Quail Forever to host workshops on habitats

Quail Forever will host two special workshops in eastern Arkansas on Thursday and Friday to help landowners learn how they can create a quail habitat on their land.

The event, in partnership with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, will show landowners how to offset costs associated with the work. The workshops will be in Hazen and St. Charles on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

The first workshop will be from 5-7 p.m. Thursday at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Building, 1600 Industrial St. in Hazen. The second will be held from 5-7 p.m. Friday at the White River National Wildlife Refuge building at 57 South CC Camp Road in St. Charles.

With vast farming operations in rice, soybeans and other crops, and wetlands managed for waterfowl and deer, landowners may think there is no room for high- quality quail habitat. But many practices can work together to benefit a variety of species.

Arkansas’s Delta is much different than the Ozarks and Ouachita areas, but has excellent potential to create good bobwhite habitat and hunting experiences, according to Quail Forever.

Presenters at each workshop will give details about possible ways landowners can implement such practices on their land. They’ll learn ways to offset the losses of marginal cropland by enrolling in cost-share and incentive programs. Quail Forever, Game and Fish, and Natural Resource Conservation Service conservationists will be on hand to offer one-on-one opportunities to talk and plan new strategies for landowners interested in helping bring back the bobwhite quail.

Call 501-733-9416 to learn more about the workshop and register. Food will be provided to those who register in advance.