Conservation groups work to ensure game is plentiful

The land was once ideal for hunting.

A stand of century-old pines was interspersed with broomstraw and other native grasses. A few coveys of bobwhite quail lived in the rolling hills and migratory waterfowl tucked into its marshes.

But when the privately owned tract was sold to the town to be preserved and subsequently untouched, things changed.

Now, 20 years later, there are few signs of wildlife. Annual burnings that once helped to renew the land have stopped, and native grasses haven’t grown back. Selective cuttings to open areas for sunlight were curtailed, as were supplemental plantings.

The lack of cover crops and food plots caused the quail to disappear. Shortly after, the birds left, along with the squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits.

For sportsmen, such a scenario impacts the scope and variety of available game.

“The notion of preservation is appealing to a lot of people,” says John B. Eichinger, president and CEO of the Ruffed Grouse Society and the American Woodcock Society. “The concept began in the late 1960s in response to the expansion of sub-developments and economic zones.

Preservation secured open space, which was a great first step, but more recently it signifies a ‘hands-off’ approach.”

Alternatively, conservation groups around the country are doing their part to identify areas where they can help create healthy ecosystems that will be conducive to wildlife habitats and ensure game is plentiful. Here’s a look at how four of these organizations are taking the lead as stewards of the land.

The Ruffed Grouse Society and the American Woodcock Society
Grouse and woodcock prefer young forests, so maintaining forests with a diversity of age classes is particularly important for bird hunters.

Ideally, young-growth forests are “under 15 years of age, where the shoots and sprouts of young trees emerge as shrubs and saplings” to provide food and protection, says Eichinger. “When flora and fauna is older than 15 years, we see dramatic declines in not only these game birds, but also in other species as well.”

“Part of our mission is to proactively help Mother Nature,” Eichinger says. The organization’s method includes selective cutting or clearing followed by planting and prescribed burns.

Ducks Unlimited
Protecting the habitats of bird species that travel from breeding grounds in Canada to wintering grounds in Mexico — whether they’re Canada geese or mallard ducks — requires continental efforts.

Paul Schmidt, chief conservation officer for Ducks Unlimited, says the group focuses on creating healthy ecosystems that increase bird populations.

In order to thoroughly restore wetlands, Ducks Unlimited partners with a number of stakeholders in local, state and federal governments, as well as international agencies. “What is most important is to study the entire landscape,” Schmidt says. “Restoring grasslands, replanting forests and improving the quality of our watersheds knows no bounds, and when the opportunity arises, we’ll work with landowners to acquire property or to enter into conservation and management agreements.”

The group is focused on conservation practices at every step of the migratory route, from the critical breeding grounds in Canada and the northern tier of the U.S. to the flyways and wintering grounds in Mexico. “Healthy ecosystems along migratory routes provide high-quality feeding and resting zones,” Schmidt says.

Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever
Pheasant and quail country often overlaps agricultural areas, so managing a finite resource — land — for both can present challenges. But through strategic conservation planning, both wildlife and agriculture can benefit, says Bob St. Pierre, vice president of marketing for Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever.

“America’s grasslands are the equivalent of rainforests in South America,” says St. Pierre, calling it one of the planet’s “fastest-disappearing ecosystems.”

Habitat declines “have had severe impacts on pheasants, quail, prairie grouse, pollinators, monarchs and many other wildlife dependent upon prairie flowers and grasses,” he says.

The mission of Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever is to foster conservation opportunities in the agricultural landscape.

“We work diligently with farmers to create a sustainable environment that benefits both groups,” St. Pierre says. The organizations not only develop wildlife habitats, but also improve water quality, protect soils for future generations and help to provide a stable revenue stream for farm families.

Their conservation mission takes a holistic approach: “If we eliminate prairie flowers then we lose the pollinators, and if we have no pollinators then we lose a massive amount of our food production, from almonds to apples to blueberries, and also the insects pheasant chicks need during their first months of life,” St. Pierre explains.

Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
The mission of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) “is to work to guarantee all Americans quality places to hunt and fish” by helping to strengthen federal policy and funding, says Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the partnership, which has more than 40 formal conservation partners.

“Sometimes we work with agricultural groups; other times we interact with energy consortiums. And still other times our focus is on national forests or water,” he says.

One recent victory for conservation groups, including the TRCP, came in May when Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that an additional 800,000 acres of land will be eligible for enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for wildlife habitat and wetlands.

“Lands enrolled in CRP allow agricultural producers to voluntarily conserve environmentally sensitive grasslands by replacing grasslands in marginal soils. (These) are areas vital for nesting waterfowl,” Fosburgh says.