CONSERVATION CORNER
Research Targets Restoring Quail
by James L. Cummins

Declining populations of quail led Mississippi State University (MSU) researchers to a grant to study the effectiveness of programs that restore habitat for this game bird.

Wildlife researchers hope to turn around the Northern bobwhite quail's population decline by recreating elements of historic land conditions. The potential exists for quail hunting to once again become a viable sport.

"There are very few quail hunters in Mississippi because of declining Northern bobwhite quail populations, but if there were quail around, it could be a very significant economic activity," said Ben West, a wildlife specialist with MSU's Extension Service. "The South has a pretty rich heritage of quail hunting, and many people are optimistic about it’s popularity returning."

That optimism is a result of several U.S. Department of Agriculture programs that reimburse landowners for some of the cost of land management practices that establish quail habitat. Examples of these programs include the Conservation Reserve Program, the Healthy Forests Reserve Program and the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, a program authored by Senator Thad Cochran, a strong supporter of restoring the bobwhite quail.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also recently announced funding of a national research project to evaluate the effectiveness of these conservation programs. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Bobwhite Restoration Project is a cooperative effort between the USDA and MSU. MSU's Forest and Wildlife Research Center is serving as the coordinating institution for the $1.5 million project.

"Changes in the way we use our land have caused populations of Northern bobwhite quail to decline an average of 3.8 percent each year for the last 30 years," said avian ecologist Wes Burger, a MSU Department of Wildlife and Fisheries professor and lead investigator of the project. "Historically, quail were an accidental byproduct of the way we used the land. Today with our more intensive use of the land, we have to intentionally create and manage habitats in order to maintain populations."

Burger said quail depend on early successional plant communities - weedy, grassy or shrubby plant communities that occur following some kind of disturbance, like fire or disking. The objective of the 3-year Bobwhite Restoration Project is to support research and demonstration projects in multiple states throughout the quail's range. Researchers will evaluate the effectiveness of various conservation practices.

One significant area of study is in the effectiveness of grass buffers along agricultural field borders. President George W. Bush recently announced a Conservation Reserve Program initiative intended to create 250,000 acres of grass buffers. These buffers would serve as nesting and brood-rearing cover and are expected to increase national bobwhite quail numbers by 750,000 birds annually.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their web site is www.wildlifemiss.org.