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Male Bobwhite
A male bobwhite. Photo: Ben Robinson
Female Bobwhite
A female bobwhite. Photo: Ben Robinson.
Farm Setting
Small, un-manicured farms with fencerows, brushy hedgerows, fallow fields and open woodlots once created a patchwork quilt of bobwhite habitat. Photo: Ben Robinson
Nesting Habitat
Nesting and brood-rearing habitat, consisting of native grasses and forbs (i.e., wildflowers & “weeds”), are key components of bobwhite habitat and the most likely to be missing on the landscape.
Loggerhead Shrike
This Loggerhead Shrike is but one of a suite of grasslands songbirds that is in decline because it requires the same habitat as the bobwhite.
South TX Bobwhite Habitat
Prime bobwhite habitat as it looks in South Texas. While the plant species may change, bobwhite habitat retains its structure throughout the range.
Controlled Burn
Since the early 1900s, the bobwhite has been known as the "fire bird" because of its dependence on fire to disturb the landscape and "re-set" the plant succession button. Prescribed fire under very controlled circumstances is an invaluable tool for creating and maintaining the habitat bobwhites require.
Cattle
Returning native grasses to grazing operations to benefit livestock, producers, grassland birds, bobwhites and taxpayers is an essential element of NBCI's efforts to restore wild bobwhites on working lands across the range.
Grassy Woodlands
Active, purposeful management of forests to re-create savannas or "grassy woodlands" is a key NBCI objective in restoring wild bobwhites.
Butterflies
Bobwhite habitat provides excellent habitat for butterflies, such as this Monarch, as well as a wide range of pollinators. Photo: Bruce Schuette
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National Bobwhite & Grassland Initiative

Why should we care about bobwhites? What does bobwhite conservation mean for our efforts to preserve other declining grassland birds species? And what is NBGI, exactly? We’ve developed a beautiful StoryMap to help our partners and the public makes sense of it all in answering these questions and more. Feel free to scroll through the StoryMap by placing your mouse below, or click here to view its full page. You will begin learning more about this incredible partnership and the tireless efforts underway to help bring back bobwhites!

NBGI mission: A partnership to restore and maintain wild bobwhite quail, associated species, and their native habitats through science-based research and management to support healthy wildlife, soil, air, and water for the benefit of society.

The National Bobwhite and Grassland Initiative (NBGI) based at Clemson University, is thrilled to announce two awards of $25 million through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. These funds.will be managed by the NBGI Foundation and are set to revolutionize conservation efforts in Missouri, Ohio, Georgia, and Mississippi by streamlining access to voluntary conservation payments for landowners and producers.
The awarded funds will be used to promote native vegetation on working lands, specifically targeting the mitigation of climate change through grassland bird conservation. The broad team of partners, led by each state’s wildlife agency, includes those who can help reach historically underserved communities. This remarkable achievement not only reinforces the vision of NBGI’s Habitat Management Service Center, a centralized administrative hub to connect public funds to the private sector, but it underscores the importance of measuring natural resource benefits through the partnership’s Coordinated Implementation Program.
 As a component of these projects, the Foundation will be allocating resources for research through Clemson University and supporting conservation delivery positions. Research will help assess bobwhite and grassland bird population responses, learn what techniques help drive landowner participation, and understand social and economic values and benefits. The Foundation and their partners will recruit talented and motivated field personnel tasked with working with landowners and producers to install and maintain conservation practices. Other professionals will focus on coordination and communication across the diverse partnership.
For nearly three decades, the NBGI, supported by its new Foundation, have rallied a 25-state partnership including state and federal agencies, universities, conservation non-profits, and other conservation partners together to change how people use and view the land. The habitat transformation from those efforts will generate many societal benefits including increased populations of bobwhite and grassland birds, soil health, water quality, and carbon sequestration, among others. Stay tuned at nbgi.org as the partnership embarks on this transformative journey toward landscape-changing conservation.
Keep up to date with ongoing developments by following us on your favorite social media platforms. #NBGIFoundation #ConservationInitiative #RCPPFunding #LandscapeConservation #GrasslandBirdConservation

NBGI Coordinated Implementation Program

NBGI’s bobwhite focal area program—the Coordinated Implementation Program, or CIP—is a science-based initiative designed to demonstrate conclusively that bobwhite populations (as well as populations of other species) can be recovered when the proper amount and arrangement of habitat is provided on a landscape scale. There are currently 26 NBGI focal areas in 20 states, along with a similar-sized and located reference area for each. NBGI’s vision is to grow the focal area concept to focal landscapes and then focal regions over time.

