Quail Forever's mission is to conserve quail, pheasants, and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public access, education, and conservation advocacy.
At the heart of our organization is the unique grassroots system of fundraising and project development that allows members to see the direct result of their contributions. We empower local chapters to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised funds will be spent, allowing them to steer conservation priorities and efforts, while belonging to a larger national organization with a voice on state and federal conservation policy.
"It is on some, but not all, of these misty autumn day-breaks that one may hear the chorus of the quail. The silence is suddenly broken by a dozen contralto voices, no longer able to restrain their praise of the day to come." -Aldo Leopold
Founded in 1982 in response to dramatic upland habitat loss in Minnesota, Pheasants Forever had its humble beginnings in the basement of a single avid pheasant hunter and conservationist. Within a year, the first grassroots chapter was born, and following some more big dreaming and countless leaps of faith, the organization began to rapidly spread throughout the upper Midwest and all the way down to the Kansas City region, where the Heartland PF chapter got its start in 1989.
Starting as little more than a food plot organization, we quickly learned the benefits that whole-sale natural community restoration had for wildlife. After seeing the unprecedented community-funded successes being had throughout the pheasant range, the organization decided to extend its influence into other parts of the country experiencing game-bird declines. Thus, in 2005, St. Louis’ Gateway chapter earned the distinction as the first ever Quail Forever chapter as the habitat organization moved into bobwhite range. Within 5 short years, Missouri’s chapters were able to impact nearly 20,000 acres of habitat to benefit quail and other wildlife in our state.
Seeing an opportunity to further our influence, Missouri introduced the Farm Bill Biologist Program in 2011 to work with chapters and other partners to help landowners implement conservation efforts on their properties. Now with over 25 Quail Forever Chapters and over 30 full-time staff, we have conserved or restored over 373,500 acres of habitat for the benefit of wildlife, people, and the land. Boasting the largest membership in the nation, Missouri’s Quail Forever chapters are truly leading the charge for bobwhites, ranking nationally in the top ten for creating nesting habitat, maintaining early-successional plant communities, food plot seed donations, and in overall habitat project spending.
We can’t wait to see what our chapters will do next!
A field of natives planted by a Quail Forever cooperator
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