Research Insights
Establishing a Socio-ecological System to Support Northern Bobwhite Populations Long-term: Implications for Ecosystem Services and Hunting Opportunities
The Farm Bill has been an important tool for conservation for almost 40 years; however, many of our important game species and associated non-game species that inhabit grasslands, savannas, marginal farmland, and woodlands continue to decline. New conservation models need to be explored that minimize the need for tax-payer-funded subsidies in the long-term and maximize the availability of wildlife populations so that they can be enjoyed by sportsmen and sportswomen. This project will test and demonstrate different approaches to engaging private landowners in conservation. We will measure how key wildlife populations—northern bobwhites, white-tailed deer, and wild turkeys—respond to management at large spatial scales. Furthermore, to address problems related to the lack of motivation to restore and manage wildlife habitat on private working lands we will measure the co-production of ecosystem services to landowners and society such that those services can be financially enumerated. At the end of the five years, a possible new paradigm for adaptively managing private lands could emerge leading to innovative and exciting ways to restore wildlife populations and engage hunters with the land.
Funder: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Amount: $2,583,362
PI: James Martin, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources