Shortly after I moved to Kansas City, I was short on hunting buddies. I don't mind hunting alone now and then (in fact sometimes it's incredibly therapeutic), but it's usually more fun to share it with someone. So I decided to join a conservation organization, in hopes of finding some like-minded souls to chase tail (of the winged variety).
I probably could have joined any of the various organizations, but I picked Quail Unlimited (Chapter 13, now a fitting name), mainly because it catered to the species of bird I enjoy hunting most. It was a good experience -- I met some good hunting partners and I was even drafted into a stint on the local Board of Directors. I got a great deal of satisfaction spending time and money helping to grow the organization -- both nationally and locally. I even got the rare treat of attending the Celebrity Hunt one year on a south Georgia plantation.
A couple of months ago, I began receiving emails and phone calls from friends and associates that filled me in on the bad juju going on at QU National. Rocky Evans, one of the founders of QU and longtime President, had resigned under pressure. Craig Alderman, a PR/marketing hack and career journeyman in the outdoor industry, was elevated to prez.
Accusations of debt, mismanagment, misappropriation, foreclosure, graft, and other skullduggery are rampant. QU apparently no longer owns its sprawling South Carolina HQ anymore, and I got an email today urging me to join the Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation, the supposed phoenix destined to rise from the QU ashes.
Thanks, but I'll keep my hand on my wallet. I'm pissed off for QU wasting my time, money, and credibility for the better part of a decade. I'm even more pissed off that the regional directors, wildlife biologists, hunters, and conservationists are left holding the bag for this gross mismanagement by a bunch of selfish assholes that found a profit center in charity.
And mostly, I'm pissed off that the bird that needs it most is once again the ultimate loser.
Amen to that last line. I have a feeling that in the wake of this we're going to see conservation efforts move to a more local model. Money raised in a state will go to work in that state, and in my opinion that's the way it should be. National organizations will hold the role of lobbyist, a necessary one, but won't require you to send them 40% of what you raise to pay for expertise that your Dept of Natural Resources already has.
ReplyDeleteToo bad a good organization has gone away. The professional non-profiteers can be a real blight in many good organizations. While an outfit of any size needs full time folks with expertise to run things, when someone comes into the organization without a real connection to its mission, bad things aren't far off.
ReplyDeleteCurious about the Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation. I'd read that Alderman was trying to start something out of the NWTF offices, also in Edgefield by the way, and wondering if this is that attempt. Or did the email come from QU?
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it, the QUWF is not part of the NWTF. It is my understanding that some reps from QU approached NWTF about joining forces in some way, but to my knowledge, that never happened. I'm not sure who exactly is behind the QUWF.
ReplyDeleteCaveat emptor!
I'm glad I found this blog & this article. I'm working on a blog post about the inner workings of conservation non-profits....I spent several years as a DU biologist.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by... I'll be interested to hear your take on things from a waterfowl point of view.
ReplyDeleteQuail Forever allows chapters to keep 100% of the money they raise, to spend in their local communitty for wildlife habitat and youth education. It's the only way it should be!
ReplyDelete