Usually, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission limits presentations at its public meetings to 10 minutes or less, but Don McKenzie held it spellbound for nearly 40 minutes.
More important, he gave the commission optimism that it can revitalize bobwhite quail populations in Arkansas.
McKenzie, of Ward, is executive director for the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative. The NBCI is dedicated to stabilizing and rebuilding bobwhite quail populations in the 25 states that constitute the bobwhite's traditional range. It is the last best chance that quail have to remain relevant to the American sporting landscape.
Based at the University of Tennessee, the NBCI is funded by state wildlife management agencies in the 25 states in the bobwhite's traditional range, including the $75,000 the AGFC contributes annually.
"The funding helps us address goals in a way we've never been able to do before," McKenzie said.
McKenzie said he grew up hunting quail when they were more plentiful than they are now, and he lamented their passing.
"Bobwhite hunting is a part of life in the South," McKenzie said. "It's as much a part of life in the South as barbecue, NASCAR, fried catfish and SEC football. In our generation, we're letting that tradition slip through the cracks. It is fading, and that is a problem."
The bobwhite is victim of many affronts, but the greatest is habitat loss, McKenzie said. There are 210 million acres of "clean" cropland in the bobwhite's traditional range. "Clean" means no natural cover for bobwhites.
There are 120 million acres of "improved" grazing land from which native grasses have been replaced with non-native thatch grasses, and which contains no natural edge cover.
There are 35 million acres of loblolly pine plantations that are largely unsuitable for quail.
"Add up the landscape-scale changes over time, and it's easy to ask how bobwhites hang on at all," McKenzie said.
Loss of native grassland habitat also affects a host of other birds that require the same habitat.
"From 1966 to 2009, the parallels include 20 grassland songbirds and insect pollinators," McKenzie said.
McKenzie said there are many excellent opportunities to create habitat in Arkansas. Some of the best are areas where center-pivot fields, or circular, meet. The uncultivated voids where the circles meet can form edge habitat that support quail.
Arkansas has 779,300 acres of this type of acreage, ranking us fifth among the 25 states in the bobwhite's range. McKenzie said funding is available through the federal Conservation Reserve Program to convert this acreage to bobwhite habitat.
"We could convert more than 20 percent of that landscape to quail habitat," McKenzie said.
Persuading landowners to improve their land management practices might be easy, McKenzie said. The drought of 2012 burned up fields of Bermuda and fescue, forcing cattlemen to buy expensive hay from other states.
"Those that had native warm season grass forage didn't get hurt nearly as bad," McKenzie said. "That was a big learning opportunity."
Missouri and Kentucky report success with quail at special focal areas, McKenzie said. Missouri has made progress in just two years at its focal area, and McKenzie said that Kentucky has reported a dramatic increase in quail numbers on 19,000 acres.
Arkansas is getting a 2,500-acre quail focal area at the Pea Ridge National Battlefield in Benton County. The National Park Service is working to restore the battlefield to its 1860s appearance by eradicating cedar trees, thinning oak forests and with controlled burning.
The AGFC could expand the focal area by partnering with landowners on the west side of the park, McKenzie said, asking the commission to consider establishing other quail focal areas at wildlife management areas.
One member of the commission was skeptical about the high cost-to-benefit ratio of intensive quail management.
Amendment 35 mandates the commission to manage the state's wildlife. It does not mention distinguishing between profitable and unprofitable wildlife classes. We spend a lot of money creating wintering habitat for itinerant ducks. We also have a statewide sales tax to help manage wildlife such as quail and their non-game cousins that don't pay their way through the sales of hunting licenses.
The commission's attentiveness to the NBCI presentation was encouraging and it shows that the commission cares. As long as people care, there is hope for the bobwhite.
Sports on 03/01/2015