New hire begins work Aug. 10th

ST. PAUL, MN - Quail Forever (QF) and Pheasants Forever (PF) announce the hiring of Elsa Gallagher as the organization's new wildlife biologist serving Missouri and eastern Kansas. Gallagher had spent the last six years with the Missouri Department of Conservation. Most recently, Gallagher served as the Department's upland wildlife coordinator and quail program leader.

Gallagher began working for the Department in 1994 as a wildlife technician. In that role, she studied quail nesting success, harvest mortality, and hunting dog efficacy. In 2000, she became a full-time employee and private lands biologist for the Department working with landowners to improve lands as habitat for wildlife. She was promoted to the upland wildlife coordinator post in 2003. As the upland wildlife coordinator, Gallagher was the Department's quail program leader and served as Missouri's go-to person for anything related to quail. Additionally, she has been instrumental in promoting the enrollment of Missouri's 22,600 CP 33 quail buffer acres and is the state's principal liaison to the Southeast Quail Study Group.
Gallagher's primary duties with PF/QF will be to grow the organization in Missouri and eastern Kansas, while working with existing PF and QF chapters in Missouri and eastern Kansas. She will assist those existing chapters in raising and expending funds on wildlife habitat and conservation education initiatives. Elsa will also be PF/QF's primary contact for local, state, and federal natural resource agencies.

"Recovering America's quail populations will not be an easy task. I think that's why I love working so hard at it. I want the challenge," reported Gallagher, who acknowledges a college professor for getting her involved with quail research and three bird dogs for keeping her active in quail hunting. "I own a Vizsla, English pointer, and German shorthair. Hunting with my dogs is one of my favorite things in the world to do and I love passing that passion on through youth education and a habitat conservation legacy."
Gallagher is an Albuquerque, New Mexico native. She graduated with a master's degree in wildlife from the University of Missouri and received her B.S. in agriculture from New Mexico State University. Elsa and her three bird dogs make their home in Westphalia, Missouri. For more information about PF/QF in Missouri or Eastern Kansas, please contact Elsa at (573)680-7115 or via email at egallagher@pheasantsforever.org. Gallagher's first day with PF/QF will be August 10th.

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