Mick Owen, 70, of Silex, Mo., is busy harvesting corn and soybeans now that the rain has stopped and the soil around his farm is drying out. His neighbors are doing the same, agreeing to "pull each other's equipment out should anyone get stuck" in the mud.

Owen, like other farmers, has worked to forge close ties with his neighbors. That connection is one reason Owen and 14 other landowners — many of whom live near him — received a letter last year from Jeff Esely, the Missouri Department of Conservation's private-land conservationist for Lincoln and St. Louis counties.

Esely knew the 15 he picked were interested in wildlife issues.

"I invited them to a meeting where we could discuss the possibility of forming an association dedicated to wildlife issues," he said.

Esely also knew that a number of these landowners had been using better management techniques to raise deer on their properties.

The properties of the 15 are in the heart of one of Missouri's 34 Quail Focus Areas established in 2005 to help those landowners create large areas of suitable quail habitat. Esely explained to the group how Missouri's primary game species — whitetail deer, wild turkey, bobwhite quail and rabbits — had evolved while sharing the same general habitat types.

"Manage the land to provide everything that a bobwhite quail needs to thrive and survive and rabbits, deer, turkey and a host of other wildlife will do well there, too," Esely said.

Since the area was already a Quail Focus Area, the group decided to take a more comprehensive approach and target all wildlife, with deer and quail being the highest priority.

"Deer don't respect property boundaries," Esely said. "They will range long distances. Having many landowners passing up smaller bucks and shooting does will better accomplish management aims than having just one or two landowners doing so. Other benefits include the ability to share equipment and to have a source of help when making prescribed burns."

The landowners agreed to unite as the Cuivre River Wildlife Management Association, with Owen as president, Dennis Ahal as vice president and David Merriot as secretary-treasurer. Some who had been practicing quality deer management brought taxidermy mounts of trophy bucks taken on their properties to meetings to motivate others to join.

Group goals include managing for greater numbers of mature whitetail bucks and an improved buck-to-doe ratio, and work to enhance populations of other wildlife, particularly bobwhite quail. Another goal is to recruit more youths into hunting and help them become safe, ethical hunters who understand the principles of wildlife conservation and habitat management.

Habitat improvements that will benefit quail include measures as simple as trimming a grass-choked field, Esely said.

"Quail like to keep their feet on the dirt as much as possible," he said, "and not on thick grass. Disturbed ground will sprout ragweed, the birds' number one food source."

Other habitat needs include thick brushy cover like wild plum or blackberry thickets; brush piles, which can help quail survive tough winters; and nesting cover like that in stands of native warm-season grasses.

"The upside of planting native grasses is that stands make excellent nesting sites for turkey hens and are good places for the hens to raise poults," Esely said.

CRWMA consists of about 65 members representing approximately 9,000 acres of the 32,000-acre Quail Focus Area, Esely said. Between 80 and 90 people attended the group's last meeting, so the word about the group is getting out.

Owen already has seen results. He and a few neighbors have been independently managing their properties for whitetail deer for about eight years. Owen has bagged a number of fine whitetails, but nothing as spectacular as the 21-point buck downed by his grandson, Josh, 21, when he was 13. Josh's non-typical buck scored 198 Boone and Crockett points. Owen said that this season he has his eye on a buck that "should score between 160 and 180 (Boone and Crockett) points, if I get a chance at him."

Owen also has seen an increase in quail on the property.

"This year, we've restored 40 acres as quail and turkey nesting areas, and cover for rabbits," he said.

Other improvements on Owen's land include a tree restoration project in the form of a 150-foot wide filter strip between his agricultural fields and waterways on the property, including the Cuivre River.

"We planted sycamore, cypress, oak and pecan trees to help reduce the amount of pollution (from farming) that gets into the river," he explained.

Owen is proud that the CRWMA, unlike national organizations, "concentrates on improving habitat in a specific core area, (by enlisting other participants) on a personal basis. Each member works to get others involved. We reach out to everyone — hunters, wildlife enthusiasts, birdwatchers, and non-hunters alike. (Our efforts are like) a pyramid of wildlife management.

"We have definitely seen results," Owen said. "And that is exciting for people just getting involved with the group."