The Quail Report | NRCS Agricultural Wildlife Conservation Center

Populations of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and other early successional species have declined over much of the United States during the past 4 decades. These declines have been attributed to loss of habitat associated with intensive farming, forest management, reforestation, advanced natural succession, fire-exclusion, invasion of exotic plants, and urbanization. Historically, many of these species flourished on rangelands, croplands, and forests of the rural American landscape. If broad-scale declines are to be halted and populations restored, essential early successional habitats must be created and maintained on a massive scale.

The Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) charged the Technical Committee of the Southeast Quail Study Group with development of a national bobwhite restoration plan. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Agricultural Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) through a partnership with Mississippi State University, Forest and Wildlife Research Center.

The goal of this project was to provide NRCS personnel with scientifically based technical resources that will assist in planning and implementation of NRCS conservation practices designed to enhance and restore bobwhite and grassland bird habitat.

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Complete Book - Managing Working Lands for Northern Bobwhite-The USDA NRCS Bobwhite Restoration Project (PDF, 4MB) (Table of Contents has hyperlinks to each chapter.)

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The USDA NRCS Bobwhite Restoration Project: Foreword, Executive Summary, Table of Contents (PDF, 1.8MB)

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The USDA NRCS Bobwhite Restoration Project: An Overview (PDF, 164KB)

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Maximizing the Benefits of Field Borders for Bobwhite and Early Successional Songbirds: What is the Best Design for Implementation? (PDF, 1MB)

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Benefits of a Buffer-based Conservation Management System for Bobwhite and Grassland Songbirds in an Intensive Production Agriculture Landscape in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (PDF, 1.7MB)

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Assessing Bobwhite Response to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program Implementation in the Rolling Plains of Texas (PDF, 1.48MB)

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Bobwhite Response to Environmental Quality Incentives Program Practices in the High Plains Ecological Region of Texas (PDF, 683KB)

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Bobwhite Response to Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative-based Habitat Prescriptions on Rangelands (PDF, 1.68MB)

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Conservation Practices to Promote Quality Early Successional Wildlife Habitat (PDF, 2.8MB)

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Responses of Bobwhite, Vegetation, and Invertebrates to Three Methods of Renovating Monotypic Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands in South-central Illinois (PDF, 1.15KMB)

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Response of Bobwhite Populations and the Associated Avian Community to Landscape-level Management in Arkansas (PDF, 1.7MB)

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Evaluation of Four Conservation Management Practices for Bobwhite and Grassland Songbirds (PDF, 1.52MB)