ATHENS, Ga. -- Seventy members of the Whitetail Properties staff are now certified Level I QDMA Deer Stewards following a custom course provided to the company's Land Specialists, video production team and headquarters staff.

"At Whitetail Properties, we call ourselves 'Land Specialists' and it's a title that requires knowledge and training for the benefit of our clients," said Dan Perez, Whitetail Properties CEO. "QDMA's Deer Steward Level I course allowed our team to learn from the world's foremost experts in deer behavior and wildlife habitat. Real world experience teaches us a lot, but you can't just hunt or plant food plots and expect to discover the decades of scientific knowledge the course curriculum offers. It was an amazing learning experience, and we're excited for Level II."

Whitetail Properties Land Specialists from more than 20 states took the course, which was taught in August at the company's headquarters in Pittsfield, Illinois by QDMA staff members and wildlife biologists Joe Hamilton, Kip Adams and Matt Ross. They were joined by Dr. Karl V. Miller, professor of wildlife management at the University of Georgia, and Dr. Craig Harper, extension wildlife specialist at the University of Tennessee.

"The Whitetail Properties Land Specialists interact directly with a lot of hunters in their daily jobs, and the Whitetail Properties TV team influences millions of hunters through electronic media," said Kip Adams, QDMA Director of Education & Outreach. "We were thrilled to provide Deer Steward training to this team because they can positively impact our natural resources and be a huge help to QDMA in our mission of helping hunters improve deer populations in their backyards."

QDMA offers the Level I course to the public in both online and in-person formats, but this was the first time a custom in-person course has been provided to the entire staff of a private company. Previously, by special request, QDMA presented the course to employees of two state wildlife agencies, including the Missouri Department of Conservation and Kentucky Fish & Wildlife.

More than 1,000 hunters have now achieved QDMA Deer Steward certification at one of three levels, with 44 states and four Canadian provinces represented. To learn more about the online Deer Steward course, visit www.QDMA.com and navigate to the Advanced Ed menu.


About QDMA
QDMA is dedicated to ensuring the future of white-tailed deer, wildlife habitat and our hunting heritage. Founded in 1988, QDMA is a national nonprofit wildlife conservation organization with more than 50,000 members in all 50 states and Canada. To learn more about QDMA and why it is the future of deer hunting, call 800-209-3337 or visit www.QDMA.com. QDMA can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheQDMA and Twitter at www.twitter.com/TheQDMA.