At 5 p.m. today in northwest Arkansas, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) and Historic Cane Hill Inc. will join forces to unveil the 2020-21 Arkansas Northern Bobwhite Conservation Stamp. It's a fitting pairing. Historic Cane Hill works to preserve our state's history, and quail hunting has long been a part of the Arkansas culture.
The conservation stamp was the brainchild of Steve Cook of Malvern, a former commission member. The voluntary stamp costs $9.50. Proceeds are earmarked for the quail habitat enhancements that are now taking place across the state. These efforts have also proved beneficial for pollinators that are essential to Arkansas agriculture.
The artwork on the stamp is by Clay Connor of Hot Springs. There also will be a limited-edition print with a gold-plated medallion available through the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation. Deke Whitbeck, the foundation president, says each print will be signed by the artist. For an old bird hunter like me, the state's renewed focus on quail restoration is encouraging.
"I'm learning lots about quail habitat and restoration efforts," says Vanessa McKuin, the Historic Cane Hill executive director who recently left a public radio job in Little Rock and moved to Washington County to take over the historic preservation activities at Cane Hill. McKuin and I serve together on the Historic Arkansas Museum Commission and share a love for this state's heritage.
Between 2013-17, Historic Cane Hill spent more than $4 million to save and renovate structures in the community, including the Cane Hill College building, the Methodist Manse, the Carroll building and the Shaker Yates Grocery building. Cane Hill has numerous listings on the National Register of Historic Places.
"Cane Hill, settled by Europeans in 1827, was the earliest settlement in Washington County," Julanne Allison writes for the Central Arkansas Library System's Encyclopedia of Arkansas. "It was known as an educational center because the first college in Arkansas to admit women was in Cane Hill. In addition, it had the state's first public school, library and Sunday School. Several of the oldest houses in northwest Arkansas still stand in Cane Hill. It was also the site of an all-day skirmish in the days before the Battle of Prairie Grove during the Civil War."
"I remember hearing bobwhites as a kid in Snowball, but I didn't realize until I married into a quail-hunting family that they were so special," McKuin says.
Her father-in-law, Barry McKuin of Morrilton, was hired after Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller's death in 1973 to serve as the chief financial officer for Winrock Farms on Petit Jean Mountain. He later worked with the late governor's son, Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, and was heavily involved with the Conway County Economic Development Corp.
Barry McKuin was on the original board of directors of the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean and left the board in June after 15 years of service.
"Incredibly intelligent, Barry is one of those people who can see the big picture, focus on the future and keep others on track," says Lisenne Rockefeller, the widow of Winthrop Paul Rockefeller. "His commitment to his family and community is a blessing to all."
Former Governor Rockefeller is my favorite figure in 20th century Arkansas history. The first time I visited with Barry on Petit Jean, we figured out that both of us had long been bird hunters. I'll never forget what he said to me: "I knew there was something about you I liked. Bird hunters are almost always good people."
Now, Vanessa McKuin is working with the adjacent Boonsboro Farm in northwest Arkansas on a quail habitat project. The farm's owners are partnering with the AGFC and the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission to bring back vegetation and structural characteristics that are needed for quail to survive. These include native grasses, wildflowers and weeds along with shrubs and vines such as sumac, elderberry and blackberry. It's also essential to maintain 25 percent to 50 percent bare ground so quail can forage and move about.
"Seeing increases of numbers of quail heard or seen in the spring and fall bird counts during a five-year period is a sign that habitat efforts are working and the birds are responding," says Marcus Asher, the AGFC quail program coordinator. "If the area is hunted, seeing increases in the number of coveys that hunters flush over a five-year period is an indicator of success."
Asher and a dedicated group of biologists are funded through the joint efforts of the AGFC, the nonprofit organization Quail Forever, and the federal government's Natural Resources Conservation Service. They partner with private landowners across the state.
"We can work to control predators and manage harvest limits, but the key to quail production is that mix of the proper habitat," Asher says. "And because so much of Arkansas is privately held, we need more awareness of that habitat to get to landowners who are willing to step up and help us bring back the bobwhites."
Asher has been pleasantly surprised with the success of the stamp program.
"Being completely voluntary, we weren't sure how many people would purchase the stamps, but we've been surprised at the number of Arkansans willing to pay the extra dollars for conservation initiatives that help these birds," he says. "It has been a long decline for bobwhites. It's going to take a long fight to bring them back, but the interest in programs like this gives me hope that it's a fight we can win."
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Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.