Page 2 - 2019 SEPT/OCT Outdoor Oklahoma

Panoramas

will retire this fall after almost 30 years as an employee of project to study quail. I was asked if I was interested. Oh yeah! Just
I as I was finishing my master’s degree, ODWC solicited candidates
the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Yes,
for a new position: upland game bird biologist. Again, oh yeah!
in some ways, it seems like only yesterday. As I reflect on my
I was hired as the “quail guy” in 1990. Try as I might, I could
career, there are a few things that will remain special to me
for the remainder of my days. not control the weather. We did conduct some outstanding, cut-
First, as I’ve heard seemingly countless ODWC retirees say ting-edge science studying quail on the new Packsaddle Wildlife
before me, ODWC is a family. It really is. Not only are these people Management Area. We learned a lot about the bird by using tiny
co-workers, they are close friends. We feel each others’ happiness, radio transmitters. We fitted more quail with radios than any
disappointment, joy and pain. Second is my love for other study ever. The first round of research lasted
all things outdoors. Not only did I have the priv- 10 years. We learned quail have multiple mates –
ilege of working for the best agency in Oklahoma gypsy hens that leave the male incubating and go
government, I actually got paid to do what I love. mate with another male. Our quail can travel long
I grew up in the Oklahoma Panhandle and grad- distances and on rare occasion moved well over
uated from Guymon High School. My father and 50 miles.
grandfather instilled in me a deep-rooted love for I also provided technical assistance to private
hunting, fishing and the outdoors. We hunted and landowners wanting to improve upland habitat on
fished for almost everything: ringnecks from the their properties. That was very satisfying. Then I
stubble fields, ducks from the irrigation tailwa- was offered the job as Assistant Chief of the Wild-
ter pits and playas, trout from Colorado, 37 years life Division and in 1999 was promoted to Chief of
straight fishing the Canton Walleye Rodeo, deer hunting on Persim- the Wildlife Division.
mon Creek. And, oh yeah, quail hunting – my favorite. We always I have seen a lot of changes in the past 30 years, including a 16-day
had bird dogs. There is just something magical about watching a modern rifle deer season, huntable turkey populations in all 77
well-trained pointing dog do what they do. The adrenaline rush of counties, and a black bear season in 12 counties, just to name a few.
the covey flush. The challenge of trying to focus on a single target In Oklahoma, we have access to about 1.3 million acres open
out of a brown-gray blur of winged explosion. My favorite meal has for public hunting. Even with that, our hunters tell us in sur-
always been fried quail and biscuits and gravy! veys that they need more places to hunt. I am very proud that
I attended Oklahoma State University and Panhandle State I was involved in the purchase of 100,000 acres now available
University for a short time after high school then quit to go to work for public hunting.
in the oilfield, as my father did before me. I ran a construction com- I will miss working for the hunters of Oklahoma. But I think I’m
pany my dad owned. My favorite part of the job: guiding business leaving it a better place than I found it. Now I will have time for
customers on quail hunts. Money was good during the “boom” but more hunting and fishing with my kids and grandkids!
not so good after the “bust.” I went back to school at Southwestern
at Weatherford for a while, commuting from Vici and pumping oil
and gas wells when I got home from school. I then decided to attend
OSU again and study wildlife ecology.
As fate would have it, as I was finishing my bachelor’s degree, Alan Peoples,
the Grand National Quail Foundation decided to fund a research Chief of Wildlife

OutdoorOK-2019-September-October.indd 2 8/20/19 3:01 PM