Seminar to be held in conjunction with the 2014 Texas Farm-Ranch-Wildlife Expo
Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Robert Pritz, 325-672-6048, r-pritz@tamu.edu
ABILENE – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will conduct a free Quail Management Seminar at 9 a.m. Feb. 19 in the Western Heritage Ranch House, located on the Taylor County Expo grounds, 1700 Texas Highway 36 in Abilene.
Robert Pritz, AgriLife Extension agent in Taylor County, said the seminar is being held in conjunction with the 2014 Texas Farm-Ranch-Wildlife Expo, which runs from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Feb. 18 and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 19.
Dr. Dale Rollins, statewide coordinator for the Reversing the Quail Decline Initiative, who with Pritz is coordinating the educational program, said the seminar is timely as most of the state has seen a steady decline of birds for several years now.
“The decline of quail numbers across the Big Country, especially since 2007, has prompted much chagrin among area hunters, but it’s also responsible for spurring a call to action on behalf of our research partners,” Rollins said. “This educational opportunity affords us an excellent venue for updating area ranchers and other quail enthusiasts on several research efforts currently underway.”
Rollins said those research project updates will include “Operation Idiopathic Decline,” which encompasses eight research projects aimed at finding the root cause of the decline in quail numbers.
It will also include “Operation Transfusion,” an effort to move wild-caught bobwhite and blue or scaled quail from areas with healthy populations to areas without quail.
Other educational and research efforts to be discussed will include the Texas Quail Index, QuailMasters and a series of upcoming Quail Appreciation Days.
Testimonials will also play a part in the seminar, Rollins said. These will include remarks from past participants in the QuailMasters program series, which is aimed at serious students of quail ecology and management. Other remarks will come from an alumni cadet from one of AgriLife Extension’s long-running Bobwhite Brigade youth leadership camps.
The seminar will end with a panel of landowners who represent exceptions to the quail decline issue.
“Even though quail numbers have waned in most areas of the Big Country, there are some notable outliers,” Rollins said of the panelists. “Area ranchers Paul Melton of Roby, Justin Trail of Albany and Steve Mayer of San Angelo all still have healthy quail populations. These men will share their observations and experiences over the past five years in hopes that others may be able to emulate their success. I predict the information they share will be a highlight of the day.”
Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered – one general and two integrated pest management.
For more information on the Quail Management Seminar or the 2014 Texas Farm-Ranch-Wildlife Expo, a collaborative effort between the Abilene Chamber of Commerce and AgriLife Extension, contact the AgriLife Extension office in Taylor County at 325-672-6048.
The Quail Management Seminar is made possible through the Reversing the Quail Decline Initiative, funded by the Texas legislature.
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