Terry Sharpe Honored For 30 Years of Service
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September 7, 2007
 RALEIGH,
N.C. – Retired biologist Terry Sharpe was honored recently by Quail
Unlimited for three decades of work surrounding one of North
America’s most beloved game birds.
Sharpe, who retired from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission in
December 2006 as an agriculture liaison biologist, received a
lifetime service award at the Aug. 29 Commission meeting. The award
was presented by Wes Coltrane, state chairman of Quail Unlimited,
who remarked that Sharpe’s knowledge and dedication created a
lasting impact.
“He never wavered; he was always there. If he didn’t know the answer
to the questions we had, he found them,” recalled Coltrane.
“Sometimes we didn’t like the answer, but he gave us the answer, and
that’s what you have to have. You need good information, and Terry
was a source of good information. He kept us on the right path so
that we didn’t waste a lot of time and resources. He is exactly the
type of person we’ve got to have in trying to resolve this problem
and bring the quail back.”
When asked about his proudest achievement from 30 years of service,
the Richmond County resident said it wasn’t an individual
accomplishment. Instead, he took pride in the agency’s vast
accumulation of knowledge over that time span.
“We learned a lot in the 30 years I’ve worked with the Commission
about quail biology,” he began. “There were a lot of misconceptions
and a lot of things we didn’t know 30 years ago. Today, we know why
we have a quail decline; we know what the problem is.”
Biologists have cited a loss of critical breeding, nesting and
forage areas – called early successional habitats - as the single
biggest factor in the small bird’s downfall. Those issues are being
addressed head on, however, through Commission-run programs such as
CURE - the Cooperative Upland habitat Restoration and Enhancement
program.
Sharpe grew up in Wentworth before receiving an undergraduate degree
from N.C. State University in 1974. He then received a master’s
degree in wildlife management from Louisiana State University in
1976.
His first job with the Commission – a temporary laborer at Jordan
Lake – soon led to his hiring as a district biologist.
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