Quail Forever convention to be held this weekend

The annual convention of Quail Forever will be held this weekend in Kansas City as the organization works to help bring this popular game bird back from the decline of the past few years. (MDC Photo)

Back when I was growing up,quail hunting was great. On many hunts it wasn't unusual to flush three or four coveys during a cool November morning. Things are a lot different today. I have talked to some quail hunters who remember how it was, but this past season hunters like Ralph Nelson and his pointer hunted places where he use to find plenty of bobwhites, but never flushed a single bird all day. The decline of Missouri's quail population has been well documented.

This coming weekend, Feb. 19-21, at this years National Pheasant and Quail Classic, will be held in Kansas City. There will be quail biologists and policy makers together for the first-ever National Quail Summit on Saturday morning.

Quail Forever is an organization dedicated to the conservation of quail, pheasants and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies and programs to help bring back some of those "good old days."

If quail hunters had their way, sights like a dog on point would be more common. Groups like Quail Forever are working hard to help make it possible, The Quail Forever annual convention will be held in Kansas City this weekend, Feb. 19-21. (MDC photo)

Quail Forever chapters are empowered with 100 percent control of locally raised funds, an unique model. Quail Forever chapters have spent $3.1 million on their mission. Knowing that strong and healthy quail populations depend on quality habitat, chapters have worked on more than 7,000 habitat projects impacting 505,804 acres.

Missouri has 21 Quail Forever chapters that have spent 1.5 million dollars to complete 6,587 habitat projects impacting more than 57,000 acres for wildlife habitat conservation in the state.

In an effort to help reverse the decline of bobwhite quail, since the 1980s, Quail Forever is hosting this nations largest-first ever Quail Summit.

Hunters and landowners attending the 2016 Classic are encouraged to visit the Landowner Habitat Help Desk to receive expert guidance for habitat projects from biologists who worked with 151 landowners during the 2015 event in Des Moines, providing conservation guidance on 23,000 acres of private land.

A new section of the show floor will be your "covey headquarters." If your heart skips a beat when a covey of quail flushes, then this new section will be for you. The booth spaces surrounding the Upland Bird Hunting stage will feature all things quail, from 28 gauge shotguns to English pointers.

Another new section with lots of new partners focused on honey bees, monarch butterflies and other critically important insects who can be found on the show floor. Not only is pollinator habitat good for the bees, butterflies and beetles, but pollinator habitat is also good brood rearing habitat for quail and songbirds, Pollinator habitat-native flowering plants-attract soft-bodied insects that ground nesting chicks rely on for survival during the first 6-8 weeks of life.

Howard Vincent, president and CEO of Quail Forever, said, "Quail Forever is the premiere quail group in the country and will take a prominent role at the 2016 convention, and we invite quail hunters to join us for a celebration of wildlife conservation. Also Quail Forever is celebrating its 10th anniversary-it is a special milestone and one we wish to celebrate with our entire chapter leaders."

The National Classic this month is presented by Federal Premium Ammunition and will be the country's largest tradeshow and convention for upland hunters, landowners, sport dog trainers and wildlife habitat conservationists. The show will feature quail-specific themes with seminars, vendors and hunting gear designed with quail hunters in mind. Brad Heidel, director of corporate sales for Quail Forever, said, " From the wild game cooking stage to landowner help room, every aspect of the show will have a quail infusion as we elevate the status of quail conservation."

Remembering those days when going afield in the fall and finding several coveys of quail, its good to know that there are groups like Quail Forever working hard to make it possible again.