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Shell’s Covert: Can’t See the Quail for the Feathers?

DSCF2419_feathers close up  
   

 

Recently, a small group of gamebird oriented non-governmental organizations, along with several Game and Inland Fisheries staff, met on a Saturday afternoon in Farmville. The meeting stemmed from a conversation between me and a Ruffed Grouse Society member all the way back at our national quail meeting in Roanoke in summer 2013.

The entire theme of that meeting was overlap – in mission, in habitat needs, in outreach, in communication, in audience, etc. between various conservation entities desiring more early-successional habitats. Early-successional habitat equals thickets, weeds, wild flowers, brush, native grasses and young forests. Our hope was that the many entities recognizing the need for such habitats could work together towards a unified, simple, direct and effective message promoting and encouraging cooperative efforts to create what we all want – more habitat to support the respective critters we want to see more of.

Take note of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, or the National Soybean Checkoff – both national advertising campaigns that don’t focus on the type of cow, or soybean, but rather on the common needs of them all. Our wildlife community lags behind many other entities in effective marketing. One reason is lack of funds. But that is not the only reason. I fear all too often we are guilty of not being able to see the quail for all the feathers, which is a weak attempt at humor and a re-statement of the proverbial “can’t see the forest for the trees.”

If you have read this blog over the years (yes, going on 5 years now) you have noticed that though it is on a quail website, and I am a quail oriented biologist, many of my posts have not been about quail. First, even as much as I love quail, I can’t write about them exclusively. But more importantly, I long ago recognized the importance of partnering and collaborative efforts. I also believe that as a community we tend to be small when divided into respective interests and it will only be through unified messaging that we will be able to affect the types of attitude changes necessary to bring about landscape level habitat recovery.

Many years ago while working as a private lands biologist with DGIF’s quail program, I had a couple of years of experience under my belt promoting quail habitat. One day while in Halifax County around lunchtime I developed a craving for country cooking. I stopped at Ernie’s Restaurant, an iconic mecca of deep fried southern food at the time. Upon exiting the buffet line I spied two Natural Resource Conservation Service employees sitting at a table. They spotted me and invited me to sit down and eat with them. Most of us eat on the road from a bag, but every now and then it is nice to actually sit down, eat and enjoy a conversation.

Our talk gravitated towards quail, and I expressed my frustrations in not understanding why more landowners were not interested in creating quail habitat. Mr. Eugene Morris, NRCS District Conservationist at the time cleared his throat in preparation to speak. Eugene was and is a man not prone to wasting words or beating around the proverbial bush. Mr. Morris stated in the eloquent Southside accent I have come to love (notwithstanding my mountain roots) “Marc, I hate to hit you in the forehead with a hammer, but most people don’t wake up in the morning thinking about wildlife, much less quail.”

I guess I must have looked a bit like a quail in the “headlights” of a fox, as I stopped chewing my chicken for a few seconds.  It took that message a few years to sink in. As devoted conservationists we each like to believe that there are masses of humanity out there longing to help our species if only they had the information and funding available to them. But the truth is when you divide us all up into our respective favorites – that is just not the case. There simply are not enough grouse, woodcock, quail, golden-winged warbler, honey bee, monarch, and regal-fritillary butterfly people in any one category to move the needle. That is my belief. You may disagree. I believe deeply that until we figure out how to unite better in our message and marketing, we’ll continue to fail divided. The “masses” out there tend to understand the value of mature forests. They are becoming better at understanding the value of wetlands. They lag far, far behind in coming to value what many still see as unsightly cut-overs, or brush in need of mowing.

The Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (of which VDGIF is a part), in conjunction with the Ruffed Grouse Society, the Wildlife Management Institute, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cornell University, the Nature Conservancy, Woodcock Unlimited, UP Wildlife Habitat Fund, and the Albany Pine Bush Preserve developed the Young Forest Initiative (I may not have them all listed, my apologies – as the YFI varies by region). This initiative is the best I have seen so far in terms of a united message about the value of young forests.

I hope we’ll take this concept a step further – is it time for a Young Habitats Initiative? Y-HI? As lovers of early-successional habitats, one thing we continue to struggle with is what to call our habitats that might resonate with more people. What I struggle with is how to connect the dots between weedy fields and continued human existence on this planet. I believe those connections exist, but most days, even for me, the next vet bill, or my daughter’s school tuition takes precedence.

We’ll keep plugging – one thing I learned in various leadership training events, more than charisma, more than flash, more than raw ability, more than being able to speak eloquently, there is no substitute for long-term, dogged determination.

Marc Puckett

Photo by Meghan Marchetti, VDWR

Marc Puckett is a Small Game Project Leader with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VDWR).

Marc has worked with VDWR for 25+ years. He currently serves as the small game project co-leader. He was involved in several quail studies, including for his master’s degree at NCSU. He served his country for four years in the US Army’s Airborne Infantry. Marc resides with his family on a farm in central Virginia.