to present our proposal for a statewide bobwhite quail initiative.  Seemed strange that the doors to the board room would be closed thirty minutes prior to the meeting start time.  I cracked one open and quickly figured out that the meeting - or some meeting - was well under way.

Turns out I never got the memo about moving the start time up an hour.  No big deal, these things happen and during a break I was assured that we'd be worked into the agenda once the meeting resumed.  Around 11am everyone was invited back in and fifteen short minutes later we had our approval.  All's well that ends well.

It was a big day for bobwhites in South Carolina.  After 40+ years of decline, this was the first officially recognized step in reversing the trend, and don't think that official recognition is just some boilerplate political stamp.  Any initiative needs the support of the DNR board to have an honest shot at success.  An unsanctioned side project might work if we were just trying to establish a few hundred acres of habitat as a demonstration area, but to impact bird populations statewide the endorsement of the board is requisite. Things just don't get done on a large scale without this commitment.

More importantly, bobwhites are now on the board's radar along with the "big money" species like deer and bass and the popular ones like turkey, ducks and billfish.  The people at the top are now thinking about bobwhites and what can be done to help them.  And I'm extremely grateful for their support, both Friday and going forward.

I'm amazed at the number of people, both inside and outside gov't agencies, who know about the plight of bobwhites, care about what happens to these birds and generally have an interest in seeing something done.  Yet almost without exception they have no idea what can be done.  It takes a step like Friday's meeting to raise the awareness that something can be done and that there are people working to make it happen.

What we asked for was approval to form a Quail Council, our name for a group composed of gov't agencies, non-profits and individuals who could participate in any way, shape or form in the restoration of bird populations. The DNR doesn't have the resources to do this on its own and public-private partnerships are becoming a very realistic, and often successful, option.  The specified purpose of the Council would be to complete the master plan and commit resources toward implementation.

What we got was a directive from the board to bring them a completed plan and a means (the Council) to accomplish it.  Pretty much the best we could have hoped for.  My guess is we have at least six months of work ahead of us before we can take a finished plan for implementation back to the board.

If you're considering pushing this type of initiative in your own state, and I sincerely hope some of you are, my one suggestion would be that you go out of your way to emphasize that you are not asking for money. We knew this would give our proposal a leg up given that our state is essentially broke and all agencies are being cut to the bone.  There's not enough to keep existing programs functioning much less to fund a new one.  As we progress we're going to do so with an eye toward finding most if not all of the necessary funding from external sources.

The Great Bobwhite Revival - Inching Forward

The season's over and looking at the sheet I send to the state's hunter survey it appears this little project is coming at the right time.  Cliffs Notes version: we need more wild birds.

So here's the latest on the Call to Action....

Support your state's quail initiative

We're scheduled to present out plan to the board of the DNR on 3/23.  Honestly I'm surprised and pleased at how quickly this all came together.  No idea what to expect out of the meeting but we have a pretty good pitch given that what we're proposing won't cost the DNR a dime, and if I were a government agency in a broke state and someone offered a high visibility project for free I'd be hard pressed to turn it down.

Tell your local Congressional delegation to prioritize Farm Bill conservation programs

As of my last post on this topic I'd written to one of my senators and one congressman and hadn't heard from either. Since that time I've received the standard form letter reply from the senator, a letter that didn't even mention the issue by the way, and heard nothing from the congressman.  For what it's worth, though, I ran across this post on the Quail Forever blog yesterday.  In it Dave Nomsen notes

I hope today’s announcement brings a sense of gratification to every Quail Forever member who has contacted a legislative official in support of CRP these last few months.  Our meetings and your conservation testimonials have led us to these new acres.

 So maybe those letters did a little bit of good after all.  And its a nice segue to the third item....

Join a grassland-habitat related conservation organization immediately

I took a pass on this in the last update claiming that I wanted to do some research and put my $$ behind the groups that were willing to play ball with us in SC.  I contacted QF and immediately received a "Count us in" and returned the favor by joining QF/PF.  I also called Bill Bowles, president of QU, and left a message.   And then I emailed.  And then I called and left another message.  Cue the crickets.  Maybe the guy is really busy, but if you're going to post a letter on your website inviting anyone to call or write, you might want to at least get a secretary (please tell me QU has at least one secretary) to return the message.  We'll still take their help if they want to jump in at some point but I don't think I'm going to send my money down there.

Ironically this was one of the same complaints that so many people had about the "old" QU.  I know they've had their troubles lately and I don't want to pile on, but for a group that's struggling to regain a foothold in the game this sure would be a fine opportunity to associate with a state-level project, one that will get plenty of favorable press (I'll see to it).  I understand that their coffers aren't exactly overflowing - whose are these days? - and while this project will need financial support down the road, it will also need expertise, manpower, and as wide and diverse a network as possible.  Plenty of ways for any individual or group to contribute.  QU, if you're listening, you really might want to give us a call.


Next update following the board meeting later this month.  Stay tuned...