QDMA’s 2011 Deer Steward Courses Feature Special Tours
The Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) is adding special destination tours to its Deer Steward courses in 2011, including Jeff Foxworthy’s Georgia farm, Dr. Grant Woods’ Missouri “Proving Grounds,” and a 9,000-acre QDM Cooperative in Minnesota.
The Deer Steward Certification program is a multi-level personal educational experience designed to offer landowners, hunters and natural resource professionals an opportunity to learn from the world’s top experts about Quality Deer Management (QDM). The first two Levels are actual courses, and Level III is an application process; all three need to be taken in succession.
Each course follows the Four Cornerstones of QDM. Level I courses include nearly 20 presentations over a two-day period, followed by an optional half-day field trip; Level II courses involve more hands-on experience. Attendees will learn techniques on aging deer jawbones; taking soil samples and interpreting soil test results; determining acreage of food plots and calibrating equipment; population surveys; forest and early succession habitat management; analyzing harvest data; making property maps; and much more. Level III status is the recognition of those who have given back to the whitetail resource over a long period of time.
QDMA’s Deer Steward certification program has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from graduates. Last year, the fourth year of the program, brought the total number of graduates to more than 400 individuals. Past students now hail from 34 states, three Canadian provinces and one of the United States’ Virgin Islands; a map is posted on QDMA.com and shows the number and level of graduates represented in each state or province across North America (visit www.QDMA.com/programs/certify)
2011 Dates and locations:
Level I Courses: March 11-14 – Ottertail, Minn. at Thumper Pond Resort (Field Tour: Hudalla Farms and 9,000 acre “Rivers Edge” QDM Co-op) April 15-18 – Pine Mountain, Ga. at The Lodge & Spa at Callaway Gardens (Field Tour: Jeff Foxworthy’s personal farm, “The Beloved”) May 13-16 – Branson, Mo. at Barrington Hotel & Conference Center (Field Tour: Dr. Grant Woods’ “The Proving Grounds” and Special reception: Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge)
Level II Courses: June 10-13 – Bogart, Ga. at QDMA National Headquarters (Field Tour: University of Georgia deer research facility) June 24-27 – Hillsdale, Mich. at Sit n’ Bull Farm
To register, call 800-209-3337 or visit www.QDMA.com and click the REACH Program link and then the REACH Certification link.
Contact: Matt Ross, QDMA Certifications Program Manager (mross@qdma.com or 518-280-3714).
