Georgia Habitat Crew

Quail Forever Habitat Crew!

Paul, Caleb, Dallas, and Jessica are the Quail Forever Georgia Habitat Specialist.
  

About the Georgia Habitat Team: 

Habitat Specialists do the active management for habitat creation and maintenance. We work with GA DNR, NRCS, and QF Biologists to coordinate and conduct wildlife habitat management practices, emphasizing the application of prescribed fire. We are a crew of 4 people certified for burning, chainsaw work, heavy equipment, tractor work, and herbicide.

What Do We Do?

FIRE: 
The crew’s primary focus is implementing prescribed fire in areas that have had 2-5 years without fire to promote species that quail need for surviving, growing, mating, and brood-rearing. The crew can prep areas for burning by maintaining previously established fire breaks using our tractor and limiting safety concerns within the units like dead or fallen trees using chainsaws and/or council rakes. We burn in dormant and growing season. With that said, prescribed fire is a priority for the crew, especially from January-May in pristine habitat. Growing season burns may be limited due to weather conditions but will be prioritized in areas needing hardwood encroachment management. 

HERBICIDE: 
Herbicide treatments are required in areas where fire cannot be implemented or require more management before fire can be done. Some hardwood and invasive management can be done through growing season burns, but some areas require herbicide for initial restoration to get it back to fuels that will carry fire. Herbicide is provided by the landowner. This treatment will most likely take more than one session of spraying and will likely require multiple visits by the crew. Please keep in mind that a crew of four is limited to what can be done with backpack sprayers, 15 –gallon ATV tanks, and a 66-gallon UTV boom sprayer. We have recently obtained a tree cutter for our tractor, but any areas requiring heavy equipment like excavators, mulchers, or dozers will need to be contracted by the landowner before the crew can assist.

PLANTING: 
Areas where management is done frequently can be advanced by planting beneficial species of shrubs, forbs, and grasses for food, shelter, and insects for chicks. Planting forb and grass species that benefit quail can also benefit pollinator species, which can improve multi-species management of your upland habitat. Landowners are encouraged to plant native species that can act as brood fields vs food plots. 

CHAINSAW: 
Chainsaws will be used for site prep, burn prep, and any projects required for habitat management. Properties in need of chainsaw use for restoration, invasive species, or hardwood encroachment will be prioritized over properties where chainsaw use is beneficial only to aesthetics (ie. Bucking fallen trees rather than letting fire consume them).

What Equipment Do We Have?

Currently we have a Polaris XP 1000 that can hold our 65-gallon fire unit or 66-gallon herbicide/water tank with a boom spray attachment. We have two ATVs equipped with 15-gallon water tanks and hand tools. These allow us to traverse properties during site visits, burns, and herbicide treatments. For smaller herbicide projects, we have backpack sprayers, spray bottles, hand tools, a brush cutter, and chainsaws. We also have a John Deere tractor that we use for planting and disking. We have invested in a harrow, a seed drill, and a tree cutter for the tractor.

Who Can We Help?

Anyone that is interested in restoring or advancing bobwhite habitat mainly based within Southwest Georgia. We work within the bobwhite focal location. What is required of the Landowners (currently):
-  All landowners are considered to have no “out-of-pocket" expenses.
-  Landowners in conservation programs/ EQUIP/ BQI are required to reimburse the crew for the amount paid out to them by their programs for said management.
-  All landowners, program or not, will provide gas/diesel for prescribed fires and herbicide for any chemical treatments in order to combat double-use of BQI funds. 

DNR or contracted?

The Habitat Crew is its own entity created within Quail Forever’s habitat program. Habitat Specialists coordinate with their state wildlife agencies to manage both public and private land. Georgia DNR contracts the habitat crew to assist on management projects for public upland sites and with private landowners within conservation programs. Quail forever itself can use its habitat team to work with any landowner who is looking to improve their upland habitat for Northern Bobwhite.

Where is Our Funding?

The habitat crew is funded by Quail Forever’s habitat program AND the Bobwhite Quail Initiative (BQI). Georgia DNR has partnered with Quail Forever to bring on additional biologists and the habitat crew for technical assistance to landowners in the state. The habitat crew works with Quail Forever’s Farm Bill Biologists, NRCS biologists, and DNR’s Private Lands Biologists to do the tasks recommended or required in each landowner’s management plan. 

How can the biologists help us:

We need biologists to submit any new landowners in need of management. Small or large projects will keep us actively managing properties and allow the crew to create good relationships with landowners. The more landowners we can help, the more opportunities we have for them to see the work being done and recommend us to new landowners. We have been able to obtain new landowners through neighbors before, and it would be great to have more to expand our workload. With the help of the biologists initially, we may be able to help the biologists by getting neighbors and surrounding properties interested in the programs. The importance of submitting landowners to us is having us out in the field doing the work and being able to display all the good work we do. The more exposure, the better. 

If you have any questions please direct them to Paul, Habitat Crew Coordinator at pmiles@pheasantsforever.org