Posted 6:39 pm Sunday, February 24, 2008
Rolling Plains Ranch Designed To Stop Quail Decline
ROBY - A bird in the hand may truly be worth two in the bush at the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch.
Snuggled up against miles of cotton fields to the east and sitting as a gateway to more traditional ranching country and wildlife habitat to the west and north, the year-old RPQRR is being developed as the facility that stops the westward decline of bobwhite quail in the United States.
"If we are going to lose quail in West Texas on my watch we are going to do all we can do here to stop it," said Dr. Dale Rollins, wildlife specialist for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in San Angelo, who oversees the operation and research on the 4,700-acre Fisher County ranch.
Purchased by the Conservation Fund and donated to TAES, Rollins has spent the last year getting research projects up and running and attempting to build a $5 million endowment nest egg that will allow a minimum annual operating budget of $250,000. That effort got out of the blocks quickly when Fort Worth businessman and quail enthusiast Tex Moncrief donated $1 million to the ranch's operation. It has also drawn support from Quail Unlimited and has become the key benefactor of the Park Cities Quail Unlimited chapter.
A HANDS-ON LOOK: Hunting quail is important to maintaining interest in the birds’ future. Dr. Dale Rollins and Natasha Gruber, gather information from birds during the hunt. The data collected is being used for a number of studies.
Research on the ranch has gotten off to a more austere beginning. First-year projects were designed to get a baseline look at the more mundane such as quail numbers and habitat assessment. That data sets up a growing list of projects being designed for coming years.
Rollins said the ranch is an excellent spot for a research facility.
"Ninety percent of this property is quail habitat," Rollins said, standing at one of the high points on the property. Below the landscape are grasses and cover such as prickly pear cactus. There is also brush scattered in what Rollins refers to as a sculpted setting.
"Ninety percent of this property is quail habitat," Rollins said, standing at one of the high points on the property. Below the landscape are grasses and cover such as prickly pear cactus. There is also brush scattered in what Rollins refers to as a sculpted setting.
Steve Knight
The need for the ranch has grown out of the long-term decrease in bobwhite quail numbers that began on the Atlantic Coast and progressively moved west. In other states the decline is at the alarming rate of 4-5 percent a year. In Texas it has been about 3 percent, but may not be as noticeable because the state had a much greater capital of birds with which to start.
Biologists nationwide have looked at causes, some expected such as habitat loss and disease, while others are surprising and include the expansion of white-tailed deer and wild turkeys' potential depredation of chicks. Growing numbers of predators such as skunks and raccoons are also suspect.
"If you go to East Texas you can look at all of the pine trees and the loss of the pea patches that used to be everywhere. Out here the decline is more insidious," Rollins said.
The biologist said there are those who look at the increases in another upland species - wild turkeys - and question why quail aren't enjoying the same growth.
"I ask them how many nights does a turkey spend on the ground. Maybe 12. A quail sleeps on the ground 365 days a year," Rollins said, showing just how difficult it can be to piece the quail puzzle together.
The easy answer across the country is that no one really knows what has caused the decline. It is known that other ground nesting, non-game bird species are also disappearing at the same rate.
The research ranch is also coming online at a time when hunters are depressed about the lack of quail in the state.
"The esprit de corps of quail hunters is the lowest I have ever seen it in my life. Last year was the worst season in my lifetime. This year there was a little optimism going into the season then by October the wind was out of their sails," the biologist said.
Even though Rollins is offering to open the gates of the RPQRR to anyone interested in quail research, the facility is not alone in search for solutions. State wildlife department groups such as the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute in Kingsville, also a part of the Texas A&M system, are researching quail. One of the leading research groups outside of Texas is the Tall Timber Research Station in Florida, a program Rollins hopes the RPQRR is compared to in 15 years. Findings are being funneled among the researchers through the Southeast Quail Study Group.
With benchmark data on the area in hand, the RPQRR is already embarking on an ambitious research schedule that Rollins hopes to provide some tangible results within four years. In conjunction with CKWRI, research is under way to improve quail census techniques. Biologists are experimenting with the use of helicopters and or possibly dogs to determine quail numbers.
Beginning in March a study will also begin to identify nesting habitat. This will be done with radio-collared hens.
Knowing that low-growing prickly pear cactus increases quail-nesting success and survival twofold over grass nesting, it will also get a serious look. That includes a patch-burn grazing project that will include small prescribed burns, their impact on the cactus and determining the palatability of the cactus to cattle.
Habitat is going to be a major focus at the ranch. As Rollins says, hunters and landowners cannot determine what kind of quail habitat they have looking across a pasture.
"If you want to see what a quail sees, you need to lay down, put your head on the ground and open one eye," he explained.
Rollins also noted that rainfall is the biggest natural element impacting quail year to year, but quail are a fragile creature. If hens laid 100 eggs, only 28 will hatch, 12 will survive to the fall and four will make it through winter.
He added that landowners and hunters biggest impact is through stocking rates of cattle and brush control through sculpting, a method of thinning some brush while strategically leaving others.
Biologists are just starting to look at the overall impact of supplemental food sources and water, but both have shown to be more positive than negative.
The work is just beginning at the RPQRR. Fortunately quail still have supporters and they are willing to underwrite the research that hopefully will turn around a downturn that can only lead to the species demise.
