Thursday, April 02, 2009
Quail fallout
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL: In your column last week on the Virginia Quail Action Plan you state: “It won’t be easy to reverse changes in habitat that have been a major contributor to the quail population crash. Success may very well depend on the wide-spread development of crops for biofuel, not birds.”
Our group, Conservation Management Institute, has been promoting native warm season grasses as biofuel for the past several years. Specifically, we have been conducting seminars around the state promoting native warm season grasses as a viable cash crop for landowners as forage with the potential for biofuel markets in the future. We understand that the native warm season grasses are not the “silver bullet” to mitigate the decline in quail, but in most cases offer better habitat than what is presently on the ground.
As part of our research and engagement effort, we are planning to plant a demonstration stand of native warm season grasses in Catawba. We are working with an experienced grass-planting company from Ohio to establish the stand. They are presently in Virginia planting stands in the Chesapeake Bay drainage. We hope that this will allow us to show landowners what the stands look like and how they should be managed.
We recommend landowners who want to manage their property primarily for quail and other wildlife to work with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ habitat biologists. Our information is designed to inform landowners about current and future markets for native warm season grasses as a cash crop with a potential parallel benefit for wildlife.
There are very few landowners out there who are able to remove their land from production and manage it solely for wildlife. Most need to sustain a crop that will help them pay for their land and provide income for their family. We believe native warm season grasses are an option since they produce twice the tonnage of hay that fescue and orchard grass produces, are more drought tolerant and grow in July and August when other forage (like fescue and orchard grass) are not producing. These native plants have deep root systems that allow them to thrive in dry weather and require no soil amendments.
Native warm season grasses are a great alternative crop for marginal soils. We are excited about this opportunity as it may allow the landowner to make money as well as providing habitat for grassland species.
While quail may be the most well known species in decline due to a loss of grassland habitats, there are many others sharing the same fate.
ANDREW ROSENBERGER
Conservation Management Institute
Virginia Tech
BILL: I read your article on the adoption of the Quail Plan. I also read the plan itself and find some things in there that bother me a bit:
#1. Work with the General Assembly to create a habitat stamp that would be required for everyone buying a hunting or fishing license.
I think this is unfair to most of the hunting public that doesn’t partake of the hunting of this upland bird. I, for one, find this hard to swallow in the light of what is happening at the present time in our country. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, just like the Virginia Duck Stamp. The ducks hunted in Virginia are migrating; thus, the reason for the Federal Migratory Waterfowl Stamp. We are paying twice for permission to hunt in our own state.
#2. Consider a Wildlife Management Area user fee.
Don’t we the hunters already pay for these areas? Now they are requiring us to pay again. Where is the logic? Why is it only the hunter and fishermen/women foot the bill for these areas and not the recreational user such as the horseback rider, hiker and birder? When do we get a break?
#3. Manage private lands for early-succession habitat.
With all they want to do with private landowners, are we the general public going to be able to go onto these lands to hunt the birds that we have paid to save? I bet the answer is unequivocal “No.” And where are these areas going to be located?
BRIAN PATRICK
BILL: For the record how many times to we have to study this [quail] issue? Everyone knows that a major part of the problem is the loss of the small farmer and the habitat these farms provided wild quail.
Where did these farms go? Just look at Botetourt and Roanoke Counties. They have become golf courses, housing developments and industrial parks.
How do you reverse this? You don't because no one has enough money.
Another issue is paved roads. Quail need dirt roads and most roads are paved. Modern man has killed more wild quail than any other predator.
I have tried hunting pen raised quail but it is just not the same. So my Brittany is a lap dog and I just remember the good ole days!
I think the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries field staff knows where some wild quail still exist in spite of all who hunt them. I would not be opposed to spending money to help these quail grow in numbers as long as the public has access to the resource.
The demise of wild quail in the commonwealth is not rocket science. Let’s spend our money wisely and get started now on improving existing quail populations. Why waste more money on more studies that will never be followed up? Let’s use study money to help the established wild quail populations. Most of these populations are on military bases through out the commonwealth.
Why has DGIF reversed itself and opened quail hunting when snow is on the ground? This was a big “No No” all my life. It should still be. Now all of a sudden it is okay. I don't think so.
What about Sunday hunting? It will come someday. Quail will be hammered on Sunday. Are quail hunters willing to give up Monday, Wednesday and Friday to give the birds a break? I doubt it! So the money we spend now will be lost once again!
How about a law that says you can't shoot hen birds! Old time quail hunters never shot hen birds. A good quail hunter can pick out cock birds. When you hunt ring necks out West you don't shoot wild hens birds!
I feel we have a lot of issues that need to be addressed and they will not require a $9 million study, just open dialog.
AL MILTON
Roanoke
