308 Third Ave • Albany, GA 31701 • (229) 883-3209 • Fax:(229) 883-3979
www.qu.org
Quail Unlimited® is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to the wise use and management of America's wild quail, doves, upland game birds and other forms of wildlife.
QU "HIT" Teams provide initial work on private lands to help our neighbors—farmers and outdoorsmen—get started in improving the land for upland game. Led by a regional biologist who is extensively trained in habitat practices, HIT teams perform a valuable service to landowners and agencies alike.
KENTUCKY H.I.T UPDATE: Kentucky’s H.I.T. (Habitat Improvement Team) is in full force! The team is currently busy implementing several hundred acres worth of prescribed burning on private property in Western Kentucky. Their goal of prescribed burn acres is 1,000 after which they will jump right into herbicide treatments, native grass plantings and songbird and quail surveys.
For those of you wondering what the QU H.I.T. project is and what they do, here is a summary: The H.I.T. in Western Kentucky is in a partnership with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) and the Kentucky Chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Together the QU H.I.T., KDFWR and TNC use their resources to initiate and implement good upland management in the Kentucky area. The H.I.T. works with private landowners in providing wildlife management assistance, usually on CRP acres. The type of management the H.I.T. is capable of assisting with includes prescribed burning, herbicide treatments, strip discing, edge-feathering, fescue conversion and native grass establishment. The team in western Kentucky has been on the ground for almost three years. They have received very positive feedback from the landowners in the area and have seen remarkable habitat influences from the management they are implementing.
For more information or questions about the H.I.T. in Western Kentucky, please e-mail John Zimmer, Quail Unlimited KY Habitat Team Coordinator at kyhabitatteam@hotmail.com.
H.I.T. Management Tip Prescribed burning is an excellent and very effective wildlife management tool. Prescribed burning enhances the grasses and forbs, controls woody encroachment and exposes bare soil by removing the thatch layer. Burning is a crucial factor for managing bobwhite quail. If you choose to implement a prescribed burn on your property, please check all state and local restrictions on burning and have adequate firebreaks installed before dropping a match.
Firebreaks that are used for containing the fire provide an excellent opportunity for you to do one more thing for the quail and other upland species. Since firebreaks are usually disced or roto-tilled strips, lightly broadcast some sort of seed onto them. I recommend wheat, clovers, Korean or Kobe lespedeza (no sericea!!) or oats. Not only will this provide an added food source for the wildlife, but it may also keep the soils from eroding. By John Zimmer Quail Unlimited KY Habitat Team Coordinator
H.I.T. Management Tip
