Chicken and Beer Dance
Each February, MVDH hosts a Chicken and Beer Dance at the Quail Club. Complete with legendary fried chicken cooked by longtime member “Jolly,” ice cold beer, great live music, and lots of drawings and gun raffles, the Chicken and Beer Dance is our top fundraiser for the year. Proceeds go to local charities for fallen first responders, canine tracking teams, and a variety of public hunting land projects. Contact a club member for a ticket to come see for yourself that when MVDH members aren’t conserving wildlife habitat, advocating for the outdoorsman, or supporting youth hunting and sports, we’re having fun as a club alongside our families and friends!

​

Goose Nesting Box Projects
MVDH isn’t just about the ducks… we support habitat creation for all migratory waterfowl! We’ve partnered with Illinois Department of Natural Resources leadership for many years to install Canada goose nesting boxes at state sites, including Pyramid State Park, Baldwin Lake, and Pit 3 / Kaskaskia River Wildlife Area. In the sprawling Perry County, Illinois, state park and hunting area, Canada Geese nest in boxes placed on various lakes where geese like to be. MVDH members brave the late winter cold to check, repair, and place nesting boxes contributing to survival of Canada Geese egg hatches. In recent years, we’ve seen a better than 60% nesting success rate in support of the struggling Southern Illinois Canada Goose scene.

​

Seed Program

MVDH members annually purchase and plant seed to create habitat and food for a variety of birds, mammals, and insects. Board Member Gary Stevenson organizes a seed program through Belleville Seed Company affording members the exclusive chance to purchase Japanese millet and buckwheat at a special price offered to the club. By seeding and growing these crops in our yards, on our land, and in our hunting areas, MVDH members build habitat and food sources for species we hunt like whitetail deer, turkey, ducks, geese, and just as importantly, for pollinators like bees and butterflies. 

Union County State Fish and Wildlife Area Pit Project
MVDH members partnered with Illinois Department of Natural Resources site superintendents and managers at the Union County State Fish and Wildlife Area to donate 10 brand new hunting pits in 2020. MVDH President Kip Schneider, Board Member Gary Stevenson, and Keith Reinneck met with UCSFW leaders to learn about how the club could help reinvigorate hunting pits at the popular Jonesboro public land. The club offered to purchase the pits – valued at $10,000 – and donated them to the site. The pits are scheduled to be placed in Spring 2020, and will offer public land hunters the best possible concealment and comfort for waterfowling at one of Southern Illinois’ top public waterfowl destinations.

​

Wagon Lake Wood Duck Box Project
The wood duck is among the most unique and interesting duck species. The woody is among the most widely-distributed duck in North America, and is known for its unique whistle and beautiful feathers. “Woodies” nest in trees, and will also inhabit man-made wood duck box nests. That’s where MVDH comes in! MVDH members create and install dozens of wood duck boxes high up in oak trees at public and private property each year, most notably at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources waterfowl rest area on Wagon Lake Road outside Freeburg, IL. The wood duck boxes are designed to keep predators out and facilitate the hatch and survival of wood duck ducklings.