Alabama's Kim Price Brings Quail Expertise to National Board

Covey Rise Publisher Elected to Pheasants Forever's National Board of Directors

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ST. PAUL, MN - September 27, 2006 - Quail Forever (QF) announces that Kim N. Price, 52, of Alexander City, Alabama has been elected to the Pheasants Forever (PF) National Board of Directors. Price is the publisher and editor of Covey Rise, a monthly magazine devoted to quail. He is also the chairman of the Alabama Quail Council.

Price becomes the first member of the PF Board to hail from a state not within the U.S. pheasant range. "Kim will provide expert insight, leadership, and passion for our quail efforts at the National Board level. We believe it is very important to have voices from the heart of quail country on the board, and today our 69 Quail Forever chapters gained a champion and a powerful leader for the future of Quail Forever, Pheasants Forever, and wildlife habitat conservation," reported PF & QF's Chairman of the Board Charlie McLravy.

On August 10, 2005, Quail Forever was formed by PF to address the massive losses of quail habitat and the subsequent quail population decline. Bobwhite population losses over the past 25 years range from 60 to 90 percent across the country.

The reason for the quail population plunge is simple - massive losses of habitat suitable for quail. Since QF's inception thirteen months ago, 69 Quail Forever chapters have formed in 23 different states. "I'm honored to join the Quail Forever and Pheasants Forever team to help the bobwhite. It is a passion that I take seriously. Getting on-the-ground habitat dollars in place is why Pheasants Forever has been so successful, and that is why Quail Forever is growing so rapidly. No other conservation organization has such a model to follow, and having 69 chapters in 23 different states is an unbelievable start for an organization barely a year old," explained Price.

"Throughout the range of the bobwhite, Quail Forever will provide a blueprint for locally-empowered chapters to help restore bobwhite populations through local habitat efforts." Price and his brother Tim began publishing Covey Rise in 2002. They grew up quail hunting with their father when the bobwhite was the undisputed king of game birds.

They began Covey Rise to help stop the bobwhite's decline and to help landowners create habitat to restore populations. Today, Covey Rise serves 46 states and more than 10,000 readers dedicated to the restoration of bobwhite quail populations. "Bobwhite restoration is not going to be resolved overnight. But the momentum is there. Armed with the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative and a successful Pheasants Forever model, these local Quail Forever chapters can help establish suitable quail habitat and expand hunting opportunities for thousands of quail hunters," added Price.

"Quail numbers have declined because of lost habitat. So have the number of quail hunters. Quail Forever chapters provide an arena for these hunters to re-enter the game. Their efforts are necessary, particularly in the Deep South, if the restoration work for bobwhites is to be successful. I am looking forward to helping establish these new chapters throughout the Deep South, because there is so much opportunity here and it is the place I learned to love quail hunting." QF applies the successful PF model of empowering local chapters with the responsibility to determine how 100 percent of their locally-raised conservation funds will be spent.

QF and PF are the only national conservation organizations that operate through this truly grassroots structure. This local control allows members to see the fruits of their chapter efforts in their own communities, while belonging to a national organization with a voice on federal conservation policy in Washington D.C. PF was formed in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1982.

PF and QF are non-profit conservation organizations dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant, quail, and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, and education. Such efforts benefit landowners and wildlife alike.

There are over 115,000 PF and QF members in over 670 chapters across the continent. Known as "The Habitat Organization," PF and QF chapters have spent nearly $200 million to complete 325,000 habitat projects since 1982.

Over 4 million acres across the country have been improved for wildlife as a result of those efforts. If you'd like a photo of Mr. Price, please reply to this email with a Photo Request.

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