As a dedicated quail hunter in Virginia from the 1960s through the 1990s, I have since been in mourning for the bird. Wild quail seem to have virtually disappeared from the Old Dominion. But there may be hope for the noble species, at least in the coastal plain, thanks to joint efforts of the Nature Conservancy, the Virginia Department of Forestry and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
The basis of this hope rests on three contiguous properties owned and cooperatively managed by the three entities in Sussex County, seat of most of my hunting in those good old but steadily declining years last century. Together constituting more than 10,000 acres, all were assembled by TNC.
TNC’s PIney Grove Preserve (3200 acres) was purchased from John Hancock Insurance Company’s Timber Resources Group in 1998 and others and dedicated to the endangered Red-Cockaded Woodpecker by reintroduction of breeding pairs from North Carolina and creating habitat through prescribed burns, thinning existing loblolly stands and clear cutting others to be replaced with native long-leaf pine seedlings grown at the Garland Gray Nursery (managed by the Virginia Department of Forestry at nearby Courtland) to recreate the historic pine savannah that once dominated the coastal plains from Georgia to New Jersey. From the start William & Mary’s Center for Conservation Biology has assisted in managing and documenting the woodpeckers’ presence and progress on the property.
Adjoining on the south are the Big Woods State Forest (2200 acres) and Big Woods Wildlife Management Area (4173 acres) managed as one unit with the same goals and acquired by the state agencies by purchase from TNC which acquired them from International Paper and others with their sale to the State in mind.
The latter properties are served by excellent forest roads (designated “paths” in the local vernacular) which permit motoring through for magnificent views of the habitat, reminiscent of the Red Hills region of Southwest Georgia and Northwest Florida (between Thomasville and Tallahassee). Horseback riding is permitted on the State Forest portion. In addition to the woodpeckers, the habitat serves deer, turkey and quail which may be hunted in season except on the Piney Grove Preserve, parts of which are leased for deer hunting to local clubs. Piney Grove is available for hiking and bird watching February through October and can be viewed by auto from perimeter state roads.
In addition to these agencies, local farmer Bill Owen has cleared and replanted 830 acres in native long-leaf pine on his farm nearby. Good for you, Bill.