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Brown County Makes Kansas a Quail Forever 10 Spot
Quail Forever – National Conservation Leadership with Local Wildlife Habitat Results.

Quail Forever

Hiawatha, Kan. --(AmmoLand.com)- Brown County in northeast Kansas is home to the nation’s newest Quail Forever chapter and the 10th in the state. Bobwhite quail conservationists and hunters formed Brown County Quail Forever to lead a local charge to reestablish quail habitat in the region.

As a Quail Forever chapter, the Brown County group will utilize Quail Forever’s local approach to wildlife habitat conservation. Unlike other national conservation organizations, Quail Forever gives local Quail Forever chapters the ability to decide how 100 percent of their fundraised dollars are spent. This local control gives chapters and members the ability to make things happen for wildlife in their communities, while belonging to a national organization that gives wildlife and conservation a voice in Washington, D.C.

Quail conservation isn’t a new idea to members of Brown County Quail Forever. “Some of the members in our new chapter have over 28 years of experience with quail management projects,” said Bill Vonderschmidt, president of the Brown County group. “Our dedication to wildlife habitat will hopefully restore bobwhite quail populations to our region, as well as provide benefits for many other wildlife species.”

Not only is Brown County Quail Forever involved with habitat conservation, but they also strive to provide the community with ample chapter support and outdoor opportunities for the younger generation. “On the 21st of August, we’ll host a youth hunt for boys and girls between the ages of 11-16 to provide a great opportunity to introduce kids to the outdoors,” said Vonderschmidt, “We’ll also provide two scholarships for high school students as a way to support our hunting communities throughout the region.”

Brown County Quail Forever Chapter
· Larry Weast of Hiawatha has been named the chapter’s youth/education chair and Randy Fee of Hiawatha has been named the chapter’s treasurer.
· The chapter’s first annual banquet fundraiser is scheduled for November 12, 2010, at the Fisher Center in Hiawatha, Kansas, starting at 6 PM. Contact chapter for tickets and details.
· The next chapter meeting will be held April 6th at 7 PM at the Gas Service Center in Hiawatha.
· To join Brown County Quail Forever and for more information about the chapter, contact Bill Vonderschmidt at 785.224.0816 and wvonderschmidt@gmail.com.

Kansas is home to 10 Quail Forever chapters, 41 Pheasants Forever chapters and 6,000 members of “The Habitat Organization.” For more information about Quail Forever in Kansas, contact Jordan Martincich, Quail Forever Regional Field Representative, at 785.242.3175 and jmartincich@quailforever.org.

Quail Forever is dedicated to the protection and enhancement of quail, pheasant and other upland wildlife through habitat improvement, public awareness, education and advocacy for sound land management policy.
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For additional information please visit www.QuailForever.org

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Quail Forever’s Third Annual No Child Left Indoors National Awards
Awards honor chapter efforts in fostering youth involvement in the outdoors…

Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever

Saint Paul, Minn. - -(AmmoLand.com)- Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have honored three local chapters for their efforts to introduce youth to the outdoors and create the next generation of hunters and conservationists.

Recipients of the third annual No Child Left Indoors® National Awards include the Mahaska County (Iowa) Pheasants Forever chapter, the Illinois Pioneer Pheasants Forever chapter and the Great River Area (Illinois/Iowa) Quail Forever chapter.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s No Child Left Indoors initiative is the organization’s national effort to engage youngsters in outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing and camping. The No Child Left Indoors® National Awards recognize chapters for their youth habitat projects, youth and family community events and youth outdoor education programs.

“These chapters have shown the ultimate commitment to promoting youth activities and getting kids involved in the outdoors,” said Cheryl Riley, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Vice President of Education and Outreach.

Great River Area Quail Forever Chapter
This chapter does youth work on both sides of the Mississippi River – in Illinois and Iowa. From presentations to high school kids, an FFA banquet, hunter safety programs and youth fishing tournaments, Great River Area Quail Forever chapter members engaged youth and talked about habitat and the needs of quail. The chapter also held its first mentored youth hunt last September.

Mahaska County Pheasants Forever Chapter
Each spring, the Mahaska County Pheasants Forever chapter sponsors an outdoor day that includes every 5th grade student in the county, 350-plus students. In the fall, the chapter hosts a field day which over 200 youth attend and everyone goes home with a Pheasants Forever Ringnecks (youth) membership. The chapter also sponsors an Iowa Youth Hunter Education Challenge Team as well as a scholastic shooting team that had 60 participants this past year. Last year, chapter expenditures on youth programs topped $16,000.

The Mahaska County Pheasants Forever chapter’s youth coordinator is Mahaska High School student Brooks VanDerBeek. Brooks’ dad, Jeff, is president of the chapter. Brooks serves on Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s National Youth Leadership Council and recently helped form the first-ever high school student Pheasants Forever chapter in the country, the Oskaloosa Pioneering Ringnecks. Brooks’ efforts have earned him the Izaak Walton Iowa Youth Conservationist of the Year award, and he was named a “Hero of Conservation” in the current issue of Field and Stream magazine.

Illinois Pioneer Pheasants Forever Chapter
The Illinois Pioneer Pheasants Forever chapter held 11 events in 2009 as part of its “Young Guns” program, involving members, women, FFA, scouts and families in trap and skeet shoots, a fishing derby, a hunter safety course, a rifle shoot and a youth mentor hunt. In 2009, the Illinois Pioneer chapter spent approximately $31,000 on youth programs. There are 290 youth members in “Young Guns” and this year they will be working on an 80-acre habitat restoration project. The chapter credits the “Young Guns” program in making its annual fundraising banquet last spring the largest in its 25-year history. Original “Young Guns” Ben Magers and Kirstin Blackford helped create and serve on the newly formed Illinois Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever State Youth Leadership Council, and each was recognized as a 2009 Environmental Hero by the Illinois Governor.

For more about Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s No Child Left Indoors® initiative, contact Cheryl Riley at criley@pheasantsforever.org and 651.209.4975.

Pheasants Forever and its quail division, Quail Forever, is a non-profit conservation organization is dedicated to the conservation of pheasants, quail and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies and programs. Pheasants Forever has more than 120,000 members in 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada.

For additional information please visit www.PheasantsForever.org and www.QuailForever.org

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