While many wildlife conservation organizations have focused their efforts on habitat acquisition or species restoration, the QDMA’s primary focus has always been on education, research, and on-the-ground management. Here, the QDMA has achieved great success. Today, thousands of hunters and millions of acres of public and private lands are managed under QDM guidelines. The QDMA’s relentless educational efforts, which include conducting hundreds of seminars annually and publishing numerous books, videos, posters, and other items, have substantially increased the understanding of and participation in QDM.
The QDMA has actively partnered with numerous federal and state wildlife agencies, forest products companies, conservation organizations, and other groups to increase support for QDM. The QDMA also was the first whitetail organization to join the Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance and is a proud supporter of numerous deer research projects conducted by state wildlife agencies and universities.
The QDMA has influenced the attitudes of millions of deer hunters and managers. The acronym QDM, while still misunderstood by many, is now a household term. You cannot pick up a hunting magazine today without finding something on QDM. Likewise, while the QDMA’s journal Quality Whitetails was the first publication to focus exclusively on herd and habitat management, just about every deer magazine today addresses these subjects.
Preserving the deer-hunting heritage is also a priority for the QDMA. Each year the QDMA conducts numerous events for youth and women and supports numerous worthy organizations like Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, the Paralyzed Veterans Association, and the Catch-A-Dream Foundation. The QDMA also supports state law enforcement agencies through donations of educational and law-enforcement items such as mechanized deer decoys.
The QDMA’s ongoing commitment to education and stewardship was formally recognized in 2001 when it was awarded the prestigious Group Achievement Award from The Wildlife Society – the parent body of nearly 10,000 wildlife professionals in North America. The QDMA is the only whitetail organization ever to receive this coveted award.
