Quality emphasized over quantity in habitat management bids

Quail Unlimited (QU) and Budweiser recently announced that they will continue to sponsor the Adopt-A-Covey Program introduced last year. In its inaugural year, almost 300 landowners participated, enrolling more than 100,000 acres in projects to enhance habitat for quail and other upland species. Each landowner submitted an enrollment form that was reviewed by a panel of judges, primarily state wildlife and QU biologists.

The quality of the management practices, not acreage, determined which submissions were enrolled. “One of the greatest benefits of the program was that completing enrollment forms caused landowners to do a self-evaluation of their properties," said Roger Wells, national habitat director for Quail Unlimited. "This created an increased awareness of habitat needs and provided the initiative to do even more habitat work.”

Each landowner who submits an enrollment form receives an attractive metal gate sign showing that they are good land stewards who practice sound wildlife management. They will also receive a wildlife management handbook detailing practices that are beneficial to quail and other upland species.

Last year’s Adopt-A-Covey National Award Winner was landowner Jeff Churan from Avalon, Missouri. He and his family actively manage a 320-acre farm for quail and other wildlife species. Unbeknownst to the Adopt-A-Covey judges, Churan had also been awarded the Budweiser Outdoorsman of the Year award for conservation efforts in 1997.

Enrollment forms and more information are available online. The 2007 application deadline is May 31.
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