Research shows that restoration on small, separated acreages by themselves, has little effect on quail populations. If you can tie these small tracts together into tracts of thousands of acres, then you stand a good chance in a substantial increase in populations. Funding the initiative is another dilemma. There has to be enough funding available for the effort to occur statewide. In this time of downsizing and budget restraints, finding the necessary funding for such a project has to be considered in the plan.
Time is of the essence.
Present populations could be in better shape if the plan would have been initiated several years ago. But it is hard to see a problem developing when pockets of great quail hunting still exist. The group realizes this urgency and hopes to have a plan finalized this year. Oklahoma is not the only state facing a dwindling quail crop. Several other states have developed similar plans to deal with the downward spiral of bobwhite quail.