Game and Parks’ Remund, Seitz honored for work in quail management

LINCOLN, Neb. – Two Nebraska Game and Parks Commission public land managers recently were honored for their work in quail restoration and management.

Mike Remund and Brad Seitz each were presented the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative’s National Fire Bird Conservation Award at Game and Parks’ Oct. 22 meeting in North Platte.

The NBCI, according to its website, is a unified effort involving numerous state fish and wildlife agencies — including Game and Parks — and conservation organizations aimed at restoring and maintaining wild bobwhite populations throughout their native range. At the NBCI’s annual meeting, the National Fire Bird Conservation Award is given to individuals or groups to recognize their contributions to quail conservation.

Seitz, based at Meridian Wildlife Management Area in Thayer County, and Remund, based at Osage WMA in Johnson County, each have more than 40 years of experience managing habitat for bobwhites in southeastern Nebraska, said John Laux, Game and Parks’ upland game program manager and the state’s quail coordinator.

“Remund played an integral role in developing the Johnson County and Hickory Ridge WMA Focus on Pheasants Initiatives back in 2008 and has helped develop a number of innovative management techniques on his WMAs that others now use throughout the state’s quail range,” he said.

“Likewise, Seitz helped initiate the Meridian Quail Initiative in 2015 as part of the NBCI’s Coordinated Implementation Program, assisting with landowner outreach and habitat tours, and continues to intensively manage Meridian and Alexandria WMAs specifically for bobwhites,” he added.

Both land managers have extensive experience with prescribed fire and collectively burn thousands of acres annually across a variety of habitat types on their WMAs, Laux said.

“Perhaps their best attribute is their willingness to share their knowledge and passion for quail and quail management with others,” said Laux. “These two have mentored dozens of up-and-coming biologists over the years, which has been invaluable to our agency and the conservation community as a whole.

“When you think about quail conservation in Nebraska, it’s hard to not think of Mike and Brad,” Laux said.