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Hunting preserve hopes to replenish area wildlife
numbers
By Scott Nicholson
The organizers of Watauga County’s only hunting preserve
hope their work will lead to more fowl play.
Mark Scruggs and Don Jones started Covey Hollar Hunting Preserve
last year and say they have been
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Don Jones prepares to release quail
at the Covey Hollar Hunting preserve in Deep Gap. Photo
by Scott Nicholson
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pleased with the response to the effort as it winds down to the
end of its first season.
The preserve is on 150 acres of private land in Deep Gap, donated
for use by the landowner who is a hunting enthusiast and supportive
of the duo’s efforts to restore feathered prey to the area.
Jones has operated hunting preserves before and found out that
Scruggs was interested in starting one in the county.
The partners prepared the site and now bring adult bird species
such as pheasant, quail and chuckar to the region. The effort
is popular with hunters and also helps replenish wildlife numbers
because such birds are increasingly difficult to find in the wild.
Scruggs said ruffed grouse and wild turkey are about the only
prey species in the region and, like many grassland and woodland
birds, their habitat is threatened by increased development. Hunters
also are finding access to available land more difficult, so the
preserve helps provide outdoorsmen with hunting opportunities.
“There are almost zero quail up here,” Scruggs said.
“Unless we do something to protect habitat and protect quail,
we’re going to lose all the hunting out here.”
The preserve’s customers order a number of adult birds which
are raised in large pens that allow them to exercise. Jones then
spreads the birds around the preserve and the hunters later arrive
and work with Jones’s dogs to flush the birds from cover.
“I’ve been bird hunting all my life,” Jones said.
“I started my first quail preserve in 1990. It just got where
there were no birds anymore.”
Scruggs said, “I’ve always been fascinated with wing
shooting. I’ve been wanting to do a hunting preserve so my
kids would have something to shoot up here and a reason to get
outdoors.”
Dennis Fletcher of Zionville, who was with two friends on a hunt
in the preserve Friday, said, “We hunt everything that moves.
We find plenty of places to hunt, but we come here because there
aren’t any birds anywhere else.”
The preserve’s main hunting area is on a series of grassy
hills surrounded by forest. The site was inspected by the state
and falls under state regulations, and has a definitive season
from October through March, one month longer than the wild-bird
season. Safety is a key consideration in the hunts, with all hunters
given a presentation on expected behavior and use of the dogs,
and one or both partners are present for every hunt.
Jones planted milo and millet, which produce both seed and habitat
for birds, but last year’s drought inhibited the growth.
He estimates about half of all the released birds get away from
hunters and in turn help boost local bird populations, assuming
nature’s other predators don’t get them first. Coyote
and foxes sometimes catch the birds, and hawks often soar above
the hunting site.
Scruggs said hunting is a cultural pursuit as well as a recreational
activity, and all his customers eat their prey. Shortage of available
food sources also limit wild bird populations, so the partners
are active in a number of wildlife preservation organizations
such as Quail Unlimited, which is joining forces with the North
Carolina Christmas Tree Growers Association to bolster quail populations.
Christmas tree farms have grassy habitat suitable for quail, and
more than 11,000 acres will be dedicated for the effort.
“Christmas tree farmers are some of the biggest environmentalists
and conservationists I know,” Scruggs said, noting that the
annual association meeting on Feb. 29 will have a booth sponsored
by Quail Unlimited. He’s also involved in Ducks Unlimited,
Pheasants Forever, the Elk Foundation and other groups.
Scruggs acknowledged that some people consider hunting preserves
inhumane or unsportsmanlike, but said his effort is critical if
there is any chance for birds to return to the wild.
“People do think that,” he said. “I would love
to say we wouldn’t have a hunting preserve, but it’s
the only way we can hunt birds here.”
Customers order birds and schedule their hunts, and the preserve
also sells memberships for $700, which provides each member 100
birds. Jones’s bird dogs, which can cost several thousand
dollars if well-trained, sniff out the birds by running in large
circles across the fields. Scruggs says watching the dogs work
is one of the pleasures of the activity. Hunters typically stand
spaced apart, one on each side and one behind the dog, and the
hunter closest to the side where the birds emerge from cover is
the one who will shoot first.
Bird hunters use shotguns with shells of various gauges. Scruggs
said aiming for birds is a little different than rifle shooting
because hunters use both eyes and lead the target. Skilled hunters
must understand the flight patterns of the birds to be successful.
The preserve also has females among its customers, and Scruggs
said one man recently brought his two young daughters to hunt,
with the 11-year-old showing a proclivity for the sport.
“This is for guys like me that want their kids and their
friends to get outdoors,” Scruggs said. “I want to do
something with my children and have them remember it. If I can
give my kids memories of getting outside and hunting instead of
playing video games, that’s what I’d like to do.”
“This is definitely a preservation effort and there’s
the historical aspect,” Scruggs added, noting the first European
visitors to the area were hunters who came on extended hunting
trips. “There are no wild birds anymore and people can get
meat in the grocery store. A lot of our hunters are those whose
fathers or grandfathers hunted birds.”
Despite the tastiness of the prey and the cost of bringing birds
to the preserve, Scruggs is pleased when he hears reports that
some of the preserve’s birds have escaped and are seen in
the area. “We want to do everything humanly possible to bring
quail back to the area,” he said.
The price for hunts vary, based on number of birds, and also are
combined with local lodging packages. Half-day hunts usually take
two to three hours and include a vigorous workout of hiking. The
preserve’s Web site is www.coveyhollar.com.
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