The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP), along with other cooperating agencies and organizations, is actively implementing Mississippi's Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI) plan. Quail habitat promotional meetings are being hosted by the Mississippi State University Extension Service, and wildlife biologists from the MDWFP Private Lands Habitat Program and Small Game Program are conducting the formal programs.

 

Eight focal counties were selected to begin intensively promoting quail habitat and population restoration in 2008. The initial focal counties selected include Amite, Marion, Monroe, Panola, Prentiss, Sunflower, Union, and Yazoo. A quail habitat meeting was conducted in Marshall County in February, 2009. Additional meetings may be conducted in 2009; habitat management field days will also be conducted. The MDWFP will continue to provide technical assistance to landowners statewide. The focal county approach was chosen to focus limited personnel time on intensive promotional work in an effort to develop larger-scale quail habitat areas. NBCI promotional meetings are being conducted in focal counties, and meeting programs will focus on quail habitat management information and assistance. Topics covered in these meetings include a discussion of the reasons for the decline in quail populations, habitat requirements, management practices, goals for restoration, and sources of cost-share assistance for managing habitat.

 

Information on past and upcoming meetings can be found below. The county Extension offices ask that those planning to attend upcoming meetings RSVP to them.