The Ted and Donna Lyon Center for Gamebird Research at East Texas A&M University
By Tom Carpenter
Among all the other pursuits of a country boy from East Texas, Ted B. Lyon grew up hunting bobwhite quail.
“At age 13, when my family lived near Big Lake, Texas, a local guy gave me an orange and white English setter,” Ted says. “I just started going, me and the dog, and kept going. We figured it out together. You could find four or five coveys of quail a day. That’s when I first fell in love with upland hunting.”
As life went on, Ted’s outdoor pursuits and horizons expanded. But bird dogs, and upland birds, always remained at the core.
Ted worked as a police officer to put himself through law school. Hard work was always the name of the game, but as he built a career and eventually his own law firm, giving back was always in his blood.
“I have always been a believer and do-er in conservation,” says Ted. He witnessed the drop in quail numbers range-wide, but it hit his heart especially hard in his home state of Texas. So he did something about it.
photo credits: East Texas A&M University Office of Marketing and Communications
In 2023, Ted and Donna Lyon made a $1 million donation to create the Ted and Donna Lyon Center for Gamebird Research at East Texas A&M University, Texas. Ground broke in April of this year on the new gamebird research and education facility.
With Dr. Kelly Reyna already serving as associate professor at the premier research school, the center has its founding director in place. Quail are enjoying the initial focus of the work, but all grassland gamebirds, as well as waterfowl, will eventually benefit.
QUAIL RESEARCH PREVIEW
As bricks and mortar go up, three initiatives are already in play.
photo credits: East Texas A&M University Office of Marketing and Communications
Quail Chick Production
Since 50 to 80% of adult quail die each year, and a quail’s lifespan is only about 6 months, quail populations hinge on sustained quail chick production — development, hatching, and recruitment. The center’s Quail Research Laboratory is able to recreate field conditions in the lab to develop solutions for chick production in adverse conditions.
Extreme climate like drought, and management efforts like spraying pesticides during nesting season, have negative impacts on quail. The Quail Research Laboratory includes world-class facilities to investigate factors like these that influence quail development and population sustainability.
photo credits: East Texas A&M University Office of Marketing and Communications
Quail Population Sustainability
Gamebird and quail populations are declining across the globe. Developing solutions for population sustainability is key to reversing these trends. The Quail Research Laboratory’s smallest research station spans more than 500,000 acres.
The research program images large-scale populations through innovative monitoring, and provides results that explain observed mysteries like, “Where did all the quail go?” There are research stations in Montana, Kansas, California, and Texas with comprehensive research into the impacts of climate, weather, management, and other factors on a suite of upland gamebirds and waterfowl.
photo credits: East Texas A&M University Office of Marketing and Communications
Quail Research Station Program
Research at established quail research stations provides landowners with information and solutions for the sustainability of quail populations. Five quail research stations are being implemented in strategic locations throughout Texas. The goal is to provide valuable information for landowners across the state and provide a reliable, non-anecdotal “early warning” system for regional quail population changes.
“Ultimately, we can pattern quail population systems and identify solutions for sustainability,” says Reyna. “Our research will favor a large-scale systems approach that addresses the spatial scale necessary to address state and national declines in quail populations.”
RESEARCH CREATES SOLUTIONS
“Texas A&M is a premier research institution in the agricultural world,” says Lyon. “The Gamebird Research Center is going to take a holistic approach to the kinds of research initiatives that will help create sustainable quail populations, and ultimately, populations of other grassland gamebirds.”
photo credits: East Texas A&M University Office of Marketing and Communications
“The center marks a new chapter for the future of gamebirds,” says Reyna. “We are not only bird hunters and conservationists, but also trailblazers and changemakers with a clear mission to transform the future of gamebird populations, to produce the next generation of gamebird professionals, and to safeguard a future for the younger generation.”
“Donna and I couldn’t be happier, or prouder, to be able to help make the Gamebird Research Center a reality,” concludes Lyon. “Understanding quail and other gamebirds, and knowing how they interact with their habitat and land use, is key to restoring and sustaining huntable populations … and making sure others can enjoy this wildlife for generations to come.”
Tom Carpenter is the editor of Pheasants Forever Journal