can have successful hunting if you keep stocking birds, but you can’t expect to have them survive and reproduce.”
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on Crabtree is a stalwart at Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission meetings. He’s been involved as an advocate for decades on a number of important wildlife issues; most recently, he was a key organizer in the Tennessee Wildlife Federation’s successful effort to amend the state constitution to include a personal right to hunt and fish. Now, Crabtree has taken up the reins as a volunteer focused on bringing back the bobwhite quail in Tennessee. He serves on the committee for the Music City Chapter of Quail Forever, but much of his effort goes far beyond what would be expected of a committee member. He’s been reaching out to a number of key TWRA personnel and working to keep the tradition of quail hunting alive here, despite the low numbers. In February, he helped host a youth quail hunt on a farm in Lynnville, Tenn., where more than 20 kids had a chance to experience the thrill of a covey rise – many of them for the first time ever. Crabtree says the issue is more about dedication and effort than about the possibility. While he agrees that landscape-scale changes are necessary, limited successes can be found in other Southern states. TWRA’s 2006-2012 long-range plan includes several goals related to quail and other farm game species, but for budgetary and other reasons, few of them have been accomplished. “A lot of people talk about the good old days, but in Tennessee these are the good old days for so many species,” Crabtree says. “There’s only one exception – the bobwhite quail. We’ve seen a number of successes, just not in Tennessee. It’s a matter of making the decision that our state game bird matters, and putting the resources toward it.” Crabtree’s not the only one who’s taken an interest. Don McKenzie is the director of the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, which is housed at the University of Tennessee and funded by 25 different state fish and wildlife agencies, including Tennessee’s. A panel of wildlife biologists from around the country comprises the National Bobwhite Technical Committee, which oversees the initiative. Their goal is to restore wild populations of bobwhite quail in this country to levels comparable to 1980.
McKenzie spoke to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission recently, outlining the current status, the needs and the prognosis, including examples of what other states are doing. To sum it up in one word, McKenzie says the outlook for bobwhites in the United States is bleak. “It’s declining in every single state across its range, both short-term and long-term, without exception,” McKenzie says. “There’s not a single state where they’re holding their own, much less increasing. Across the Southeast, they’re declining by four percent per year. In Tennessee, the number’s even worse – five percent per year.” And it’s not just quail… just about every species of grassland bird that shares habitat with the bobwhite is also declining, including at least 15 different high-priority songbird species. “As much success as we’ve had with deer and turkey over the last 25 or 30 years, we see bobwhites as unfinished business,” he says. “This is a habitat-rooted problem, and a habitat-rooted solution.” He cites urban sprawl, intensive agriculture and unmanaged forests as factors, and references a report by Aldo Leopold in 1929 that said 85 percent of habitat in the state of Mississippi was suitable for bobwhites. Today, that number is less than five percent, and what good habitat remains is isolated. Yet other neighboring states are seeing great results from focused efforts. The Missouri Department of Conservation identified a concentration area in Scott County, and exceeded all of the goals for habitat restoration and quail numbers within four years. “Hunters started coming out of the woodwork, so much so that the Chamber of Commerce in that county called the director of conservation and said, ‘What in the world are you doing in Scott County?,’” McKenzie says. “We’ve never seen so many orange hats.” The same thing is happening in central Kentucky, in Shaker Village near Lexington on a 3,000-acre former cattle ranch. The “sea of fescue” is being converted to native grasses, and 1,000 acres were converted in the first two years. “The wildlife department there says they went from 8-10 coveys to more than 30 coveys in two years, and are expecting 50-60 coveys at next count,” he says. “They’re now selling wild quail hunts as a fundraiser to support the effort on that property, as well as neighboring properties.” The goal, say Crabtree and McKenzie, is to get Tennessee to place some emphasis on bringing back the bobwhite. With the right resources, it’s been proven to work, and they say what’s been learned through the process can allow participating states to realize the ultimate goal of restoring a species throughout its native range. Understandably, it’s the various species enthusiasts who make their voices heard who end up getting the attention of decision-makers. Those who would like to see the bobwhite quail become Tennessee’s next wildlife success story should share their thoughts with wildlife commissioners and leaders. Their contact information can be found at www.tnwildlife.org. For more information on the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, visit www.bringbackbobwhites.org.
Tennessee Out-Of-Doors | 11