Quail Forever is expanding habitat by being added to the Interagency Burn Team Memorandum of Understanding in Georgia and Kentucky
By Rachel Holt
In the world of wildlife habitat restoration, collaboration is king––and sometimes, the difference between a stalled prescribed fire and a successful one comes down to a signature.
This year, Quail Forever became an official signatory of the Interagency Burn Team (IBT) Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) in both Georgia and Kentucky. These formal agreements establish a framework for agencies, state, federal, and non-profit, to work together on prescribed fire. The additions mark the first Quail Forever teams in the Southeast to join the IBT network.
Interagency Burn Team MOUs help forge new partnerships to bring fire back to landscapes that depend on them. Through the pooling of equipment, training and personnel, these collaborative fire efforts are increasing both the scale and efficiency of habitat restoration. For biologists working on the ground, these MOUs translate to more prescribed fire and better habitat for northern bobwhite quail and other fire-dependent species.
“No single organization can accomplish the amount of prescribed fire needed on our landscape alone,” said Miranda Gulsby, the Quail Forever Georgia state coordinator. “Through an agreement, we’re committing to support each other to achieve conservation goals.”
The IBT MOU also sets a standard for qualifications, requiring that all burn crew members, regardless of organization, meet consistent training requirements.
“There's reassurance for the organization leading a burn that the partnered staff have met these qualifications, and have the proper training,” Gulsby said. “The biggest part of the MOU is that safety net for the organizations to burn together.”
Savannah Ricks, Quail Forever Kentucky state coordinator, said the MOU provides her team––most of whom were hired just last year and had little fire experience––with an immediate pathway to participate in burns across the state. This will allow Quail Forever in Kentucky and its state agencies to work more closely in the future and expand collaboration efforts.
For Georgia, an MOU is a force multiplier, adding 12 trained staff to the IBT network across Georgia who can join partner organizations on prescribed fires. Quail Forever’s habitat team can also bring partner agency staff onto private lands–– something many agencies are restricted from doing on their own–– and amplify the scale of prescribed fire throughout the state.
The implications for wildlife are enormous. In Kentucky, where over 95% of the land is privately owned, it’s challenging to get fire on the ground, a key habitat tool for northern bobwhite quail. Many landowners rely on mowing instead, which leads to thick thatch layers and poor-quality nesting and brood-rearing habitat
“Right now, everybody is bush hogging which is not conducive to great bobwhite habitat,” Ricks said. “It’s important to talk to those private landowners and get fire on the ground with them, if possible. That is one of the future goals for us here in the state, and it will benefit bobwhite and other fire-dependent species.”
Looking ahead, both states are setting their sights higher. Ricks hopes the MOU will lay the groundwork for a future habitat team in Kentucky––something that would be a game-changer in a state with limited public land and even fewer burn contractors.
The Kentucky Prescribed Fire Council is also working to establish the state’s first Prescribed Burn Association (PBA). Ricks said she has joined the council’s PBA collaboration committee to help expand outreach to private landowners and encourage them to partner with their neighbors on prescribed fire efforts.
For Gulsby, the next step is leveraging the MOU to provide Quail Forever staff––especially those outside the habitat team––to get involved in prescribed fire and training opportunities across Georgia.
At their core, these MOUs are about trust, communication, and commitment––the foundations of any successful conservation partnership. And in a field where federal, state and non-profit organizations often operate in silos, they offer a powerful blueprint for collaboration.
“Between all the different agencies and groups, there can be a lot of barriers to working together,” Gulsby said. “These MOUs can overcome that by bringing everybody to the table and setting out guidelines to work better together.”