Sports
Alabama Covey Rise joins Quail Forever
Staff Report
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St. Paul, Minn. — Quail enthusiasts from five central Alabama counties have stepped up their quail conservation efforts through the introduction of the country’s 100th Quail Forever chapter, based in Alexander City.
The Alabama Covey Rise Chapter of QF has as its mission to restore quail habitat while introducing youth conservation education programs within Tallapoosa, Coosa, Clay, Elmore and Talladega counties.
"This QF chapter will focus its efforts within the central part of Alabama where there is an opportunity to create a lot of progress in the advancement of better land management practices, and this will ultimately help the quail and other wildlife in the area," explained Andy Edwards, regional wildlife biologist for QF.
"When you combine the newly passed Farm Bill legislation with the efforts of this chapter, the benefits for quail will be tremendous."
The new QF chapter will hold its inaugural banquet benefiting youth and for habitat restoration 6 p.m., Sept. 25 at Willow Point Country Club.
Members of the group are selling tickets, and sponsorships are available.
Pheasants Forever launched Quail Forever in August of 2005 to address the continuing loss of habitat suitable for quail and the subsequent quail population decline.
QF chapters promote local, state, and federal conservation programs that help landowners protect environmentally sensitive acres for quail and other wildlife. They also employ the organization's unique model of empowering local chapters with 100 percent control of the chapters' locally-raised funds to complete habitat and youth education projects in the chapters' own communities.
In taking their name from the popular Covey Rise publication, which began in Alexander City six years ago, the Alabama Covey Rise chapter will expand upon the quail conservation efforts that they have already started with members of the magazine. Focusing their habitat restoration projects within these central Alabama counties, this chapter hopes to improve what is currently unsuitable habitat into the model quail habitat conditions of the past.
"Back in the 1950's and 60's, a quail hunter could take his dogs around this part of Alabama and find plenty coveys of quail," explained Kim N. Price, the first PF/QF National Board member from the Southeast and the publisher of Covey Rise. "But that isn't the case anymore. I grew up here hunting quail with my brother, our father and grandfathers, and the loss of quail in this part of Alabama has been severe. This chapter was started because a lot of quail hunters miss those days and has a great desire to bring back the bobwhite to this area. That is why something has to be done about the condition of the local habitat."
By working closely with local community members and private landowners, the Alabama Covey Rise Chapter wants to bring about awareness to the importance of wildlife habitat while also administering habitat restoration and management practices. "People in most of the state have to go to a private preserve to hunt in order to enjoy bobwhite quail," said Price, "Wild bird hunting is an amazing thing to do and our goal is to one day have that be the norm around here, but it all starts from the ground up, the habitat has to come first."
Northern Bobwhite populations in Alabama, like much of the bobwhite's range in the Southeast, have declined in many cases as much as 90 percent due to loss of habitat, fence-row-to-fence row farming practices, loss of Conservation Reserve Program acres and timber issues like overgrown canopies. Price said the group will work with the Alabama Quail Council to implement step down plans from the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative.
The chapter is comprised of several local quail enthusiasts, business men and women who have similar concerns for quail restoration, the loss of valuable habitat and getting youth involved in the outdoors through the No Child Left Indoors national program.
"We are really excited about the prospects for this chapter, recruiting new members in this part of Alabama and getting new quail habitat on the ground," said John Thames, the chapter's president, "Most of us have to hunt at game preserves to get a chance to shoot quail, and even those of us who work dogs, seldom find suitable habitat where quail still exist. We know with the enthusiasm at the chapter level that we can overcome these habitat issues."
The Alabama Covey Rise chapter has also elected Kelly Waldrop as vice president, Will Thames as treasurer, Steve Forehand as habitat chair and Joey Holley as the youth/education chair. Members of the executive committee helping plan the fundraising banquet are John Thames, Kelley Waldrop, Joey Holley, Will Thames, Steve Forehand, Dawson Holman, Tim Price, Roger Holliday, Gordon Forbus, Kim Price, Tom Young, Jr., Dr. John Blythe, Steve Cotney, Blaine Tharpe, Becky Wood and Michelle Isenberg. To join the chapter or for more information on tickets or sponsorships for the banquet, contact John Thames at (256)749-1301or via email at John@thamesconstructionllc.com, or any member of the committee listed above.
From 1980 to present, bobwhites declined range-wide by an average of nearly 70%, and much more in specific states. In fact, the Northern Bobwhite Quail topped the National Audubon Society's List of Top 20 Common Birds in Decline. The National Audubon Society stated the northern bobwhite quail has declined by a staggering 82 percent during the past four decades. Nationwide, quail numbers have fallen from an estimated 31 million in 1967 to just 5.5 million today.
Since the organization's inception, over 100 QF chapters have formed in 26 different states. The QF mission is accomplished through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, education, and conservation advocacy.
