Nashville Area Singing About New Quail Forever Chapter
Chapter kicking off autumn with clay shoot on Saturday, October 13th
Nashville, Tenn. – September 24, 2007 – Conservationists, quail hunters and
bird dog enthusiasts in the Nashville, Tennessee, area have formed the
state's newest Quail Forever (QF) chapter, the Nashville Basin Chapter of
QF.
The chapter will work to boost local quail populations by improving quail
habitat in Nashville's surrounding counties. "Currently, there are
essentially no wild quail to speak of, and that's because quality quail
habitat is nearly non-existent" said Chris Sarkowski, a resident of
Christiana and the chapter's newly-elected president. Just last fall, the
Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies – whose members
manage wildlife in 16 states, including the Tennessee Wildlife Resources
Agency - suggested the bird could disappear from some areas of the South by
2010.
"We have a group of people who enjoy the outdoors and want to make sure
that there will always be wild quail to hunt – and places to hunt them,"
Sarkowski said, "Nothing against the Midwest, but we don't want to have to
travel there to do our upland hunting."
The Nashville Basin chapter plans on improving habitat on public land,
including local Wildlife Management Areas. "By working on public areas, we
have opportunities to allow many more people to benefit from our work,"
Sarkowski added." The chapter also plans to work with private landowners on
the benefits of conservation practices.
"Creating habitat is the answer for bringing back quail in this area, and
the Nashville Basin is a group of dedicated Quail Forever members that
understand this and will do everything it takes to make it happen," said
Andy Edwards, QF Regional Wildlife Biologist in Tennessee.
The Nashville Basin chapter has also elected Todd Foutch of La Vergne as
treasurer. The chapter will hold its next meeting on Thursday, October 11,
at 6:30 PM at the First Presbyterian Church in Smyrna. The chapter will
also be holding a sporting clay shoot on Saturday, October 13th from 10 AM
to 2 PM at Long Meadows Farm in Greenbrier. The event is free, and open for
all to attend. For more details on both upcoming events, contact Chris
Sarkowski at (615)306-8565 or via email at sharpointe@comcast.net.
For more information on QF in Tennessee, to start a chapter or join one of
the state's seven existing chapters, contact Andy Edwards at (931)424-3211
or via email at aedwards@quailforever.org.
Pheasants Forever launched Quail Forever in August of 2005 to address the
continuing loss of habitat suitable for quail and the subsequent quail
population decline. QF chapters promote local, state, and federal
conservation programs that help landowners protect environmentally
sensitive acres for quail and other wildlife. They also employ the
organization's unique model of empowering local chapters with 100 percent
control of the chapters' locally-raised funds to complete habitat and youth
education projects in the chapters' own communities. Since the
organization's inception, 90 QF chapters have formed in 26 different
states. The QF mission is accomplished through habitat improvement, land
management, public awareness, education, and conservation advocacy.
-30-
For additional information about Quail Forever, please visit
www.QuailForever.org