Habitat calendar has 12 months of management tips

JEFFERSON   CITY—One challenge for busy landowners who want to increase quail and other grassland wildlife is keeping track of seasonal management needs. When should you delay haying because chicks are hatching? When do you burn, plant, spray and disk? The answers to those and many other questions about grassland wildlife management are found in the Quail and Habitat Management 2015 Calendar from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

The wall calendar has daily notes to help landowners meet their wildlife management goals. It notes key events, such as the start of quail nesting season, average dates of first and second brood hatches and other important milestones in the bobwhite quail’s year. Also included are reminders about the best times for management activities, such as planting food plots and the last day for managing fields enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program.

The calendar has tips for easy habitat creation, ranging from placing old Christmas trees near existing brush piles in January to sowing wildflower seeds atop newly fallen snow in December. Added features include are notes about forming a quail management cooperative, quality deer management, prescribed burning, and additional sources of habitat management information.  Wildlife illustrations by Conservation Department artists accompany each monthly page.

To receive a free copy of the calendar, call the nearest Conservation Department office and ask to speak to a private land conservationist.

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