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Quail Forever In The News

Below are links to the most recent news articles from the National Office. If you have a pertinent news story you would like to see posted here, send it to Elsa Gallagher at egallagher@quailforever.org.

Missouri Leads the Way for Quail Forever
New Kansas City Area Chapter becomes State's 16th

Kansas City, Mo. - October 16 - A group of Kansas City area bird hunters and quail enthusiasts have formed Missouri's newest chapter of Quail Forever (QF). The new MO-KAN Chapter of Quail Forever plans to focus their efforts on improving habitat for quail and introducing area youngsters to the outdoors. The addition of the new MO-KAN Chapter brings Missouri's QF count up to 16 chapters and over 2,000 members since the organization formed in 2005, making Missouri the largest QF state in both categories.

"What's happened in the last four years across Missouri has been very exciting if you care about quail," reported Elsa Gallagher, QF's regional wildlife biologist for Missouri. "Missouri is making quail a priority here and the bird hunters have responded by joining Quail Forever. There is a lot of work to be done before quail populations can truly make a comeback, but there is great cause for optimism now."

The new MO-KAN chapter is led by Ben Gille, a hard-working Grain Valley resident and quail hunter. "I work during the day and am finishing up my degree at DeVry at night. I am also blessed with a beautiful wife and two young children. There are a lot of demands on my time, but being a part of this chapter was important to me," explained Gille. "I want to make sure my children have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and a Missouri quail hunt when they grow up. Quail Forever's local model made sense to me in accomplishing that goal."

QF was formed in 2005 by Pheasants Forever (PF) to help reverse the rapid decline of quail populations across their U.S. range. QF applies the unique and successful Pheasants Forever model of empowering local chapters with the responsibility to determine how 100% of their locally raised conservation funds will be spent. To date, 16 chapters of QF have joined the "Show Me State's" 5 Pheasants Forever chapters. In fact, St. Louis is home to the first Quail Forever chapter ever formed.

Missouri quail hunters harvested 3.9 million birds during the 1969 season. That number was cut in half by 1987 when 1.9 million birds were taken. In 1996, the harvest fell under a million and it dropped to under half a million in 2000. Biologists identify two main habitat issues causing Missouri's quail decline; the overwhelming presence of exotic grasses like tall-fescue and smooth brome that choke out wildlife, and the conversion of woody shrub cover to large canopy trees.

"With our unique financial model and the enthusiasm of volunteers to start new Quail Forever chapters across Missouri, these habitat issues can be reversed. We can bring back Missouri's quail and we are seeing it happen in areas where chapters are implementing habitat projects," added Gallagher.

Joining Gille as MO-KAN chapter officers are David Borgmann of Lees Summit, Sam Decker of Kansas City, and Wesley Carrillo of Odessa. The chapter plans to hold their next organizational meeting on Tuesday, October 20th at Bass Pro Shops in Independence. The meeting will begin at 7PM in the Conservation Room. The media and public are invited to attend. For more information on the new chapter, please contact Gille at (816)547-8570 or via email at MOKANQuailPrez@gmail.com. To learn more about starting a QF chapter in Missouri, please contact Elsa Gallagher at (573)680-7115 or via email at egallagher@quailforever.org.

Quail Forever's unique system empowers county chapters with the responsibility to determine how 100% of their locally raised conservation funds will be spent. QF, and sister pheasants division, are the only national conservation organizations that operate through this truly grassroots structure. As a result, grassroots chapter volunteers are able to see the fruits of their efforts locally, while belonging to a larger national organization with a voice on federal and state conservation policy. This is a unique distinction. Last year alone, those chapter volunteers completed over 20,000 habitat projects. Similarly, Pheasants Forever has always recognized the impact federal Farm Bill policy has on wildlife habitat. Consequently, QF has played an active role in Farm Bill policy development and implementation, which includes the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).