Inaugural Quail Management Distinguished Lectureship Set to Fly Jan. 31

ROBY - Texas Cooperative Extension will host two of the nation’s top quail managers during the inaugural “Distinguished Lectureships in Quail Management” set for 9 a.m. Jan. 31 at the Community Center in Roby.

The event, “The Quail Wave: Lessons To Be Learned From The Southeastern U.S.,” is being sponsored by The Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and Extension.

The speakers will be Dr. Bill Palmer, director of game bird research for Tall Timbers Research Station in Tallahassee, Fla., and Clay Sisson, project coordinator for Albany Quail Project at Auburn University, Auburn, Ala., said Dr. Dale Rollins, Extension wildlife specialist at San Angelo.

“The Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch was created in March 2007,” Rollins said. “One of its missions is to serve as an educational forum for landowners and hunters who seek to become more knowledgeable students of quail. To address these needs, we have decided to host an annual conference to feature the nation’s leading authorities on quail management.

“These experts are two of the best,” he said. “The Tall Timbers and Albany Quail Projects offer an excellent mix of cutting-edge research, innovations in management and excellent support at the grassroots level.

“Their works are benchmarks of quail management. We plan to model the research ranch at Roby after these programs.”

Rollins said the theme for the first lectureship hints at the demise of quail in the southeastern U.S. which was traditionally the stronghold of the bobwhite. He hopes Texas can learn from some of the mistakes made in the southeast, which jeopardized quail hunting just about everywhere east of Interstate 35.

“Bobwhites are 6-ounce ingots of gold here in West Texas,” he said. “We want to protect this valuable natural resource. Education and research are key components to sustaining the quail wave in Texas for future generations.”

The lecture is open to landowners, hunters, wildlife professionals and anyone interested in quail or wildlife conservation.

Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered.

Individual registration is $25 if received by Jan. 25 and $40 thereafter. Registration includes lunch and refreshments.