Just back from - Deer Steward Course, Pic Heavy

[horntagger]

Just back from - Deer Steward Course, Pic Heavy

Just back from Deer Steward Course in Branson, Mo. put on by the Quality Deer Management Association

Course was 2½ days in length (including an optional half-day in the field) and restricted to 50 or fewer people from across country. 14 states and 1 from Canada.

22 hours, from days lasted from about 8:30 to 10:00 each on Sat and Sun, had nice welcome at Bid Cedar Lodge on Fri and a 1/2 day tour of the Dr. Grant Woods Proving Grounds / Growing Deer TV on Monday.

Brought back some outstanding information on on CD that went along with class even made a decent score on the test.

Photos are from Tour.

Grant Talking on top of one of his hill that has been cut and burned. Quality Deer Management Association , Matt Ross, CEO , Brian Murphy and Founder Joe Hamilton.

Dr. Grant Woods talking about Watering Holes.

[horntagger]

Brad Mormann running camera for the http://www.growningdeer.tv show.

We are all from different places in Missouri - I am in Bottom Row in Center.

Most everyone in photo also did part of the classes the day before only one missing. Dr Karl Miller.

In Photos is - Kip Adams - QDMA, Brad Mormann - growingdeer.tv, Brian Murphy - QDMA, Grant Woods - growingdeer.tv, Joe Hamilton - QDMA, Matt Ross, QDMA and Dr. Craig Harper - Tenn.

[Jeramie]

I always thought something like that would be interesting if you have land you can truly manage.

[dbHunterNY]

yea i got an email invite for that. too far to travel and couldn't take the time to get out there. good to see it went well.

[horntagger]

Here some information they have these around the country each year. Maybe they will have one closer to you next year.

For Immediate Release

February 14, 2011

Media Contact: Lindsay Thomas (800) 209-3337 or [email protected]

Special destination tours added to the Quality Deer Management Association’s (QDMA) Deer Steward Courses

The QDMA is stepping up the attraction power of its Deer Steward courses this year with special destination tours, including Jeff Foxworthy’s Georgia farm, Dr. Grant Woods’ Missouri “Proving Grounds,” and a 9,000-acre QDM Cooperative in Minnesota. If you’re considering becoming a QDMA Deer Steward, take a close look at this year’s course schedule.

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 QDM. The first two Levels are actual courses, and Level III is an application process; all three need to be taken in succession. By taking both Levels I and II, graduates are able to design and implement their own comprehensive property-specific white-tailed deer management plan. So, for the price of a new firearm or bow, attendees in essence gain enough knowledge to become their own deer manager.

Each course follows the Four Cornerstones of QDM as a guideline. 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, rather than something you can learn in one weekend.

400-plus Deer Stewards

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. There were many high points in 2010, including five sold-out classes for the second consecutive year, and the most attendees in a single year. 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 Certify – Quality Deer Management Association)

2011 Dates and locations:

Level I Courses:

• March 11-14 – Ottertail, MN at Thumper Pond Resort

o 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

o Field Tour: Jeff Foxworthy’s personal farm, “The Beloved”

• May 13-16 – Branson, MO at Barrington Hotel & Conference Center

o Field Tour: Dr. Grant Woods’ “The Proving Grounds”

o Special reception: Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge

Level II Courses:

• June 10-13 – Bogart, GA at QDMA National Headquarters

• June 24-27 – Hillsdale, MI at Sit n’ Bull Farm

Registering for a 2011 Course

To register, call 800-209-3337 or visit Quality Deer Management Association and click the REACH Program link and then the REACH Certification link.

About QDMA

Founded in 1988, QDMA is a national nonprofit wildlife conservation organization with more than 50,000 members in all 50 states and Canada, and several foreign countries. Membership in QDMA is open to anyone interested in better deer and better deer hunting, and committed to ethical hunting, sound deer management and the preservation of the deer-hunting heritage. To learn more about QDMA and why it is the future of deer hunting, call (800) 209-3337 or visit Quality Deer Management Association.

QDMA … The Future of Deer hunting

[horntagger]

Growing Deer TV

Here is the tour we had after the class, I in the orange hat every now and then. I do get my milo question aired. LOL