Bobqhite Quail have been absent or in minescule numbers from the southern New Jersey Pinelands(Pennsylvania and Delaware) for some 50 years...........80 of them captured in Georgia have been transplanted into this region with half of the birds surviving 2.5 months into re-introduction with at least three successful nestings taking place..........Eighty more birds will be released in the spring of 2016 and another 80 in 2017."Wild quail had been extirpated from the Pinelands since at least the late 1980s, so knowing that these "transplants" are adapting to the site and are breeding demonstrates that forest stewardship, coupled with translocation, can help restore quail here......... Early successional habitat is key in sustaining a quail covey for their entire life cycle throughout the year," said Dave Chanda, director of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.......Choked forests, paved roads, housing developments, herbicides, and pesticides all combined to destroy the bird's food sources and nesting grounds in the east

northern bobwhite quail

Reintroduction of 

bobwhite quail to 

Pinelands going well

John Parke of New Jersey Audubon holds a bobwhite

quail on the day they were

 released. At least 45 have survived the last 21/2 

country's first National Reserve

Congress created the Pinelands National Reserve (PNR) through the passage of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978. The PNR is the first National Reserve in the nation.

The PNR is approximately 1.1 million acres and spans portions of seven counties and all or part of 56 municipalities. The reserve occupies 22% of New Jersey's land area and it is the largest body of open space on the Mid-Atlantic seaboard between Richmond and Boston.

The reserve is home to dozens of rare plant and animal species and the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system, which contains an estimated 17 trillion gallons of water.  
In 1979, New Jersey formed a partnership with the federal government to preserve, protect and enhance the natural and cultural resources of this special place.

Through its implementation of the Pinelands Comprehensive Management Plan, the New Jersey Pinelands Commission protects the Pinelands in a manner that maintains the region's unique ecology while permitting compatible development.

To explore the Pinelands further, please log on to our Visiting and Recreation page.  You may also wish to obtain the official Pinelands National Reserve brochure. For a hard copy of the brochure, please send a self addressed stamped letter size envelope to:
Pinelands Commission
Attention: PNR brochure
PO Box 359
New Lisbon, NJ 08064