Passport to Texas

This is Passport to Texas

Embracing the “it takes a village model”, Texas landowners are banding together to restore fragmented bobwhite quail habitat in Texas. Think of fragmentation as a puzzle missing many pieces.

09 —Fortunately, we’ve got landowners that are working together with parks and Wildlife that formed landowner cooperatives that have formed specifically to help bobwhite quail.

Robert Perez is the upland game bird program leader at TPW. Quail populations need hundreds and sometimes thousands of acres to prosper. Neighboring landowners work together to manage their properties to support this charismatic game bird –which is primarily a grassland species.

16—Usually dominated by what’s called a bunch grass. And that’s something like little bluestem, Indian grass – grasses that grow in clumps. The growth patterns of these native grasses allow for the passage of adult quail, but more importantly, small, little, tiny chicks that can navigate through these areas.

Why would landowners go through the effort and expense to make their property more welcoming to a small bird?

08—We’re talking to landowners, and they’re not interested in hunting quail. They’re interested in seeing a quail and hearing a quail and having their kids see a wild quail on their farm and on their ranch.

The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and receives funding from your purchase of fishing and hunting equipment and motor boat fuel.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.