Reggie E. Thackston

Georgia's Bobwhite Quail Initiative (BQI) has been a proactive effort to restore, improve and maintain habitat for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter bobwhite) on private lands across 15 counties of Georgia's Upper Coastal Plain. Secondary objectives included improving habitat for certain songbirds and improved bobwhite hunting and wildlife viewing. Funding was provided through state appropriations, the sale of BQI vehicle license plates (tags) and matching grants. Landowners received over US$1.7 million of financial incentives, and technical assistance was provided to...

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) provides unsuitable vegetative structure for northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) by out-competing native vegetation, impeding foraging and movement of bobwhite chicks, and increasing heat loads. During 2000-2002, we examined the efficacy of four herbicides (three grass-selective translocated herbicides [GSH]; Clethodim, Fluazifop/Fenoxaprop, and Quizalofop; and one non-selective translocated herbicide: Imazapyr) for bermudagrass control in burned and unburned experiments in a field on River Bend Wildlife Management Area, Laurens County, Georgia....

Georgia, like much of the Southeast, is faced with increasing pressures on its natural resources including forests. The predominant forces being imposed on Georgia's forests are development due to human population expansion and increasing demand for forest products. In 1996, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, began working with 14 corporate forest owners operating in Georgia to develop a partnership program that would recognize companies for their efforts in natural resources conservation. The Forestry for Wildlife Partnership Program has been...

We studied longevity, depletion rate, and peak periods of use by white-tailed deer {Odocoileus virginianus) of minerals at artificial lick sites on a clay soil in the Georgia Piedmont in 1990 and 1991. We also surveyed attitudes among southeastern state wildlife agencies about providing mineral supplementation for deer. Results indicated a rapid loss of sodium (Na) to leaching. Leaching rates for calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), and zinc (Zn) were low. Pure salt (NaCl), rather than a more expensive mineral mixture, can be applied in...

Spotlight and helicopter techniques were used during late summer to survey white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in young pine plantations in the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma and Arkansas. Spotlight sampling rates were 72-183 ha/hour and 1.6-6.8 deer/hour, and helicopter sampling rates were 655-976 ha/hour and 26.4-43.2 deer/hour. Ninety-five percent of deer observed from the helicopter were classified to age-sex classes. During spotlight surveys, 60% of deer were classified when using binoculars and 82% were classified when using a spotting scope. The helicopter method yielded deer...