GALLOWAY, New Jersey — John J. Morgan, small game program manager for the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources, took home the National Bobwhite Technical Committee’s (NBTC) Award for Individual Achievement at ceremonies at the NBTC annual meeting here recently. Described in the nomination as “a true leader in this field of quail conservation,” Morgan has not only led efforts to restore wild quail on Kentucky’s landscape but also has been instrumental in national bobwhite recovery efforts as well.
Morgan has served for years on the group’s research subcommittee, is current secretary/treasurer and incoming chair (2016) of the NBTC, has played a pivotal role in the development of the Coordinated Implementation Program (CIP) for the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI), and recently led his state in hosting a CIP habitat assessment training program for biologists from 14 other states.
A 10-year veteran of KDFWR, Morgan also helps coordinate private land habitat management activities in Kentucky. He has over 15 years of professional experience in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, and Kentucky and is a certified wildlife biologist. He earned his undergraduate degree at Penn State and his Master’s at the University of Georgia.
NBTC is the technical advisory group to the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, the habitat-based strategy of 25 state wildlife management agencies to elevate wild bobwhite restoration to regional and national levels. It meets annually to review progress and help identify opportunities and obstacles to bobwhite restoration.
Headquartered at the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture, NBCI is an initiative of the National Bobwhite Technical Committee (NBTC) to elevate bobwhite quail recovery from an individual state-by-state proposition to a coordinated, range-wide leadership endeavor. The committee is comprised of representatives of 25 state wildlife agencies, various academic research institutions and private conservation organizations. Funds for NBCI are provided from a variety of sources, including the respective state wildlife agencies, the Wildlife Restoration Program and Park Cities Quail.
