Local Missouri chapter volunteers to improve upland habitat on public land
By Gilbert Randolph
On February 21, the Springfield Plateau Quail Forever chapter headed out to a piece of public land in Greene County, Missouri to help put prescribed fire on the ground. The conservation area is managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the habitat work was done through Missouri’s recent memorandum of understanding which allows Quail Forever staff and volunteers to assist with habitat work on MDC managed lands.
MDC manages over 975,000 acres of public land, and even with a talented and dedicated staff, there aren’t enough hours in the day or enough funding to fully manage all those acres. That’s where local chapters like the Springfield Plateau chapter come in.
“The Springfield Plateau Chapter has been fortunate to receive a large amount of support from the MDC staff at Bois D'Arc Conservation Area,” says Chris Jackson, Springfield Plateau chapter president. “The area manager, Ben Chapman, has provided insight, education, and resources to help improve this highly utilized conservation area right outside Springfield. This particular burn, we were able to learn about the "mosaic" landscape and how in some cases it's better to have patches of unburned cover mixed into the picture. We even got to see a few woodcock while lighting the backfire!”
Brad Graevs, private land conservationist for MDC and habitat chair for the Springfield Plateau Chapter, stressed the need for regular burning on the landscape. By helping get more boots on the ground, Graev and the chapter hope to accomplish a variety of conservation actions.
“Managing invasive species is always a goal, as well as encouraging native species,” Graev says. “Maintaining a mix of open areas, cover, and utilizing disturbances (fire) that our native species are adapted to is one of the most effective ways to get that done.”
Creating good nesting and brood rearing habitat adjacent to escape cover is the key to creating habitat that quail can thrive in. When fire is absent from the landscape, upland habitat can start to become less useable for quail, especially as woody encroachment occurs or as invasive species start to push out native plants.
Quail Forever chapter volunteers in Missouri have already completed projects removing eastern red cedar, planting 800 plugs of native wildflowers, assisted with invasive species management and before this most recent burn, QF volunteers also helped remove autumn olive on Bois D’arc Conservation area. Not only have local chapters been assisting MDC to improve public lands, they’vealso contributed to adding more acres of public land through the Build a Wildlife Area® Program (BAWA), Pheasants and Quail Forever’s permanent habitat protection program delivering strategic, fee-title acquisitions to conserve habitat and increase public hunting access.
These efforts at improving and expanding upland habitat connect to the broader private lands work being accomplished for quail in the Show-Me State. Whether it’s our farm bill biologists helping landowners establish pollinator plantings through the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) or quail friendly practices such as edge feathering, Quail Forever’s private lands conservation work helps provide key habitat in high priority areas for quail. Together, our public and private lands work is aimed at making maximum impact for quail populations in Missouri.
Quail and upland enthusiasts who want to connect with the Springfield Plateau Chapter can go to their Facebook and Instagram pages to stay up to date on events and volunteer opportunities. For local landowners who are interested in implementing prescribed fire on their properties, they can reach out to a local Quail Forever farm bill biologist here. Get the latest on Missouri specific Quail Forever projects on the Missouri Quail Forever website.