Are Quail On The Rebound?

They read like a series of obituaries, but the surveys and harvest reports are nothing more than a running commentary on the status of bobwhite quail. Call counts in Ohio are down over 80 percent in the last 20 years. Hunters in Missouri harvested just 258,000 birds in 2007, down from a peak of 4 million in 1969. It takes nearly twice as much time to find a covey in Mississippi in 2008 than it did just 10 years earlier. Call counts continue to slide in North Carolina. It's the same throughout the southern and eastern United States. Farms that were brimming with bobwhites in the 1960s and 70s are home to a remnant population of a few birds, sole survivors clinging to a sinking ship.

The decline started in the 1960s, said Roger Wells, national habitat coordinator for Quail Unlimited, biologists and hunters took notice. However, it wasn't until the late 1970s and early 80s that wildlife managers started pouring resources into examining the root causes and potential solutions for reversing the downward spiral. Quail Unlimited was founded in 1981 and the southeastern quail study group, a group of over 100 wildlife professionals, was formed in 1995 with the express purpose of restoring quail populations throughout their range.

Arguably, those efforts haven't worked, at least not on a large scale. After more than two decades of habitat programs and millions, perhaps billions, of dollars later, it's easy to see why some hunters are questioning quail conservation. There aren't any more birds or bird hunters than there were when restoration work got underway.

That's not to say quail conservation efforts are hopeless. Biologists are rethinking past methods and are instead looking at managing habitat on a much larger scale. Indeed, some localized quail populations are far higher than just a decade ago, proving quail aren't destined for the endangered species list. Wells himself actually increased bobwhite numbers on his own 300-acre farm in Kansas from two coveys over 20 years ago to 18 today.

"It can be done. We can bring quail back to much higher numbers, but it is going to take a concerted effort from landowners and state wildlife agencies," he said.

Although Wells said habitat restoration efforts on small and scattered farms can have a positive effect, he said researchers are shifting their focus to landscape-based habitat improvements. Dr. Fred Guthery, a wildlife ecology professor from Oklahoma State University, devised a computer model that suggested quail in the central United States need at least 5,000 acres to sustain a viable population. Eastern bobwhites don't need quite as much acreage, but they still need several thousand acres of suitable habitat to thrive, added Wells.

"The more suitable land you have, the more quail you have and the better chances that some will survive if there is a catastrophic winter storm or drought. If 50 or 60 survive, they can build their numbers back up much easier than if only a few survive," explained Guthery. "Larger areas tend to have more diverse habitat, as well. It's really just a matter of odds."

That land doesn't have to belong to a single owner, but it needs to be managed as a single entity in a way that benefits quail. That's exactly what the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission did in three areas beginning in 2002. Instead of enrolling random acreage in various conservation programs, biologists convinced contiguous landowners to allow managers to improve the wildlife habitat as if it were a single tract. One area had 23 different landowners, said Quail Unlimited's Wes Coltrane.