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Habitat! Habitat! Habitat!

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By FRANK SARGEANT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 15, 2008

Dick Corbett built much of his wealth in real estate, where "location, location, location" is the mantra. But as a member of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Corbett's slogan has changed.

Now it's "habitat, habitat, habitat."

Many members bring an agenda to the voluntary five-year term on the governor-appointed commission, but rarely has a member arrived with such a clearly delineated plan to overhaul a major wildlife venue as Corbett. The Tampa resident recently was appointed for a second stint on the seven-member agency.

"The bobwhite quail is in terrible shape, not only in Florida but throughout the Southeast, and we can do something about it," said Corbett, an avid quail hunter. "Bird numbers are down something like 70 percent across the range, and biologists tell us that the primary cause of that is lost habitat, changed habitat and degraded habitat."

Bobwhites, once popular game birds throughout the South, have declined dramatically in numbers over the past 30 years, according to Nick Wiley, director of the state's Division of Hunting and Game Management. While some blame other factors such as fire-

ants destroying eggs and coyotes and hawks killing adults, controlled studies show that the rapidly reproducing birds can quickly recover where habitat is maintained to provide feeding, resting and escape areas for the quail.

Wiley says controlled hunting is not a factor in the broad reduction in quail numbers.

"The highest numbers of wild quail are on ranches and plantations maintained specifically for quail hunting," he said. "While the hunters take a few birds out of each covey each year, the family unit survives and continues to produce new coveys season after season. We actually see densities of wild birds that are at or above historic levels on these operations."

Corbett: Numbers Can Rebound

Corbett said the success of quail on properly maintained lands parallels that of deer and turkey, which now thrive throughout woodlands across the nation.

"Quail need a little different management regime, but if we can convince enough landowners to participate and give them a little help, and then follow the same programs on our public lands, we can see quail numbers bounce back in only a few years," Corbett said.

He said ideal quail habitat includes low native grasses or agricultural fields, scattered longleaf pine and thick cover along the fencerows to provide escape from predators.

"Of course, the most obvious loss is when rural land becomes urban land," Corbett said. "But there has been a much broader loss in the succession of rural land from small farms to large farms, or to pine plantations. And neither of these - large fields without hedgerows or unbroken forest - is good quail habitat."

Wiley said Corbett is on target regarding his concerns.

"When quail have good habitat, the natural cycle replaces the birds that fall to predation - and there are a lot of things that eat quail. But when the habitat is poor, they are able to raise few offspring, and that leads to a decline in overall numbers."

Corbett said the simplest cure for many areas is simply fire.

"On unimproved land, burning every year stimulates new growth and keeps the cover fairly open, and both those things are great for bobwhites," he said. "It's an inexpensive process, and it works on broad areas in a short time."

Corbett, who with wife Cornelia owns a ranch adjacent to media mogul Ted Turner near Tallahassee, has used fire as a major tool in building bird numbers there. Corbett said Turner is also a strong advocate of quail restoration through habitat.

Help From The Government

Corbett said he hopes to work with state regulators to make safe burns easier to permit. He says chopping thick palmetto areas on the 6 million acres of public lands also would bring a big improvement, not only for quail but also for deer, turkey and other wildlife.

Corbett has not ignored the federal government in his quest for ways to improve quail habitat.

"We went to Washington a few weeks ago and knocked on legislators' doors and got them to agree to include funding for habitat preservation in Florida in the federal Farm Bill this year," he said. "In the past, those types of funds went mostly to the Midwest, and they did a great job there of preserving wildlife lands on family farms, but we need the same incentives for Florida landowners."

Corbett also is working on an endowment for the University of Florida to support an upland game biology program there.

"We think if we train our biologists in Florida game animals, a good portion of them will stay here and become a part of our management system," Corbett said. "We need new blood and we need the latest, best knowledge on successful conservation and management, not just for quail but for all our wildlife as the human population of the state continues to grow."

FUNDRAISING BANQUET

Quail Unlimited, a nonprofit group dedicated to quail restoration, holds its annual fundraising banquet Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. at 702 E. Orange St. in Lakeland. Tickets cost $50 each or $75 per couple, and dinner is included. For more details, call (863) 646-1475.

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