Quail group fights to survive

Quail Unlimited, which closed its national headquarters in Edgefield, S.C., in November after running out of money, has a new president and a new survival plan.

"The greatest news of all is that the staff is back at work and I'm extremely proud of that," said Bill Bowles, an Albany, Ga., plantation manager who -- at the request of QU's board -- agreed recently to serve as interim president.

The 30,000-member conservation group ousted its former president in October, prompting many board members to resign. Funds ran out soon thereafter, forcing the furlough of the group's 24 paid staffers. Three employees found other jobs and the others are now back at work.

"At this point, we are working to do what we need to do to move the organization back into a positive direction," Bowles said in a telephone interview.

Although its the national headquarters, warehouses and 75 adjoining acres remain for sale, Bowles said the current plan is to find a way to keep QU in Edgefield.

"It's not that we don't like the building," he said. "But our business model says we don't need that large of a building on 75 acres. We need to realize the equity in that property and put those funds back into the organization to pay down some of our debt."

The asking price is $650,000.

Bowles, who is serving in a volunteer capacity with no salary, said stronger emphasis is being placed on QU's annual Celebrity Quail Hunt -- the group's primary fundraiser -- to be held Jan. 28-30 in Albany. The event will also be an opportunity to meet and form new strategies.

"For the first time ever, I have asked the state chairmen, any chapter delegates who wish to come, our board and field staff, to arrive on the 26th and we will meet all day on the 27th, both in separate sessions and in an afternoon joint session," he said. "It will be a time for everyone to get an update on where we are and to sit down face to face and listen to one another and make the plans that will shape the organization in the future."

SRS NEAR MISS: A dog handler at one of the Savannah River Site deer hunts was dismissed from future hunts after firing a shotgun in the direction of a deer hunt safety auditor, according to a report filed last week by the Energy Department's Office of Health, Safety and Security.

The Nov. 18 incident occurred during a hunt near Par Pond, when a dog handler approached the safety auditor's stand and fired in his direction when a deer ran between them. The dog driver then quickly left the scene, according to witnesses. When questioned later, he denied any wrongdoing. However, "based on eyewitness accounts, the dog handler and his dogs were eliminated from future SRS hunts," the report said. The dog handler was not named in the report.

TROUT TIME: On Tuesday, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources stocked thousands of rainbow and brown trout into the lower Saluda River near Columbia, using a helicopter and a specialized lift bucket.

The annual trout airlift, which enables the fish to be evenly distributed up and down the fast-flowing river, included 13,000 six-inch brown trout and about 5,100 rainbows that averaged 11 inches long. Other stockings in the spring bring the total number of fish released to about 30,000.

The Saluda is the closest trout fishery to Augusta. The fish are able to survive -- but not reproduce -- in the cold water released from Lake Murray Dam that flows south toward Columbia. The hatchery raised trout typically grow to about 16 inches.

For regulations and more details, visit http://www.dnr.sc.gov/.

Reach Rob Pavey at 868-1222, ext. 119 or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.