Dr. Dale on Quail Dr. Dale Rollins

Odds are you’ve sat through a meeting on various Farm Bill programs that began to sound like “acronym soup”—EQIP, CRP, GRIP, WHIP, LIP, and the list goes on. Undoubtedly dollars for conservation abound within the Farm Bill (and other incentive programs), but are you getting your fair share therefrom? Join Dr. Dale and RPQRR’s new ranch manager Mitchell Riggs as Riggs describes strategies for making the Farm Bill “all it can be” for Texans interested in quail management.

Join Dr. Dale this month and three special guests as they discuss how quail habitat (and abundance) are impacted by wildfires like those that raged in the Panhandle in late-February. His special guests include Becky Ruzicka (formerly with RPQRF), Chip Ruthven (TPW Project Leader for several WMAs in the Panhandle), and Jeff Bonner (retired TPW biologist stationed in Pampa). They discuss historical contexts and relevant management practices for lessening the impacts of wildfires. Join us on May 20 for this episode.

We often speak of “Leopold’s toolbox” and speak often of “axe, plow, cow, and fire,” and how these tools are the basis of our attempts at habitat management. But we should be reminded that these tools are not “one size fits all” and as managers we seek to use them as adjustable (ala “Crescent” wrenches) given various environmental constraints (e.g., rainfall). Join Dr. Dale and his guest Jesse Wood as they discuss the management of scaled (“blue”) quail in the Permian Basin region of west Texas and how we adjust Leopold’s tools for a desert habitat. Wood is the Director of Ecology and Sustainable Development for the Permian Basin and works for ConocoPhillips. He’s also a graduate of QuailMasters (class of 2017) and an avid quail hunter.

This month’s guests are brothers Ty and Marc Bartoskewitz. Both are well-grounded in quail management in TX and currently manage ranches in Stephens and Shackelford counties, respectively. Given their interest, acumen, and
budgets, I often refer to them as the “Great (Bob)White Hopes” for the eastern Rolling Plains. Join us on March 20 on how they approach various habitat concerns, and what they see as catalysts for the return of the bobwhite to their former haunts.

This month’s guest is Dr. Abe Woodard with the East Foundation. Our topic is a “Quail 303” discussion of “sustained yield” of bobwhites in South Texas. We’ll discuss topics along the “hunter X covey interface” including hunting efficiency and crippling loss. Join us on February 20.

This month’s guest is Tyler Sladen of Albuquerque, NM. Tyler is a serious falconer who specializes in hunting quail with his Tiercel goshawk “Jimmy Dean.” Tag along with Tyler and Dr. Dale as they discuss the sport of falconry, and specifically hunting the quails of North America with raptors and bird dogs. Sladen, Jimmy Dean, and his corps of Setters have combined to take over 100 quail across nine states in 2023. As a Student of Quail, you can learn a lot from seeing how quail react when pursued by a hawk, and what kind of “storm shelters” serve to foil a hawk’s attempts. Join us on January 20; you’re going to enjoy this one.