Fly Fishing Trips, Vacations, Equipment & Gear: Mearns Rant

Mearns Quail

Mearns Quail hunting in the United States is limited to South Eastern Arizona and South Western New Mexico.There are some Mearns in Texas but there is not enough to warrant a season .
The Mearns range extends down into Mexico ,Arizona is the top of the range .They rely on the Summer or the Monsoon rains for optimum breeding/ nesting conditions .
This year the stars aligned , we got the rains and in spots there where carry over birds ,but what's facing Mearns hunters right now is where are the birds ? I have been out and seeing some coveys here and there but not the numbers I expected nor everyone else for that matter .

Buddy pointing a covey on opening day ,look at how high the grass is .

The theory is conditions are terrible , the area is extremely dry and there is a ton of very tall grass or cover making it hard for dogs to scent birds .I'll buy that. I also think that because the huntable range is so small and receives so much hunting pressure that when suitable breeding and nesting conditions occur there are to few carryover birds to replenish the shot out areas,crippling or slowing the recovery.One can argue the point that in the big picture hunting only accounts for 5% to 10% of Gamebird mortality ,in most cases I will agree with that however given the range and area that Mearns Quail call home , and the amount of hunting pressure that is put on them , the numbers are closer to 20%-40% based on other public lands projections.
I feel that in order to have good Mearns Populations to enjoy in the future the Mearns Quail should be "listed " as a trophy game bird and treated as such.Starting off by reducing the daily limit from eight to five birds per day.A special license or stamp should also have to be purchased which would enable Arizona Game and Fish to monitor the hunting pressure during the year and yes limit the amount of Guides that have jumped on the Mearns bandwagon myself included.
The good news is that the Coronado National Forest has the perfect habitat for Mearns Quail, the forest service is looking after the grass ,we just have to look after the Birds .
So what are your thoughts ? lets hear them .