A big part of the decline in Missouri is the predator increase. Used to be high fur prices had a lot of predators and nest robbers trapped. Not any longer. Some say our turkeys eat young quail, im not sure that’s having that much of an impact. The bulldozers have sure had their effect too, but it’s difficult to fault a farmer for maximizing what he’s getting off of his land. Our conservation Dept just doesn’t get as excited about Quail as they do deer and turkey. I don’t think Quail hunting brings in the $$ like bigger game. Three of the guys I used to hunt with no longer keep bird dogs. Tough to bring up a pup and train him right without birds..

9 yr old pond, 1 ac, 15' deep.
RES, YP, GS, FHM (no longer), HBG (going away), SMB, and HSB (only one seen in 5 yrs) Restocked HSB (2020) Have seen one of these.
I think that's about all I should put in my little pond.
Otter attack in 2023