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363 Strategies for Forming a Quail Management Cooperative Stephen J. DeMaso, William P. Kuvlesky Jr., and Jason B. Hardin A long pull, and a strong pull, and a pull all together. Charles Dickens Quails need space! The more space—or habitat—the better. So how do landowners who own 20, 32, 41, or 81 hectares (50, 80, 100, or 200 acres) manage for wildlife species that need lots of space? They have to work cooperatively with neighbors and other partners in the community who have similar interests in wildlife. The objectives of this chapter are to introduce the concept of wildlife management associations and cooperatives , show how quail management cooperatives can be used to assemble enough acreage to realistically manage quail populations, and provide information about how to create a quail management cooperative. Information for this chapter has been taken or modified from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Web site: http://www .tpwd.state.tx.us/conserve/pdf/72wildlife_co-op.pdf. For more details on forming wildlife management cooperatives, see this Web site. History of Wildlife Management Associations and Cooperatives Wildlife management associations and cooperatives are groups formed by landowners to improve wildlife habitats and associated wildlife populations . The idea of wildlife management associations and/or cooperatives has been around since the early 1930s (MacNamara 1936; Hill 1940; Leopold 1940). In Texas, the first wildlife cooperatives are thought to have evolved during the 1950s in the Hill Country for management of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) (G. Homerstad, TPWD, Victoria, pers. comm.). The first-known wildlife management association in Texas, the Peach Creek Wildlife Management Cooperative, was organized in 1973. The cooperative was developed in response to landowners’ desire to improve the quality of white-tailed deer. This cooperative forged a new type of relationship among Texas landowners—a process in which groups of landowners work together with wildlife biologists to learn about wildlife and make improvements to wildlife habitat and populations on the cooperative acreage. Wildlife cooperatives—or similar entities—have been defined and amended by the Texas legislature since 1975 (1975 Parks and Wildlife Code, Title 5, Subtitle A, Chapter 43, Subchapter D, § 43.041). The Texas legislature defined wildlife associations in 1993 (1993 Parks and Wildlife Code, Title 5, Subtitle E, Chapter 81, Subchapter D, § 81.301). The meanings have remained similar, but the semantics have changed through the years. Roughly, a cooperative is more than two landowners managing wildlife within a county. An association is more than two contiguous landowners managing wildlife within a county. Also, in some areas of the state there are social issues with deep cultural and political roots 21 364 Culture, Heritage, and Future of Texas Quails that influence the type of group that is formed and the ultimate success of that group. Why Quail Associations and/or Cooperatives Are Essential Land ownership fragmentation is defined as the division of rural lands into smaller parcels that remain in rural land uses. Ownership fragmentation is a result of the combined influence of weakened agricultural economies and increased demands from large, urban populations. Impacts of land ownership fragmentation include loss of open space; localized loss of farm, ranch, and forest production; higher demand for public services in rural areas; and reduced space for wildlife and their habitats (Wilkins et al. 2000). In Texas, about 80 percent of farms and ranches are less than 200 hectares (500 acres) in size, most of these occurring in the eastern part of the state. About 81 percent of Texas rural land is owned by 23 percent of the rural landowners (Wilkins et al. 2000). Harvest is problematic for bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations that struggle to exist in fragmented landscapes (Roseberry and Klimstra 1984:147–48). Bobwhite populations on small patches of permanent cover appear extremely vulnerable to extinction, whether harvested or not (Guthery 2002:145). It is easy to see that the largest threats to quails are the smaller and smaller areas of habitat and usable space. As quail populations become more isolated from each other, the probability of extinction increases. The use of wildlife associations and/or cooperatives can increase the acreage suitable for quails, keep populations from becoming isolated, and thereby reduce the risk of localized extinctions. How big does a quail association or cooperative need to be? The bigger the better! Research has shown that for bobwhite populations to thrive for long periods of time there need to be at least 800 birds at the lowest point in the population’s annual cycle...

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