ABILENE — The bobwhite quail is here today but may be gone tomorrow.
To understand why, and what, if anything, can be done, the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and the Texas A&M University department of wildlife and fisheries sciences have organized a statewide symposium.
“Preserving Texas’ Quail Heritage into the 21st Century,” will be held Oct. 13-15 in the Abilene Civic Center, 415 Pine St.
“The bobwhite’s plaintive whistle is not nearly as common as it was 25 years ago,” said Dr. Dale Rollins, Extension wildlife specialist and symposium coordinator. “One quail biologist predicts that bobwhites will be extinct in the southeastern United States by the year 2005 — that’s just five years away. While those of us in West Texas may snicker at such dire predictions, quail hunters east of Interstate 35 don’t have any problems accepting it. And it appears that the ‘quail decline’ may be moving westward.
“Texas is the last frontier for wild quail hunting, and I encourage landowners not to rest on our laurels,” Rollins said.
“As quail hunters and land managers, we must try and halt, and hopefully reverse, the decline in bobwhite numbers. Education is a prerequisite. The goal of this symposium is to provide a forum that will ultimately result in a better ‘appreciation’ of Mr. Bobwhite and his habitat needs.
“The steering committee has planned a program that we believe provides a good foundation for quail managers and several controversial topics. The speakers bring with them a wealth of academic knowledge and practical experience.
“If you’re interested in quail, this is one conference you don’t want to miss. Seating is limited to the first 300 people who register, so make reservations early.”
The symposium opens Oct. 13 with an optional pre-conference tour on the Newell Ranch 2 miles west of Albany on Highway 180. The Brush Sculpting demonstration site will include plant identification, an explanation and examples of the Brush Sculpting program’s technique, prescribed burning, food plots, and dummy nest transects. The tour will adjourn to the Taylor County Extension Office at 5 p.m.
Registration for the formal program and a fish dinner are set for 7 p.m. at the Extension Office. The evening will end with a “Quail of Texas” slide show by Amarillo wildlife photographer Dick Wilberforce.
The Oct. 14 program begins at 8:30 a.m. with a pre-test for all participants. Session 1, “Some Basics,” starts at 8:45 a.m. under the direction of Tim Connolly, chairman of Texas Quail Unlimited, Wichita Falls. Speakers and their topics include: “Appreciating Quail,” and “Getting to Know Your Quail,” Rollins; “Key Plants for Quail,” Ricky Linex, range conservationist, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Abilene; “Introductory Population Dynamics,” Dr. Fred Guthery, Bollenbach Chair of Gamebird Research, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater; and “Quail and Real Estate Values in North Texas,” Phil McCormick, land appraiser, Eldorado. Session 1 concludes with an on-site noon lunch.
Session 2, “Habitat Concerns,” opens at 1:10 p.m. under the direction of specially invited guest Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Fame baseball pitcher. Speakers and topics include: “Usable Space: The Foundation for Quail Management,” Guthery; “Habitat 101 (30 Coveys a Day),” Justin Holloway, Bobwhite Brigade Cadet, Abilene; and “Troubleshooting Habitat Problems,” Rocky Vinson, Shackelford County Extension agent, and Alan Heirman, biologist, NRCS, both from Albany.
After a 3 p.m. break, the symposium resumes with Session 3, “Population Management,” with Gene Miller as moderator. Miller is a biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) at Amarillo. Speakers and topics include: “A Pattern to Bobwhite Irruptions in Northwest Texas”, Rollins; “Effects of Hunting on Quail Populations,” Steve DeMaso, upland game program leader, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Oklahoma City; and “Harvest Management: Is it an Issue?,” Dr. Markus Peterson, associate professor, Texas A&M University, College Station. The afternoon’s final presentation will be a point-counterpoint debate on predator management. Rollins will argue that predators are a management concern while Dr. Nova Silvy, professor at Texas A&M University, will argue that predators are an alibi for other management deficiencies.
The evening meal is scheduled for 7 p.m. under the direction of Marty Malin, an outdoor writer from Laredo. The evening session will open with a report from the Bobwhite Brigade delivered by two veterans of the educational youth camp, Callie Bunn of Stamford and Tom Ben Williams of Big Lake. The evening’s dinner speaker is Dr. Lenny Brennan, director of the Tall Timbers Research Station in Tallahassee, Fla. He will speak on the status of bobwhites in the United States.
