Anyone hear any updates on the Bobwhite situation

I have a good friend who winters in Arizona and therefore has taken an interest in joining the Southern AZ quail forever chpt.
Reading their latest news,they have undertaken a project to reintroduce the Masked bobwhite.This quail was once part of the landscape and today it is as scarce in AZ as our bobwhites are here.
What a breath of fresh air to read about an organization taking an active not passive role in such an endevour.
We can learn from that.
Has anyone heard any updates on any real action taking place to turn the tide on our endangered Bobwhites? The MNRF stated that it will not help out the pheasant or Huns since they are not indigenous to our landscape.Neither are any of us.But Quail is different.I don't see anything on the OFAH website of any real plans either.

There’s no money left. If the government is going to borrow money it won’t be for game birds so we can kill them. Reality sucks.

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Originally Posted by terrym

There’s no money left. If the government is going to borrow money it won’t be for game birds so we can kill them. Reality sucks.

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hah well put.

No money for habitat work, only wild population of Bobwhite’s left in Ontario that I know of is on Walpole island. Now if we ever did get the money together for land and habitat work, those Walpole birds would make perfect candidates for transfer stockings. Wishful thinking on my part. In reality the only thing the government has done so far is put them on the protected species list. About as much as you’d expect from the Ontario government with the dept and cutbacks going on. Maybe one day.

Is there enough habitat for them?

The Federal and Provincial Endangered Species Act require each level of government to prepare a Northern Bobwhite Quail Recovery Strategy. The Feds completed their's last year which put the ball in the Province's court. As far as I know, the MNRF has done nothing since, despite the fact they are required by law to prepare a strategy and its long overdue (see TerryM's and FishHawk's posts above). Even if they do get around to preparing a Provincial Recovery Strategy, its just a document. The last wild Bobwhite Quail in Ontario will be gone by the time the bureaucrats pat each other on the backs for a job well done. In reply to Kickingfrog, the last population and decent habitat left in Ontario is on Walpole Island.

https://www.oodmag.com/community/sho...ighlight=quail

Even if some funding could be found the reality is the majority of habitat is privately owned. Not many people will want to support an initiative to rebuild habitat they will only get to look at from the road with red dots on every post.

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Originally Posted by terrym

Even if some funding could be found the reality is the majority of habitat is privately owned. Not many people will want to support an initiative to rebuild habitat they will only get to look at from the road with red dots on every post.

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That's the issue with local deer feeding associations that still exist. "Let me get this straight... you want ME to donate MY money so that some guy can attract deer to HIS back 40?!"

I think a business model like Pelee Island might work. Make it worthwhile for landowners on Manitoulin Island to buy in ( and profit) from a put and take hunt for quail and I bet it would fly. Much easier to access with no worries about wind and ferries. Lots of tourist accommodations that would love to extend their seasons.

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Originally Posted by ninepointer

That's the issue with local deer feeding associations that still exist. "Let me get this straight... you want ME to donate MY money so that some guy can attract deer to HIS back 40?!"

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Not quite the same. Deer will travel miles to winter in a yard. Basically migrate every winter. I don’t know if quail migrate to winter range? Many birds do though.

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Originally Posted by fishhawk

No money for habitat work, only wild population of Bobwhite’s left in Ontario that I know of is on Walpole island. Now if we ever did get the money together for land and habitat work, those Walpole birds would make perfect candidates for transfer stockings. Wishful thinking on my part. In reality the only thing the government has done so far is put them on the protected species list. About as much as you’d expect from the Ontario government with the dept and cutbacks going on. Maybe one day.

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It was the Feds that put them on the endangered species list! After too many years of Liberal extravagant spending we have a provincial government reeling in the expenses in an attempt to balance a budget. MNR supplies luxury in fishing and hunting so no monies forth coming.

What about all the ofah affiliated clubs.i guess if it's not deer or turkeys,their is no interest.Up here the interest is in moose and fish stocking.
Pennsylvania spends hundreds of thousands on pheasant release which everyone knows is strictly a put and take proposition. We need to keep our hunting license dollars in hunting.Again I mention all these ofah affiliated clubs who collectively have the money to do it.We need our voice,the ofah to petition the government.
I know its put and take but put and take pheasants,huns,and quail will keep pressure off the few wild birds we have left and provide days afield.
Not many townships release pheasant anymore and I know of release quail, it's a shame.
Time to face the reality,put and take is the way of the future ,its been in Europe for a while and is the reason the UK which is not large compared to Ont shoots 10 million pheasants a year.

The annual harvest of South Dakota is about 828,000 pheasants a year and those are not all natural birds by any means, but it is "THE" go to pheasant mecca. This means income for Lodging, food, fuel and all other tourist type industries. Ontario refuses to use hunting resources to any extent to generate revenue in a failing manufacturing environment. Bob White Quail and Hungarian partridge once had huntable populations in Ontario. Simply putting them on the endangered species list does nothing if you don't work at enhancing the population with better habitat and environmental studies.

I know, this is an old thread, but I used to follow Ontario's quail situation, and the Provincial and Federal government's excruciatingly slow responses to their legal obligations to advance the recovery of this Endangered Species. I recently stumbled upon this...

Ontario Government Northern Bobwhite Response Statement:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/northern...20connectivity.

So in 2020... 7 years after the last known Northern Bobwhite Quail in Ontario was documented on Walpole Island in 2013, the Province finally fulfilled its obligation by laying out in vague terms what should be done to save the quail. Words, nothing but words. But a box has been checked.

I give up.

Frustrating, but that is how our paid employees for the government work.... (Trump may be on to something in the USA) .. That said, I heard of a fellow in the Niagara Peninsula that was raising Bob White quail with the MNR monitoring it for a release program. There was some talk about a potential release at Rock Point provincial park some years ago being planned. Natures Conservatories who controls many parcels in Norfolk do not allow the non native species on their properties. They remove non native trees, invasive species, and plant prairie grasses which are excellent habitant for such birds that are native.. I would believe that any reintroduction of the Bob White could possible make in Natures Conservatories properties as they are extensive in size.