bird habitat across the Midwest and Midsouth. NBCI staff have also been leading an increasing number of organizations in a national push for a long-overdue native plant policy within the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, to add more public wildlife habitat benefits to NRCS’s traditional soil and water conservation functions. The NBCI also is addressing the highest levels of conservation administration, where state agency structures and functions have greater potential to elevate quail conservation effectiveness. Finally, the NBCI has escalated our ability to engage and inform the public. This report is one example, but check out the NBCI website to see more of how we aim to become “bobwhite central” in the near future. Bobwhite restoration requires realistic expectations, for ours is a generational mission. We take gratification from the incremental but solid gains of the last decade, as we continue building for decades to come. The NBCI, the NBTC, the states and non-government organizations and institutes are overflowing with intelligence, experience and knowledge about bobwhite management. Further, the dedication and passion of bobwhite hunters and conservationists are unmatched. The big question for the next 10 years is whether the NBTC and the entire bobwhite community can muster the resolve, demonstrate the leadership, combine our resources, and build the effective teamwork—up, down, and across the board—that is essential for our ultimate success.
Don McKenzie Director, NBCI
K. Marc Puckett Chair, NBTC Steering Committee
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State of the Bobwhite 2012 • 5