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News Release

Board of Game and Inland Fisheries Takes Quail Under Its Wing

Board makes Quail Action Plan a priority for Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

Richmond, VA — "Bob-white, Bob-white" was a frequent bird call heard across Virginia some forty years ago. Today, with the loss of habitat, Northern Bobwhite Quail numbers have fallen off and are heard far less frequently. Virginia has not only seen a decline in these great birds but also a decline in the hunters devoted to pursuing them. Fewer quail hunters translates into lost hunting revenue for some of the Commonwealth's most rural areas. According to data in the Virginia Quail Action Plan, "In 1991, the direct contribution of quail hunters to the Virginia economy was estimated to be nearly $26 million and the total economic impact approached $50 million...The total loss to the Virginia economy was more than $23 million from declining quail hunter expenditures between 1991 and 2004."

At its meeting on Friday, February 27, 2009, the Board of Game and Inland Fisheries made a bold statement by declaring quail restoration work to be one of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) highest priorities. The Board, comprised of 11 representatives from across the state, reviewed the Virginia Quail Action Plan presented by staff and committed to funding the plan for the next five years. Past plans had failed to meet goals because they were not fully funded and staffed. The current Board made it clear that they do not want the bobwhite quail to take a backseat to other species any longer.

Large-scale habitat restoration and education will be needed. Despite a tightening budget, VDGIF Director Bob Duncan commented, "I am optimistic we will find a way to fund this important work." Duncan added, "We would welcome financial support from partners and other interested quail enthusiasts to carry this forward."

At that same meeting Wildlife Division Director Bob Ellis recognized the contributions of the Virginia Quail Council, a group of conservation organizations actively supporting the Virginia Quail Action Plan through the promotion and application of land management practices and programs that increase the quality and quantity of quail habitat on agricultural and forested landscapes. Many have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding supporting the Virginia Quail Action Plan.

Other species that share the same early-succession habitat as quail will benefit from this work. The loggerhead shrike, the Henslow's sparrow, grasshopper sparrow, and numerous grassland and shrub dependant songbirds and wildlife are also in decline. Of the 96 birds identified in Virginia's Wildlife Action Plan as Species of Greatest Conservation Needs, 20% are early-succession habitat dependent; in other words, require similar habitat to quail.

A copy of the Virginia Quail Action Plan can be viewed on the Department's website at www.dgif.virginia.gov.

Participants in the process and members of the Virginia Quail Council include:
Quail Unlimited
Quail Forever
Ruffed Grouse Society
National Wild Turkey Federation
Conservation Management Institute
The Nature Conservancy
The National Audubon Society
Virginia Department of Forestry
Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy
Virginia Department of Transportation
Virginia Cooperative Extension Service
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
USDA Farm Service Agency
US Forest Service
US Army Corps of Engineers
US Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Wildlife Division
US Marine Corps Quantico, Wildlife Division
American Electric Power
Dominion Virginia Power
Central Virginia Electric Cooperative
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative
American Woodcock Initiative
Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources
Longwood University
Reese Farms in Halifax County.