PORTLAND, OR — The Buffalo, Missouri-based Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation (QUWF) stepped up support of national efforts to restore wild bobwhite quail populations recently, signing a formal agreement in support of the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) during the annual meeting of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies.</p> <p>In the agreement, signed by QUWF Founder/Executive Director Craig Alderman and NBCI Management Board Chairman Dr. Jon Gassett during a regular meeting of the management board, the organization pledged to adopt and work with their local chapters to provide on-the-ground support of the NBCI Model Focal Area program in their respective states. The focal area approach is the new strategy being developed by the wildlife management agencies of the 25 NBCI-member states to increase wild quail populations at a landscape level.</p> <p>“QUWF is dedicated to improving habitat for multiple species of upland game, from deer and turkey to quail and rabbits,” said Alderman. “Everything done to help quail also helps other upland species in some way, and this gives our chapters the opportunity to leverage our impact on the habitat.”</p> <p>“From the beginning we’ve been very clear that the coordinated, on-the-ground support from our private conservation partners would be crucial in improving wild bobwhite quail numbers at the landscape scale,” said NBCI Director Don McKenzie. “NBCI and the states look forward to identifying specific focal areas in the bobwhite range where QUWF chapters can target on-the-ground support. This is another big step for wild bobwhite restoration.</p> <p>Founded in 2009, the Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) conservation organization that emphasizes and supports the work of its chapters to create and manage upland habitat at the local level. For more information or to join QUWF, visit the organization’s website at www.quwf.net.</p> <p>Headquartered at the University of Tennessee, NBCI is a project of the National Bobwhite Technical Committee (NBTC) to elevate bobwhite quail recovery from an individual state-by-state proposition to a range-wide, policy-level leadership endeavor. The committee is comprised of representatives of state fish and wildlife agencies, academic research institutions and non-governmental conservation organizations. NBCI is funded by the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, the state wildlife management agencies, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Quail Coalition and Southern Company. For more information, please visit this link
