Virginia’s Charles City Home to New Quail Forever Chapter
OutdoorHub 11.16.11
Charles City, Va. – Quail hunters and conservationists in eastern Virginia have formed the state’s newest Quail Forever chapter. The Colonial Quail Forever Chapter is committed to creating and improving habitat for bobwhite quail and other wildlife, and providing youth an opportunity to experience the outdoors.
Quail Forever is the quail conservation division of the national Pheasants Forever organization. Pheasants Forever launched Quail Forever in 2005 to address the continuing loss of habitat suitable for quail and the subsequent quail population decline. “If you have habitat, the rest will fall into place,” says Briscoe White, the Colonial chapter’s newly elected president. White, who is a Virginia native, a conservationist, and owner of The Grower’s Exchange, an online greenhouse, notes, “I have been a Pheasants Forever supporter for years, and after noticing the resurgence of quail in certain areas, we knew that the time was right to reinvest efforts in Virginia’s quail population and boost the numbers back to historical highs.”
Less than a month old, the chapter has set a persuasive goal of converting fringe utility grass and forest lands into suitable quail habitat. “There is a significant amount of land throughout Virginia that we would like to see rehabilitated for habitat use,” notes White, “Quail are near and dear to the hearts of Virginians, and we are looking forward to working with our community to once again build adequate quail numbers for years to come.”
“Although Virginia quail have seen tough times in the past, there is a feeling of optimism throughout the state’s hunting community,” says Charlie Payne, Quail Forever’s Regional Wildlife Biologist in Virginia, “Both private land owners and state organizations, like the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, are becoming driving forces in quail management and are making great strides in providing ample opportunity for quail to regain a foothold in the Virginia countryside.”
Colonial Quail Forever Chapter
- The Colonial chapter has also elected James A. Tyler Jr. of Charles City as Treasurer, David S. Hennaman III of Lanexa as Habitat Chair, and Philip Innes of Richmond as Youth/Education Chair.
- For more information about the Colonial chapter, including upcoming meetings and events, email Briscoe White. The chapter’s first meeting will be announced shortly on Virginia Quail Forever’s Facebook page.
For more information on “The Habitat Organization” in Virginia or how to start a Quail Forever chapter in your community, contact Charlie Payne, Quail Forever’s Regional Wildlife Biologist, at (614) 632-8393 / Email Charlie. For all other information, contact Rehan Nana, Public Relation Specialist for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, at (651) 209-4973 / Email Rehan.
Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 130,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent, the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure.
