Environmental EducationSummer Camp Project
Environmental Education
Northern Bob White Quail/Habitat RestorationThe Bob White Quail is a native Long Island Bird also found in other similar northeastern and southeastern coastal pedmont regions along the Atlantic Coast from Long Island to New Jersey and southward along other similar coastal regions. This once abundant handsome bird has suffered greatly in recent years as prime habitat has disappeared. A major decline in commercial farming, due to a sharp increase in residential home construction and a marked rise in herbaceous plant growth and non-native plants that are not suitable for providing food for a sustainable quail population has proliferated.
All is not lost: as stewards of our natural resources, we have nearly 45,000 acres in Suffolk County of publicly owned county lands as well as state, federal, and private lands that hold great promise for habitat restoration which would be capable of supporting significant numbers of Northern Bob White Quail as suitable habitat is restored.
Our Bob White Quail/Habitat Restoration program is designed to assess potential Quail habitat and to restore species of native grasses and remove undesirable herbaceous vegetation, thereby re-establishing field borders and edge environments vital to Quail propagation. Campers will also be engaged in assisting with the incubation of eggs, rearing of chicks, and the release of mature birds to suitable revitalized restored habitats. The Town of Southold will become active participants as we develop and implement this stewardship initiative on Southold Town properties.
Other Stewardship Projects
