February in the Commonwealth welcomes a flurry of feathers as the upland preserve season is in full swing since most other game species are closed out or wrapping up soon.
This month gives us the full gamut of weather. Buds and early blossoms can be seen tentatively comingling with snowflakes and icy mornings.
While the calendar says that February is a shorter month, the days can feel like they are dragging by at an agonizing pace. Daylight is gradually adding onto each day, but it doesn’t seem to come quick enough.
This is traditionally the month of love boasting Valentine’s and even Galentine’s events, dinners and outings. We want you to fall in love with chasing feathers.
Even though February can still be dark and cold, there are some warm weather breaks that offer a welcome respite and are perfect for assessing next season’s hunting grounds. Become an active member in a Quail Forever chapter where 100% of monies raised in the chapter are decisively spent by that chapter. This means being able to create real habitat solutions right here in the areas that you hunt. The chapters are also able to offer incredible outreach and educational opportunities to the next generation, as well as experienced hunters.
There are several QF chapters across the commonwealth and almost all have an active social media presence. Coastal VA QF handles counties towards the beach area and has a fantastic chapter hunt 2/15 in Carrsville and their banquet 3/13. Central VA QF maintains the counties in the surrounding RVA area and has made serious progress in Mattaponi, Ware Creek and Duncan WMAs. Check out their banquet on 2/6 along with a bevy of events throughout the year.
One of the newest chapters, VA Piedmont handles the C’ville area and all surrounding counties including Culpeper south to Buckingham and west to Highland. They are offering a habitat project in March and have a banquet scheduled for 5/15. Other chapters include Southside VA, Lake Country, Rockbridge and Blue Ridge.
Find a chapter close to you or sign up for an event at QuailForever.org.
There are several reasons I love QF. First, there are no middlemen in the money. The money raised in the chapter, stays in the chapter! The chapter membership typically knows what they need in their area to be successful and can make the best decisions on planning how to use those funds.
Second, once you are a dues paying member to QF, you can attend ANY QF event across the country. Since I’m frequently on the road, I love being able to jump into a meeting or event at another chapter. This allows me to see how they are navigating difficult issues, problem solving habitat puzzles, and using creative ways to engage and grow the membership. I’m the president of VA Piedmont and also quite active in Central VA.
Let’s be super realistic. Our public lands are priceless. There are currently 48 WMAs that allow hunting which gives us about 250,000ac. That sounds like a ton of acreage but it’s not all suitable habitat or useable land/waterways. DWR admittedly can’t get to all of it, there just aren’t enough dollars or “doers” to support all the necessary and much needed projects. This is where we, the general hunting public can truly make a positive impact and keep public lands public and flourishing with game.
Even the smallest acts pay huge dividends. I always keep extra trash bags in the top of my dog box, usually for carcasses after I clean birds, but they are also very handy for trash collection in the WMA parking lot. Find your small act and be sure to share it on social to encourage others.
This February, make it a Love-Fest and share the love of the sport with friends and family while showing some love by helping protect our public lands.
