QUAIL THREATENED BY HABITAT LOSS (Short Version)

  • To survive, quail need diverse habitat which includes native grasses, the edge of woodlands, and small grains. Hunters hope to persuade more landowners to manage some of their land as quail habitat.

Quail hunters are lobbying Congress in support of the conservationprograms currently proposed for the 2002 Farm Bill. They say theprograms will help with the bird’s survival. The Great Lakes RadioConsortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

Quail hunters are lobbying congress in support of the conservation
programs currently proposed for the 2002 farm bill. They say the programs will help with the bird’s survival. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham
reports.

Quail Unlimited has high hopes for the farm bill. The proposal would
expand the conservation reserve program. Dave Howell is the director of ag
wildlife services for the group. He says as farming practices have changed the
need for land set aside for conservation has increased.


“Our land ownership pattern of 40 – 50 years ago was very conducive
to the bobwhite quail. As we’ve advanced in modern times here, the farm
size has gotten larger, you know, there aren’t as many fence rows. And so,
we’ve seen a lot of changes and unfortunately, you know, that has not always
favored bobwhite quail.”


The group says once marginal land is taken out of crop production. The
group’s work is not finished. It still needs to persuade landowners to manage the land to meet the habitat needs of quail. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Lester Graham.

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