Quail, songbird workshop set for private landowners
Jan. 10, 2007
MORRILTON – Improving the NaturalState’s bobwhite quail population is an ongoing goal of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, but private landowners also have a part to play in the effort.
Private landowners will be the target audience at the “Quail and Songbird Habitat Workshop” on Jan. 26-27 at the WinthropRockefellerCenter in Morrilton.
Experts from AGFC, Arkansas Forestry Commission, The Nature Conservancy, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service and Audubon Arkansas will be on hand to offer instruction and advice on how best to manage land to benefit quail and songbirds.
“We’ll be covering all aspects of quail management and biology,” said Steven Fowler, AGFC quail program coordinator. Fowler will present a workshop session about biology and habitat requirements for quail.
“If you’re a private landowner who’s interested in managing your land for quail or songbirds, you will learn an awful lot at this workshop,” Fowler added. “And not only will you learn about management, you’ll learn where to go to get even more information about how to effectively manage for quail and songbirds.”
The workshop begins Friday, Jan. 26 with an optional bird outing at Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge. A dinner program will be held that evening with Don McKenzie, the national coordinator of the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, who will present an overview of quail conservation in Arkansas and around the country.
The workshop resumes Saturday, Jan. 27 with a full slate of seminars, including biology and habitat requirements for quail and other bird species, open-land quail management practices, incentive programs for landowners, managing pastures and hay lands for livestock and wildlife, forest management practices, prescribed burning practices and forest stewardship planning for wildlife restoration. Attendees also will hear from a private landowner who is implementing a management plan on his property.
The cost ranges from $32.33 (Jan. 26 dinner program only) to $125 (complete workshop and lodging). More information is available by calling the Winthrop Rockefeller Center at 501-727-5435. On-line registration is available at www.wrcenter.net. The registration deadline is Jan. 19.