Sensations of Spring
More snow covered the open prairies of Nebraska this winter than I can recall from the past decade. In turn, the anticipation for turkey season seemed to build much deeper than usual.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are proud to announce the hiring of Shelly Wiggam as Kansas state coordinator. In her new role, Wiggam will drive Kansas habitat programs, lead a talented team of field staff, and work closely with partners to ensure habitat conservation continues to be recognized as a critically important driver of abundant wildlife populations, sustainable agriculture, healthy soil, and clean water. “The Kansas state coordinator position is not a dream job for me – it is who I am and what I have been working toward since the age of eleven when I started volunteering for conservation organizations,” Wiggam said. “My upbringing, education, working relationships, research, and outreach endeavors all focus on supporting ranchers and farmers for implementing conservation-based management that works for them and the wildlife on lands they steward – I’m exceptionally humbled and excited to be given the trust and support to lead our Kansas Team, as well as help drive conservation in the Central Great Plains for The Habitat Organization.” Learn more about Shelly and her new role at the 🔗 link below. https://bit.ly/41d0yFj

As spring moves forward, land managers will begin to turn their attention to food and cover plots that will support wildlife during the upcoming winter’s inclement weather conditions. For many of us, sorghum is the cover of choice for a variety of reasons – food, thermal cover, loafing cover, etc. But keep in mind that not all sorghum varieties are created equal. Aside from color variations in the seeds such as red, orange, bronze, tan, white, and black, there are different applications that can affect the outcome of your hard work. Read more at the 🔗 link below. United Sorghum Checkoff Program

If it were up to you to name this Scaled Quail x Gambel's Quail hybrid, what would you call it? Katie Willis, in her own words details the story behind the quail in the photo: "The first thing I came to understand about Pepper is that he knew his way, with absolute perfection, around grilling up jalapeño chukar poppers. Over the course of an evening where a group of strangers invited me into their home for a meal, I came to know more. This group was introduced to me through quail and birddogs. We laughed, exchanged histories and offered pets to a pair of ever swirling labradors as they passed by the table. We talked about hunting the Arizona Borderlands, but the thirty plus year age gap left us walking different terrain. Days later, our paths would cross again. I had been offered the use of the washer/dryer in the casita Pepper and the rest of the group shared each winter. He saw me come in and excitedly shouted “Katie, Katie, you have to see this!” He brought forth a plastic grocery bag and pulled from it a small feathered body. At first glance a Gambels Quail, but the top knot of feather was not a comma. It was auburn tuft. The flank feathers possessed the characteristic white stripe dividing an elongated ruddy plume but across the breast, a dusty blue edges scalloped and split by a black arrow only found on a Scaled Quail. “It’s a mix, Katie, a mix!” Pepper shouted as I rolled in my hands a creation I didn’t know could exist. My word, I wanted him to tell me where he found it. I was overwhelmed with jealousy. Then I looked up to see the bright sparkle of eyes who witnessed the most pitched battles in the Vietnam War, the animation coursing through a body whose knees and hips had long since become a source of confinement instead of freedom. There was no better person to hold this magical quail than a man called Pepper. I drank in one last look, took a terrible cell phone photo and handed it back. “Thank you for showing me Pepper, that is really quite something.” #quailforever #quailhunting #scaledquail #gambelsquail #quail

Pheasants Forever Promotes Emily Spolyar to North Dakota State Coordinator
Managing ND team members, habitat programs, and advocacy efforts