ALPINE TX – The Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) at Sul Ross State University is pleased to announce the John B. Poindexter Endowed Fellowship in Quail Research. The $400,000 endowment honors John Poindexter, a founding advisory board member for BRI, who has long been a champion for West Texas. The endowment was kicked off a few years ago by Poindexter’s friends, who chipped in more than $250,000 on his behalf.

“We have been completely overwhelmed by the generosity that John’s friends displayed on his behalf,” said Dr. Louis Harveson, who is the Dan Allen Hughes, Jr., BRI Endowed Director and professor of Wildlife Management at Sul Ross. “The John B. Poindexter Endowed Fellowship in Quail Research will ensure that BRI will continue to conduct cutting-edge research on the quails of West Texas in perpetuity.”

The Trans-Pecos is blessed with an abundance and diversity of quails, which are the focus of numerous BRI research projects. This West Texas region of the Chihuahuan Desert hosts four species of quail: northern bobwhite quail, scaled quail, Gambel’s quail, and Montezuma quail.

The Poindexter endowment will support a graduate student who will focus their thesis research on quail ecology. Sustained funding from the endowed fellowship will also allow BRI to leverage additional funds for quail research from various conservation partners.

“The Borderlands Research Institute has established a reputation for groundbreaking research that has furthered our knowledge of wildlife in the Chihuahuan Desert,” said Poindexter. “I’m grateful for the generosity of the many folks who have contributed to this fund that will help ensure the future of the critical work BRI is doing in West Texas.”