Quail Forever was born on this date in 2005! Today, we celebrate 19 years of conservation successes and want to THANK all our members, volunteers, partners, and donors. In FY2024, Quail Forever met with 13,235 landowners to improve 704,580 acres across the quail range! Combined with 305,865 acres of restored and enhanced habitat through strike teams, prescribed burn associations, and habitat project contracting, the organization pushed the limits of its work into the 1-million-acre realm. QF also hired its first-ever dedicated state policy manager so we can be more effective closer to home, and have worked tirelessly to ensure upland policy priorities for quail and other wildlife are included in the next Farm Bill. Across the quail range, it’s imperative we plant and nurture the seeds for the roots of a better future. A future where we conserve America’s cherished uplands and work together to restore the critical, early successional habitat required for our favorite bird to thrive. #quailforever

Quail Fact Friday!💡 Did you know that all quail species typically only lay around one egg per day? So how do quail hatch at the same time? The answer is a fascinating one: after being laid, the embryo inside an egg pauses development until it reaches “physiological zero.” In humans, the term physiological zero refers to the temperature that your skin will perceive as neither warm nor cold and is around 80 degrees. For birds like quail, eggs that are cooler than their physiological zero will remain in a kind of suspended animation until they reach the proper temperature by being incubated by their mother. This is crucial for quail because they lay large clutches of eggs. It allows them to lay around one egg a day for up to several weeks, then start incubating them all at once. After the required incubation period, the entire clutch hatches within a few hours of each other, even though the earlier eggs are many days older than the last eggs that were laid. Incredible! #quailforever #quail #quailfactfriday

On The Wing Podcast Ep. 277: U.S. Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow on Farm Bill, is live. Listen now at the link below, or wherever you get your podcasts. https://bit.ly/4dyzWoL Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Vice President of Government Affairs Ariel Wiegard for a conversation in Washington, D.C. with U.S. Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow focused on farm bill legislation. A democrat from Michigan, Chairwoman Stabenow talks about the bi-partisan nature of the farm bill’s conservation title II and the legislation’s intersection between farming, ranching, hunting, and fishing. Episode Highlights: - St.Pierre plays a fun game of “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” based upon a famous baseball player from Senator Stabenow’s hometown of Clare, Michigan. - Chairwoman Stabenow explains how her proposed farm bill legislation would increase funding and acres for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). - Chairwoman Stabenow talks about the importance of seizing the opportunity to integrate Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding into the farm bill’s conservation baseline before the end of the year or else that opportunity disappears forever.

On The Wing Podcast Ep. 276: U.S. House Agriculture Chair Glenn “G.T.” Thompson on Farm Bill, is live. Listen now at the link below, or wherever you get your podcasts. https://bit.ly/46B8kwW Host Bob St.Pierre is joined by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Vice President of Government Affairs Ariel Wiegard for a conversation in Washington, D.C. with U.S. House Agriculture Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson focused on farm bill legislation. A republican from rural Pennsylvania, Chairman Thompson talks about the bi-partisan nature of the farm bill’s conservation title II and the legislation’s intersection between farming, ranching, hunting, and fishing. Episode Highlights: - Chairman Thompson kicks off the conversation with a story of how his shotgun ended up in Jamaica on his way to a duck hunt in Arkansas that nearly resulted in him bringing home a new Labrador retriever puppy from a Ducks Unlimited banquet. - Chairman Thompson talks about his work on the House’s farm bill language that includes improved soil rental rates for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and a tripling in funding for Voluntary Public Access – Habitat Incentives Program (VPA-HIP). - Chairman Thompson also “handicaps the race” to get a new farm bill across the finish line before the current bill expires.

Picture this: One evening you’re walking through a field of excellent quail habitat you helped create, whistling back and forth with a bobwhite, when you take a few steps and a bird flushes off into the horizon, confirming all the habitat work you put in was worth it. That’s exactly what PF & QF Permanent Habitat Protection Programs Manager John Laux did on his family farm in Nebraska, and we’re just happy he decided to get his phone out to show us. #quailforever #bobwhite #quail

Why do Java developers wear glasses?... Because they can’t C#. If that made you grin (or role your eyes) and you know your CRMs from your CRPs and understand the importance of Azure and public access, we might have the perfect job available for you! We are currently seeking a candidate for Vice President of Information Technology for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. To learn more and apply head to the link below. https://bit.ly/3SB7NWh