Attention landowners! The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is now open! CRP is a great opportunity for those hard-to-farm acres. It also helps improve a farm’s profitability, delivers high quality wildlife habitat, cleaner water, and healthier soils. The CRP general sign up is going on right now through March 29th. Find a local Pheasants Forever biologist at the link in our bio or visit your local USDA service center. FARM THE BEST, CRP THE REST! #quailforever #wildlifehabitat #farming #crp

Quail Fact Friday!💡 In March 1806, on the return journey up the Columbia River, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition shot a previously undescribed species of quail near Beacon Rock, 10 miles east of today’s Portland. Lewis wrote, “last evening Reuben Fields killed a bird of the quail kind… it is rather larger than the quail or partridge as they are called in Virginia… this is a most beautiful bird.” A specimen of this bird was subsequently given to the famous illustrator, Charles Willson Peale, and included in a series of sketches of wildlife encountered by the expedition. The bird was eventually taxonomically described as Oreortyx pictus (oreo = Greek for mountain and pict = Latin for painted) or mountain quail. Written evidence relating to the original distribution of mountain quail in this area indicated that the birds were found from the Oregon Coast Range to the Cascades along the Columbia River and southward. Today mountain quail have five recognized subspecies that are found as far south as the Baja California Peninsula and as far north as Washington. #quailforever #quail #mountainquail #quailfactfriday

Welcome to the spring issue of Quail Forever Journal! Join us as we celebrate the arrival of spring with stories of boots on the ground conservation, a young biologist’s first encounter with bobwhites, and a hunter’s lifelong passion for heartland quail. From the rolling hills of the Midwest to the sun-drenched plains of the Southwest and the pine plantations of the Southeast, our pages are filled with inspiration for all who cherish the beauty of quail country. Join us in our mission to preserve and protect quail and quail habitat across the country! Renew your membership or join by March 12th to get this issue delivered to your mailbox. ~Ryan Sparks, Quail Forever Journal Editor Link in bio to become a member today! #quailforever #quail #quailforeverjournal

Today, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary Robert Bonnie announced a new national initiative to advance private lands conservation for the northern bobwhite quail, as well as for grasslands across the east-central United States. The Northern Bobwhite Pilot Project (NBPP) will dedicate funding specifically to bobwhite quail habitat, creating an unprecedented investment in the species’ future. The announcement came as part of Bonnie’s remarks at the 2024 National Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. “The USDA has a long track record of fostering and supporting the vital relationship between agriculture and conservation, and the new Northern Bobwhite Pilot Project helps our producers be good stewards of their lands and boost wildlife populations at the same time,” Bonnie said. “These efforts demonstrate the power of USDA’s Farm Bill conservation programs to conserve wildlife habitat, protect clean water and address climate change in partnership with farmers, ranchers, forest owners and conservation organizations, like Quail Forever, across the country.” Learn more about this historical project at the link in our bio. #bobwhitequail #quail #quailforever #pheasantsforever