The evening will end with the preliminaries of the “Texas Quail Calling Contest” under the direction of Chip Martin, regional director with Quail Unlimited, Anson.
Session 4, “Hands-on Management,” opens on Oct. 15. Moderator J.P. Hemphill, a Coleman rancher, will introduce these topics and speakers: “Food Plots for Quail,” Darcy Turner, Turner Seed Company, Breckenridge; “Supplemental Feeding Pros and Cons,” Silvy; and “Techniques for Estimating Quail Population Tends,” Dr. Neal Wilkins, Extension wildlife specialist, Texas A&M, College Station.
Following a 9:45 a..m. break, the session resumes with a number of concurrent sessions. Session A, Research Updates, is moderated by Extension agent Steve Sturtz of Glasscock County. Speakers and topics include: “The Packsaddle Wildlife Management Area Experiment,” DeMaso; “The South Texas Quail Project,” Dr. Andy Radomski, research scientist, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Kingsville; “Reproductive Ecology of Bobwhites in Shackelford County,” Dr. Fidel Hernandez, research scientist, Kingsville; “Does Prickly Pear Protect Quail Nests?,” Ken Cearley, research associate, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, San Angelo; and “Does Short-term Predator Control Affect Quail Survival?,” Jason Frost, graduate research assistant, Angelo State University, San Angelo.
Session B is a potpourri of topics moderated by Extension agent Robert Pritz of Callahan County. Speakers and topics include: “Quail Provisions of the ’96 Farm Bill,” Roger Wells, national habitat coordinator, Quail Unlimited, Americus, Kansas; “Quail and Fire Ants,” Dr. Brad Dabbert, assistant professor, Texas Tech University, Lubbock; “Season Lengths and Bag Limits: Too Long? Too Large?”, Dr. Markus Peterson, College Station; “Interpreting Harvest Records,” Dr. Will Cohen, Extension wildlife specialist, Corpus Christi; and “Aflatoxins: A Concern for Quail Managers?”, Wilkins.
Luncheon speaker Rocky Evans, executive director of Quail Unlimited from Augusta, S.C., will discuss the future of quail hunting. The lunch break will also feature the finals of the Texas Quail Calling Championship.
The final afternoon’s schedule will be devoted to two concurrent sessions. Session A is “Pen-Raised Quail: Are They the Future of Quail Hunting”, moderated by Coleman rancher Paul Jensen. Session B is “Marketing Quail Hunting”, moderated by Tamara Trail, Extension associate for wildlife, San Angelo.
Session A’s talks and speakers are to be: “The Case For Pen-Raised Quail,” Jim Evans, Quality Wildlife Services, Inc., Waynesboro, Georgia; “The Case Against Pen-Raised Quail,” Paul Melton, rancher, Roby; and “How to Enhance Performance of Pen-Raised Quail,” Dr. Fred Thornberry, Extension poultry specialist, College Station.
Session B’s topics and speakers include: “The Demand for Quail Hunting,” Tosh Brown, Sporting Charters, Austin; “How to Price a Quail Lease,” Justin Trail, Wildlife Systems Inc., San Angelo; and “Risk Management and Liability,” Judon Fambrough, professor, Real Estate Center, Texas A&M.
The symposium closes at 4 p.m. following post-test and program evaluations.
Participants are encouraged to pre-register. Pre-registration fees are $75 per person and must be received by Oct. 1. Registration after Oct. 1 and at the door will be $100 per person. Registration fees include a copy of the symposium proceedings, three meals and refreshments. Pre-registration for the optional pre-conference tour and fish dinner is $10 ($20 after Oct. 1). Refund requests must be made in writing by Sept. 15; no refunds will be given after this date.
A minimum of five Continuing Education Units will be available for persons holding a private pesticide applicator’s license with the Texas Department of Agriculture.
For further information contact Rollins at (915) 653-4576 or e-mail d-rollins@tamu.edu. A brochure and registration form can be downloaded from the Internet at <http://texnat.tamu.edu>.
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