The forestlands, data collections, deer management activities, philosophical and promotional support, and financing needed to operate the KQDC are volunteered by: private and public forest landowners; hunters; research, outreach, and management agencies; and local tourism and recreation centers. Philosophical and financial support for the KQDC is provided by the Sand County Foundation, a not-for profit organization dedicated to the sustainable use of forest resources, built upon the ideas and philosophy of the "father of wildlife management" in North America, Aldo Leopold. The KQDC is a thriving partnership made up of all these organizations and people - the project simply would not function, nor have the success it has had, without all of these essential partners.
Hunters: First and foremost are the hunters - they harvest deer, reducing deer abundance and impact so that habitat can survive and improve; they bring harvested deer to check stations, providing the data on deer harvest; they conduct the roadside counts every year that provide sex and age information on the deer herd; and they participate in the spring deer density and impact workshop and data collection. Hunters make up ~ 80% of all the volunteers participating in all phases of the program. There would be no program without the hunters, who keep coming back every year and harvesting deer - they are the backbone of the KQDC's primary management operating system, which is hunting.
Landowners: Five different landowners provide their lands, keep them open for public hunting, maintain and keep open their forest roads, and create and maintain openings for forage and fawning by timber harvest and maintenance of permanent openings. These landowners are:
The Allegheny National Forest, which provides 48,350 acres to the land base, maintains and provides access roads, maintains numerous permanent forest openings, contributes approximately 20 personnel each year for data collection, roadside counts, and check stations.
The Bradford Water Authority, which provides 11,800 acres to the land base, maintains and provides access roads, provides deer forage by harvesting trees, and reduces use of fencing as deer density and impact drop, and contributes approximately 5 personnel each year for data collection.
Forest Investment Associates, a forest portfolio company, which provides 9,130 acres to the land base, maintains and provides access roads, provides deer forage by harvesting trees, and reduces use of fencing as deer density and impact drop, and contributes approximately 3 personnel each year for data collection.
Kane Hardwoods, a private timber company, which provides 3,000 acres to the land base, maintains and provides access roads, provides deer forage by harvesting trees, and reduces use of fencing as deer density and impact drop, and contributes approximately 3 personnel each year for data collection.
RAMCO, a private timber company, which provides 970 acres to the land base, maintains and provides access roads, provides deer forage by harvesting trees, and reduces use of fencing as deer density and impact drop.
Research and Outreach Agencies: These agencies provide the research knowledge base for management, conduct on-going deer research on the Kinzua Quality Area, and provide a variety of ways for educating the various publics, including hunters, on the KQDC demonstration project. These agencies are:
USDA Forest Service Research Laboratory in Irvine, PA, which provided the basic and applied research underpinnings for the deer science used on the Kinzua Quality Area and conducts on-going research on impacts of deer on understory vegetation and wildlife habitat, among a variety of other topics. It also volunteers its employees for data collection for deer density and impact and on deer check stations.
The McKean County Cooperative Extension Service, which provides leadership and direction through Dr. Tim Pierson, an Extension Forester, conducts an annual deer density and impact training session to train and educate foresters, hunters, and biologists in techniques for collecting deer density and impact data, and volunteers for collection of deer density and impact data.
Forest and Wildlife Management Organizations: These organizations provide and enforce hunting regulations, provide frameworks for forest and wildlife management, and supply knowledge and expertise developed over decades of proven management excellence.
The Allegheny National Forest as described above.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission, which enacted and oversees the three-point antler restriction, concurrent buck/doe seasons, and antlerless and DMAP programs, and provides guidance and professional and expert advice on deer and forest management.
Keith Horn Consulting Foresters, which manages the Bradford Water Authority forestlands, supplies personnel for deer density and impact data collection, and provides expert professional advice on forest and wildlife management.
The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, which provides expert professional advice on forest and wildlife management.
Local Tourism and Recreation Centers: These centers organize promotional materials and direct the public to the variety of local goods and services necessary for optimizing recreational activities within the Kinzua Quality Area. These agencies are:
The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, promotes tourism, including hunting on the KQDC, and provides information on the many local services supporting tourism (restaurants, lodging, touring activities, etc.).
The Sand County Foundation, which pulled together all the partners in planning, development, and execution of the KQDC program and provides financial, logistical, and administrative support for the program.