More than 361 acres of prairie woodland habitat on Fort Chafee in northwest Arkansas will see a vast improvement in quality this year, thanks to a generous donation from Benton County Quail and their partnership with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The donation wasn't in dollars, but in dozens of containers of chemical treatments needed to kill invasive plants and encourage native grasses and forbs to grow, vastly improving habitat for quail, turkeys and other ground-nesting birds on the property.
"Benton County Quail worked with us to secure a State Wildlife Grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service," Brian Infield, assistant regional supervisor at the AGFC's Fort Smith office, said. "The grant required a 35 percent contribution from another entity to capitalize on the federal funds, and they stepped up with a donation of materials that could be used as the match."
Infield says the herbicides purchased for the project will be used to selectively kill invasive plants within the expanding quail focal area on Fort Chaffee.
"We've been able to create some fantastic quail habitat in the area, and the herbicide will help us clear out more invasive plants and reduce competition for beneficial native species," Infield said. "As we continue to open the forest canopy, sunlight reaches the ground, stimulating herbaceous growth used by deer, turkeys, quail and a host of nongame species."
Tanner Bedwell of BCQ said the total cost of the donation was $11,628, and a large part of that funding was derived through hundreds of volunteers supporting BCQ through fundraising efforts like their upcoming annual banquet, May 4.
"The work being done at Fort Chafee is only one of the projects BCQ supports with these fundraisers," Bedwell said. "We helped support AGFC work at Pea Ridge Military Park in the past as well as supporting many youth efforts like the Ozark Youth Shooting Team, Hunter Education courses and the Youth Hunter Education Challenge. All of these were supported by past donations and annual banquets."
Bedwell says the 35th Anniversary Banquet will be held at the Benton County Quail Barn in Bentonville and will begin at 5 p.m., May 4. In addition to live and silent auctions and gun raffles, the event will have a barbecue dinner as well as a clay pigeon shoot for attendees.
"Just like hunting, our banquet is a family-friendly event," Bedwell said. "And everyone who attends will be helping create more habitat for bobwhites right here in Arkansas, helping sustain that part of our hunting history in The Natural State."
Visit https://www.facebook.com/bentoncountyquail.org/ for more information on Benton County Quail and the 35th Anniversary Banquet. More information on quail management in Arkansas can be found at www.agfc.com/quail.