“Conservation will ultimately boil down to rewarding the private landowner who conserves the public interest.”
- Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac
The greatest effort to save bobwhite quail in American history
By Ryan Sparks
You read the title correctly. It might be a mouthful, but the recently announced Working Lands For Wildlife, Northern Bobwhite Pilot Project is the biggest endeavor for bobwhite quail in American history.
Announced at the 2024 Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic by USDA Under Secretary Robert Bonnie, the project marks the largest concerted effort to restore bobwhite quail populations across 18 states. This is the first time national funds will be sent to states explicitly for bobwhite quail habitat.
Specifically, this project earmarks $13 million for bobwhite habitat in 2024. This project is one part of a larger, 5-year effort to improve 7-million acres of bobwhite habitat.
One historical obstacle with bobwhite conservation is that most bobwhite habitat occurs on private land. The Working Lands For Wildlife, Northern Bobwhite Pilot Project seeks to address that obstacle by incentivizing private landowners to participate in voluntary conservation practices that will benefit bobwhite quail.
“Private working lands have a vital role to play in conservation,” said Under Secretary Bonnie. “So much of our wildlife is dependent on working lands and the actions of farmers, ranchers, and forest owners. This is about working with those farmers, ranchers, and forest owners to protect quail habitat in a way that meshes with their operation, but that can also be to the long-term benefit of bobwhite quail.”
Still, it can be difficult to understand what the announcement actually means for bobwhite quail, quail hunters, landowners, and conservationists. Here’s what you need to know and how you can help.
» Who
- The USDA’s NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife Northern Bobwhite, Grasslands and Savannas Framework collaborates with private landowners, conservation organizations like Quail Forever, and other partners. The 2024 pilot project is an important funding source supporting the long-term goals of the framework.
» What
- The project is a targeted conservation initiative aimed to conserve bobwhite quail and upland habitat on privately owned lands.
- Some of the conservation practices the project hopes to encourage includes field borders, brush management, tillage management, prescribed burning, prescribed grazing, forest stand improvement, and herbaceous weed treatment.
» How
- The NRCS is offering free technical assistance to landowners, providing expertise and guidance in developing customized conservation plans focused on bobwhite habitat management.
- These plans are tailored to the specific needs and goals of each landowner’s property.
» Where
- NRCS is offering financial and technical assistance to landowners in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia to help manage their working lands for bobwhite quail habitat while also meeting their production goals.
- Other states will also be included in the project as it moves ahead.
» When
- The Bobwhite Framework is an ongoing initiative with the goal of impacting 7 million acres of habitat by 2026. Bobwhite populations have declined 81% in the last 50 years, and the time to reverse that trend is now.
» What role does Quail Forever play?
- The success of the Bobwhite Framework relies on collaborative partnerships between NRCS, conservation organizations like Quail Forever, and landowners. The success of this project will ultimately come down to establishing trust between landowners and the conservation community. By working together, we can leverage resources and expertise to achieve meaningful conservation for bobwhite quail, and increase soil and water quality.
- Quail Forever staff and biologists will be instrumental in assisting NRCS with achieving on-the-ground habitat improvements. Quail Forever and the University of Georgia Gamebird and Managed Ecosystems Lab will coordinate the science behind conservation objectives and work with partners to provide technical assistance and plan habitat work.
» What can you do to help?
- If you are a landowner, contact NRCS or Quail Forever to ask how these funds and expertise can be implemented on your land. Take advantage of these incredible resources while they are available to you.
- If you aren’t a landowner, make people aware of the project. Tell your neighbors. Tell a farmer. Post about the project on social media.
- You can also contribute to the project by downloading the Bobscapes app, and recording where and when you encounter bobwhites.
Ryan Sparks is the Editor for the Quail Forever Journal.
This story originally appeared in the 2024 Summer Issue of the Quail Forever Journal. If you enjoyed it and would like to be the first to read more great upland content like this, become a member today!