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USDA Secretary Delivers Welcome CRP News to Pheasants, Quail, and Hunters
New CRP General Signup Announced along with new acres for CP 33, CP 37, & CP 38.

Pheasants Forever

Des Moines, Iowa - -(AmmoLand.com)- Today at Pheasants Forever’s National Pheasant Fest, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced plans for a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general signup.

Secretary Vilsack also announced increased acreage allotments for three CRP practices significant to wildlife, and then signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pheasants Forever.

The new general CRP signup slated for later this year will be the first general signup since 2006. It arrives in time to address the 4.4 million acres of CRP expiring on September 30, 2010. An additional 14.2 million acres of CRP are slated to expire between 2011 and 2013.

“Last week at a Pheasants Forever event is southern Minnesota, Secretary Vilsack indicated his intent to keep CRP at, or nearly fully enrolled at, the program’s authorized level of 32 million acres. Today the Secretary outlined just how he intends to accomplish that by utilizing both a general signup and increased allocations for continuous CRP practices targeted at benefitting pheasants, quail, and waterfowl,” reported Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever’s Vice President of Government Affairs. “Considering the severity of this winter and sizeable number of acres set to expire from CRP this year, the Secretary’s announcement is very welcome news for wildlife and hunters. USDA’s actions today will benefit birds tomorrow with newly allocated CP-33’s, 37’s, and 38’s (SAFE) being available on March 15, 2010.”

During his keynote address in front of 800 attendees, Secretary Vilsack outlined the new acreage caps for three critical CRP practices at or approaching current limits.

• Conservation Practice 33: Known as the “Upland Bird Habitat Buffers” or “Bobwhite Buffers” practice, more than 219,000 of the 250,000 acres allocated in the program have been enrolled nationwide. The newly announced 100,000 acres will be distributed among Midwest and Southern states
• Conservation Practice 37: This “Duck Nesting Habitat Initiative” practice has 87,000 acres currently enrolled in the Prairie Pothole Region states of Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. Today’s newly announced 50,000 acres includes 25,000 acres for North Dakota, and an additional 15,000 acres for South Dakota.
• Conservation Practice 38: Also known as the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement program (SAFE), this conservation practice focuses on environmentally sensitive land, as well as species that have suffered significant population declines and/or are considered to be socially or economically valuable. This is the newest CRP practice, but states like Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota were already maxed out or were quickly approaching their acreage caps. An additional 150,000 SAFE acres have been allocated benefitting a wide array of species. States and target species include North Dakota pheasants, South Dakota grassland birds, Idaho Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, Minnesota pheasants, Mississippi bobwhite quail, Nebraska upland habitats, Iowa pheasants and upland birds, Illinois pheasants and upland habitat, and Georgia bobwhite quail. Currently, more than 253,000 acres are enrolled in 34 states.

“When President Obama took office, we asked his Administration for a new general CRP signup, new SAFE acres, and new CP 33 acres for quail,” explained Nomsen. “Today, Secretary Vilsack and President Obama delivered us these critical tools needed to put habitat back on the ground, birds in the air, and hunters in the field.”

Secretary Vilsack also signed a first ever MOU between the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, and Pheasants Forever. The MOU establishes the framework for the three groups to work together in partnership toward common goals; specifically the implementation of Farm Bill conservation programs. The MOU facilitates the free flow of information among the groups and provides a foundation for Pheasants Forever to deliver conservation technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, and landowners.

The MOU will allow Pheasants Forever to facilitate expansion of its current Farm Bill Biologist program, which has proven an effective method for assisting landowners in implementing conservation practices on their property. Pheasants Forever, along with other state wildlife partners, currently employ 50 Farm Bill and Partner Biologists in eight states. To date, Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologists have contacted and consulted 30,000 landowners, resulting in the improvement of 1.3 million acres of land for wildlife.

National Pheasant Fest 2010 wraps up on Sunday, February 28th with show hours of 10AM to 5PM. Tickets are available at the Iowa Events Center.

For additional information about Pheasants Forever, visit www.PheasantsForever.org

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Quail Forever Doubles Down in Tennessee with New Chapters
“The Volunteer State” Now Home to Seven Volunteer Chapters of Quail Forever

Quail Forever

Knoxville, Tenn. – Tennessee is home to a new pair of Quail Forever chapters. Quail enthusiasts in Knox County formed Smoky Mountain Quail Forever, while Maury County quail hunters and conservationists formed Duck River Quail Forever.

Both groups set out with the common goal of improving habitat for a Tennessee species in great need, the bobwhite quail.

As Quail Forever chapters, the Smoky Mountain and Duck River groups 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.

“Bobwhite quail populations won’t rebound by themselves. It takes people who care about quail, care about rolling up their sleeves and doing the necessary habitat work, and care about showing younger generations there is excitement beyond a box and a plug-in,” said Tim Caughran, regional wildlife biologist for Quail Forever in Tennessee. “I’m proud to say such quail folk call Knox and Maury Counties home.”

Smoky Mountain Quail Forever
This Knox County group already calls some serious quail conservationists members, and according to the chapter’s president, Mike Cable of Knoxville, will be digging into its first wildlife habitat projects this March.

• Chapter leaders include Joseph Justice, treasurer, from Knoxville; Jim Horton, youth/education chair, from Maryville; and Greg McDaniel, habitat chair, also from Maryville.
• For more information or to become a member of the Smoky Mountain Quail Forever chapter, contact Mike Cable at 865-809-4588 or via email at 428scj@charter.net.

Duck River Quail Forever
Working alongside one of the most biologically diverse river systems in North America, the Duck River Quail Forever chapter is optimistic about increasing quail populations and augmenting the work of state and federal wildlife agencies.

“We would like to work with wildlife professionals in the areas surrounding Duck River to improve upland habitat for quail and other wildlife,” said Bob Tarter, treasurer of the Duck River chapter. “We are fortunate to be located in such a naturally diverse area, and we think this will bode well for quail in the years to come.”

• For more information or to become a member of the Duck River Quail Forever chapter, contact Bob Tarter at 901-212-1453 or via email at Bob@nhecm.com.

Quail Forever is the quail division of Pheasants Forever. Tennessee is home seven Quail Forever chapters. For more information about Quail Forever in Tennessee, contact Tim Caughran at 618-467-2586 and tcaughran@quailforever.org.

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