Quail Council plans grassroots conservation effort

Regional meetings will let landowners plan restoration work.

JEFFERSON CITY--For admirers of bobwhite quail and other grassland birds, the past 20 years have been discouraging. But a dedicated group of citizen conservationists are organizing an effort to reverse the trend. In April, they will invite Missouri landowners to join them.

Bobwhite quail numbers have been declining in Missouri and throughout the eastern United States since the 1980s. During the same time, conservation agencies have documented parallel declines in dozens of bird species, including the northern loggerhead shrike, dickcissel, bobolink and grasshopper sparrow. Although these birds may seem very different at first glance, they all need healthy, diverse grasslands to survive. Missouri once had millions of acres of grassland, but most has been cleared for agriculture or development, drastically reducing grassland habitat.

Early efforts to reverse the decline of grassland birds focused on the bobwhite quail, because it had a strong traditional following among hunters. However, piecemeal restoration efforts did not reverse the bird's decline. This led state and federal officials to develop a comprehensive, multi-state restoration program, the Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI).

In March 2004, just after the announcement of the NBCI, Conservation Commissioners Steve Bradford and Lowell Mohler formed the Quail and Grassland Bird Leadership Council. Charter members included former Conservation Commissioner Jeff Churan and a cross-section of Missourians including one operator of a commercial quail facility, farm owners, bird watchers and hunters.

The group also garnered support from Quail Unlimited (QU), the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Conservation Federation of Missouri, Audubon Missouri, the Missouri Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Missouri Prairie Foundation.

"We have a common interest in conservation of both wildlife and the land," said Bradford. "Many other birds and lots of other wildlife benefit from the same management that helps quail. This transcends traditional boundaries between hunters and birdwatchers, rural and urban. It's something that practically everyone has an interest in."

Bradford said Quail Council members have a wealth of practical experience in grassland bird management. "These aren't people who are only talking about it. They have done it. A lot of them have put up their own funds for quail management and are getting results. With their knowledge and state and federal incentive programs that are available, other landowners can do great things."

Bradford said the Council's quarterly meetings around the state have tapped "a huge pent-up demand" for demonstration projects and other help in managing private grasslands to benefit wildlife. That demand will be critical to the success of quail restoration, since more than 90 percent of the state's potential quail habitat is in private hands.

Thanks to their experience on the Conservation Commission, Bradford, Churan and Mohler know what resources are available for the effort and can help marshal them effectively. Those resources include federal farm bill programs, Quail Unlimited chapters' help and contributions from other programs and partners. They hope these combined resources will spur productive interest in grassland bird restoration.

Their goal is to restore quail and other grassland bird numbers to 1980s levels. To do this, biologists in each of the Conservation Department's eight regions are developing quail recovery plans. They will work with Quail Council members to kick off these plans at public meetings the first two weekends in April.

Landowners who are interested in quail and grassland birds are invited to attend the meetings. Habitat work in selected focus areas will be eligible for a wide range of cost-sharing programs, technical assistance and equipment loans.

"I have been active in conservation for many years," said Bradford, "and this is one of the best-organized efforts I have ever seen. I have every confidence that we can do for the bobwhite quail and other grassland species what we have already done for deer and turkeys. With landowner partnerships, this can be another Missouri success story."

Regional meetings will be announced as soon as dates and locations are set. For more information about grassland bird management, contact the nearest Conservation Department office or visit http://www.mdc.mo.gov/landown/wild/quail/ or www.qu.org/index.cfm.

- Jim Low -

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