Volunteers plan to improve wildlife habitat across Southern West Virginia
Quail Forever (QF) is proud to introduce the newest volunteer chapter in West Virginia. Almost Heaven Chapter of Quail Forever is the second chapter in the state and will provide outdoor enthusiasts in Salt Rock, West Virginia, and surrounding counties opportunities to connect and learn about the uplands and other outdoor pursuits with a supportive community.
Unique among national conservation organizations, chapters of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever retain 100 percent decision-making control over fundraising dollars, allowing volunteers to support impactful wildlife habitat projects, public access initiatives and conservation education programs throughout the upland bird range. PF & QF’s Ohio and West Virginia regional representative, Austin Roby, will work closely with the new chapter to support the organization’s vision to sustain abundant populations of wild quail, pheasants and other wildlife.
“I’m excited about this launch because in just a couple of weeks, we were able to pull together over 20 volunteers who have a passion for bird hunting and are excited to work to improve quail habitat on public land,” Roby said. “This chapter has the drive, passion and people to advance our mission at an exponential rate in West Virginia.”
The Almost Heaven Chapter is dedicated to restoring upland habitat and bringing back the Northern Bobwhite quail to the region. The chapter aims to reverse the bobwhite decline through focused conservation efforts. Trent Vinson, chapter president, said the chapter plans on having many events in the upcoming months, including a skeet shoot, a turkey hunt, and the possibility of a youth hunt in the fall.
“My hope for this chapter is to focus on restoring habitat in the areas we can,” Vinson said. “There used to be a lot of quail in West Virginia, but they have almost disappeared, and the incentive to get the younger generation involved in the outdoors and to possibly see my kids, or my grandchildren, enjoy bobwhite quail hunting is very important to me.”
To learn more about the Almost Heaven Quail Forever Chapter, contact chapter president Trent Vinson at trenity0083@gmail.com. For more information about Quail Forever in Ohio and West Virginia, contact Austin Roby at aroby@pheasantsforever.org.