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Friday, January 16, 2009 | www.qu.org |
The Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative: A PLAN FOR QUAIL POPULATION RECOVERY  www.bobwhiteconservation.org |
By Ralph Dimmick Department of Forestry,Wildlife & Fisheries — Mark Gudlin Assistant Chief of Wildlife, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency — Donald McKenzie Wildlife Management Institute — Roger Wells National Habitat Director
A number of years ago, in response to declining quail numbers throughout the Southeast, the Southeast Quail Study Group (SEQSG) Technical Committee was formed under the auspices of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA). This group of state, federal and private biologists and managers has worked to identify and support multi-state activities, management and research toward quail. In October 1998, the SEAFWA Directors determined the time had come for serious action to stem the alarming decline of bobwhites.They instructed the SEQSG Technical Committee to develop a habitat-based northern bobwhite quail recovery plan that could foster large-scale coordinated, collaborative action at the regional level. The Southeast Quail Study Group Technical Committee assigned Ralph Dimmick to assemble and lead a team of biologists to develop the plan. Ralph is a retired University ofTennessee wildlife professor who conducted research on bobwhites through most of his career. Co-leaders were Mark Gudlin (Assistant Chief of Wildlife with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, formerly the agency's Small Game Program Leader) and Don McKenzie (Southeast Field Representative for the Wildlife Management Institute). The final result was truly a team effort, combining the contributions of more than 50 biologists from the 22 state agencies involved, as well as numerous federal agencies, universities and private organizations. Special thanks go to Steve Brady, a biologist with NRCS, who conducted a custom analysis of National Resources Inventory land-use data for this plan. In March 2002, the first edition of the resulting Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) was completed. This Initiative is the first landscape-scale habitat restoration and population recovery plan for bobwhites in the United States. A Nearly Rangewide Plan for Bobwhites The recovery of the northern bobwhite will be made increasingly difficult by the continuing loss of the land base needed for implementing the habitat changes necessary for this recovery. Each 100,000 increase in the human population in the United States is accompanied by a conversion of 150,000 acres of rural land to urban uses, rendering it largely unfit for bobwhite management. The U.S. Census Bureau projects the U.S. population will grow by about 43 million by 2020. This |
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