Vo 1. 10, No. 6 
Page 3 
birds; 5*3 quail per 100 acres), and was 179 percent higher than the estimate for 
*■* 1966 (1.9 quail per 100 acres). 
Preliminary trapping data from Forbes thus far indicate that there are three 
juvenile cocks per adult cock in the population. In 1966 , six juvenile cocks 
were captured for every adult cock. Weather conditions during the past winter 
undoubtedly influenced survival of quail during this period; the winter was mild, 
with little snow. 
5. Responses of Prairie Chickens to Habitat Manipulation R. 1. Westemeier 
Two agencies, the Prairie Chicken Foundation of Illinois (PCFI) and the 
Prairie Grouse Committee of the Illinois Chapter of the Nature Conservancy (PGC) 
now own or lease a total of 494 acres in eight scattered sanctuaries on the Bogota 
Study Area -- close to the minimum goal of 500-600 acres believed necessary to 
maintain a self-contained flock of prairie chickens. Although only about two- 
thirds of the sanctuary acreage can currently (I 967 ) be considered as potential 
nesting cover, essentially all of the refuge system will provide good nesting cover 
in 1968. Eighty acres of strategically located grassy nesting cover were also 
leased from private farmers in 1967 by the Illinois Department of Conservation to 
supplement the nesting habitat on the permanent sanctuaries. Furthermore, in 1 966 
the spring count of cocks on booming grounds at Bogota revealed that the 
previously declining population trend was halted, and in 1967 the spring count of 
booming cocks was 10 percent higher than in 1 966 . Thus, although the Bogota flock 
is still at a critically low level, the combination of newly available habitat and 
a population beginning to respond favorably offers encouragement that at least one 
flock of prairie chickens in Illinois will be saved from extinction. 
Since one local prairie chicken area, such as the one near Bogota, might 
prove vulnerable in the future to such hazards as disease, weather disasters, or 
increased use of pesticides, at least one or two other areas should be considered 
as management areas. In a move to preserve a second flock of Illinois prairie 
chickens, a group of dedicated conservationists recently (April I 967 ) purchased a 
160-acre farm near Kinmundy in Marion County. The plan is for the owners to lease 
the farm to the PGC now and donate it to the PGC sometime in the future. In 
addition to the new 160-acre sanctuary, 33 acres on nearby Stephen A. Forbes State 
Park, also in Marion County, were seeded to nesting cover in the fall of 1 966 . 
In 1967, 43 percent of the known statewide prairie chicken population was 
distributed along a 20-mile length of relatively contiguous prairie chicken range 
extending from Forbes State Park to southwestern Effingham County. This distribution 
is in direct contrast to the relatively isolated flock at Bogota, which contains 
25 percent of the known statewide population and utilizes a relatively few square 
miles. 
6. Rabbit Management 
J. A. Bailey, J. C. Hanson 
Success of hunters who visited the Sam Dale and Stephen A. Forbes State Parks 
specifically to hunt cottontail rabbits (and not bobwhite quail) has been recorded 
for the past four hunting seasons. 
