RELEASE CANCELLED, RESCHEDULED FOR TUES. MARCH 11, 10:00AM
MEDIA ADVISORY/PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
March 4, 2008
BOBWHITE QUAIL FIND NEW HOME IN DARKE COUNTY
Thirty-six bobwhite quail to be released on March 10th
GREENVILLE, OHIO – As part of an ongoing initiative to increase the range of bobwhite quail, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife biologists will release 36 bobwhite quail on a farm northwest of Greenville. The release is set for 10:00 a.m. Monday, March 10, 2008.
The partnership between private landowners and the Division of Wildlife make this program possible. For more than six years Wildlife management staff in the southwestern portion of the state trap and transfer quail from areas with abundant populations to areas with good quail habitat and few quail. The quail were originally trapped in Brown, Preble, Highland, and Butler counties where the quail populations are stable. In recent years quail have been released in Clark, Darke, Shelby, and Miami counties.
This will mark the second release of the 2007-2008 season. “We plan to release 36 birds on Monday morning, but we are still trapping this week and that number could go up” said Diana Malas, Private Lands Biologist for Wildlife District Five.
Quail coveys will naturally expand their range a quarter of a mile per year which means it may take several years for the population to spread out. The trap-and-transfer program speeds up this process.
Quail were once very common throughout the area; blizzards of the late 1970s and ultimately the loss of habitat decimated their populations in many counties. The overall goal of the quail project is to increase Ohio’s biodiversity.