NBGI’s unique approach has attracted widespread attention because of its standardization of protocols across the bobwhite range and NBGI’s maintenance of the database at Clemson University, which provides easy access for partners. To learn more about the program, including participation requirements and opportunities, visit the NBGI Focal Areas page.

CIP Enrollment

Click on a state to display the focal area details. For resources available to state quail coordinators, visit
QuailCount.org.

CIP Enrollment
Iowa Missouri Arkansas Louisiana Illinois Kentucky Tennessee Mississippi Alabama Ohio Georgia South Carolina Virginia Pennsylvania New Jersey Delaware

Iowa

Ringgold Focal Area
Acreage: 6,475 acres
Monitoring Points: 32 points
Collecting Data Since: 2013

Shawtee Focal Area
Acreage: 5,812 acres
Monitoring Points: 30 points
Collecting Data Since: 2014

Missouri

2C Focal Area
Acreage: 5,242 acres
Monitoring Points: 24 points
Collecting Data Since: 2013

Bee Ridge Focal Area
Acreage: 5,574 acres
Monitoring Points: 23 points
Collecting Data Since: 2018

Arkansas

Pea Ridge Focal Area
Acreage: 4,250 acres
Monitoring Points: 12 points
Collecting Data Since: 2017

Louisiana

Kisatchie National Forest – Vernon Focal Area
Acreage: 5,991 acres
Monitoring Points: 25 points
Collecting Data Since: 2017

Illinois

Burning Star Focal Area
Acreage: 4,451 acres
Monitoring Points: 24 points
Collecting Data Since: 2018

Kentucky

Livingston Focal Area
Acreage: 5,838 acres
Monitoring Points: 48 points
Collecting Data Since: 2013

Peabody Focal Area
Acreage: 3,074 acres
Monitoring Points: 14 points
Collecting Data Since: 2018

Wendell Ford Training Center Focal Area
Acreage: 3,088 acres
Monitoring Points: 13 points
Collecting Data Since: 2018

Tennessee

Wolf River Focal Area
Acreage: 3,119 acres
Monitoring Points: 13 points
Collecting Data Since: 2018

Mississippi

Leaf River Focal Area
Acreage: 3,549 acres
Monitoring Points: 15 points
Collecting Data Since: 2020

Alabama

Boggy Hollow Focal Area
Acreage: 6,878 acres
Monitoring Points: 24 points
Collecting Data Since: 2018

Ohio

Fallsville Focal Area
Acreage: 11,058 acres
Monitoring Points: 42 points
Collecting Data Since: 2015

Georgia

Silver Lake Focal Area
Acreage: 4,664 acres
Monitoring Points: 22 points
Collecting Data Since: 2018

Chickasawhatchee WMA Focal Area
Acreage: 7,000 acres
Monitoring Points: 48 points
Collecting Data Since: 2020

South Carolina

Indian Creek Focal Area
Acreage: 2,685 acres
Monitoring Points: 12 points
Collecting Data Since: 2016

Focal Area #2
In Development

Virginia

Big Woods/Piney Grove Focal Area
Acreage: 7,574 acres
Monitoring Points: 31 points
Collecting Data Since: 2013

Manassas National Battlefield Park Focal Area
Acreage: 4,424 acres
Monitoring Points: 19 points
Collecting Data Since: 2018

Pennsylvania

Letterkenny Focal Area
Acreage: 3,756 acres
Monitoring Points: 15 points
Collecting Data Since: 2017

New Jersey

Dix WMA Focal Area
Acreage: 6,146 acres
Monitoring Points: 15 points
Collecting Data Since: 2019

Delaware

Cedar Swamp Focal Area
Acreage: 1,694 acres
Monitoring Points: 14 points
Collecting Data Since: 2016

A Bobwhite Revival

This brochure provides an overview of what NBGI is and how it works, the tools at its disposal and the strategies involved in the restoration of wild quail at the landscape level.

State of the Bobwhite Report 2022

The Bobwhite Almanac/State of the Bobwhite Report is published annually by NBGI. It provides a range-wide snapshot of population, hunting, and conservation status of the northern bobwhite, as well as updates on the efforts underway to reverse the bobwhite decline.

Listen to the Call of the Bobwhite

NBGI Benefactors