What is the Arizona Quail Initiative?
Quail Forever is expanding quail habitat restoration and public access efforts across Arizona, with a particular focus in southeastern Arizona. Three species of western quail (Gambles’, Mearns’ , and Scaled) converge on this landscape, and with your help, we aim to maximize these species’ access to expansive, high quality habitat — effectively ‘raising the floor’ for quail in the southwest.
Why focus on the uplands?
Many of the upland landscapes we know and love - like the Sky Islands region of the southwest - are part of North America’s vast grassland biome. Grasslands are every bit as important to the health of the planet and the life it sustains as rainforests and coral reefs. And unfortunately, they are also every bit as fragile and threatened.
North America’s grasslands are one of the most imperiled ecosystems in the world - a reality made clear through what is happening to upland birds. In fact, nearly 70 percent of North America’s original grasslands and rangeland are gone. As hunters and outdoor enthusiasts, many of us have witnessed these losses firsthand.
We recognize the severity of these threats, but we also have the power to change this story; to write a better future for all of us. And as the Habitat Organization, Quail Forever can—and will—lead the way.
It’s imperative we plant and nurture the seeds that will become the roots of a better future.
Quail Forever is working to ensure grassland dependent wildlife has the space it needs to thrive. Through the Arizona Quail Initiative and other programs throughout the country, we’re able to realize this future — to protect the best of what remains and restore or enhance critical upland habitats.
This is the vision of our future, driving the strategic plan that will guide Quail Forever’s work in the coming years.