Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have experienced a general decline of an average rate of 3 percent per year across most of their range in the southeastern U.S. over the last 40–50 years. In Oklahoma in the western part of its distribution, populations have experienced a long-term decline, albeit at a lower rate than reported for other regions of the U.S. (i.e., 1.5 percent per year). In response to specific concerns over quail declines in western Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation initiated a 6-year, multimillion-dollar project in 2011 through the Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, and the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Oklahoma State University. The overall objective is to determine the major factors driving long-term changes in bobwhite populations in western Oklahoma. For more information on this 6-year bobwhite project click HERE.
