MISSISSIPPI STATE – Young hunters will learn about quail hunting and conservation at two upcoming day-long events in Clarke and Clay counties.

Quail Forever is organizing the Feb. 27 and March 6 events with help from the Mississippi State University Extension Service, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and the 2009 Youth Participation Initiative Program. Applications for the limited openings are due by Feb. 10. Participation is free and open to youth ages 12 to 18. Lunch and dinner are provided.

Youth will learn the principles of hunting, firearms safety, and bobwhite quail biology, habitat and management issues. They also will take part in a quail hunt. A parent or legal guardian must accompany youth participants. Youth ages 16 and older must have a valid hunting license to take part in the hunt.

Spots for the March 6 event at the Prairie Wildlife Preserve near West Point filled quickly, but openings remain for the Feb. 27 opportunity at Millbrook Plantation in Stonewall, 30 minutes south of Meridian. Each day’s sessions take place from 8:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Applications can be downloaded from http://home.mdwfp.com/quail or obtained by contacting event organizers. For more information on the hunts, contact Leslie Burger, Extension conservation education specialist, at (662) 325-6686 or lburger@ext.msstate.edu, or Rick Hamrick, MDWFP small game biologist, at (662) 617-1445 or rickh@mdwfp.state.ms.us.