California quail

Governed by AZGFD's combined Quail Outlook press release (Gambel's, scaled, California, and Mearns's/Montezuma quail together, built on spring desert-quail roadside call-count surveys plus a Mearns's monsoon-condition assessment), published each year within days of the mid-October season opener (Oct 11 2023, Oct 15 2024, Oct 17 2025). Not yet published as of 2026-08-19; azgfd.com continued to return HTTP 403 to direct fetch on a fresh check this pass (same block the Tier A registry hit on 2026-08-18), so status is tracked via the expected annual timing rather than a direct page read. Expected mid-October 2026, alongside the season opener.

Governed by CDFW's combined Quail (California/Gambel's/Mountain) and Chukar Hunting Outlook press release — a new article/URL each year rather than one page overwritten in place; publish date has moved year to year (Oct 19 2024; Sept 19 2025). Not yet published as of a 2026-08-19 fresh check of the tag-archive pages (wildlife.ca.gov/News/Archive/tag/california-quail-hunting and .../tag/wild-chukar-hunting-in-california); based on the 2024-25 window, expected within the next several weeks.

No standalone quail survey exists; California quail is covered only narratively within IDFG's statewide/regional Upland Game Bird Forecast (8 documents: 1 statewide + 7 region pages). Re-confirmed via fresh search 2026-08-19: the 2026 edition had not published (2025 edition published Sept 5, 2025); regional pages still show 2025 content. Expected within the next 2-3 weeks.

NDOW confirms no standalone population survey or forecast exists for California quail specifically -- its upland game bird monitoring concentrates on chukar/partridge (camera-based) and sage-grouse (lek + telemetry). A historical combined “Regional Upland Game Hunting Forecast” (referenced only in 2006 press coverage) may once have covered quail narratively, but its current status is unconfirmed. Two independent search passes (the Tier A pass, plus a fresh targeted search this pass) found no NDOW-published quail-specific index of any kind -- a lower-confidence closure, not an explicit NDOW confirmed-absence statement.

Covered only narratively within ODFW's annual Game Bird Hunting Forecast (pheasant/quail/chukar combined article), no standalone quantitative index. The 2025-26 edition (live by Oct 3, 2025) described California quail as steady-to-increasing with a strong Baker/Malheur district hatch; no 2026-27 edition found this pass (checked via direct search). Expected ~early October 2026 per the 2025-26 precedent.

Governed by UDWR's Upland Game Annual Report (retrospective harvest/inventory compilation, editions found back to 1998); the most recent edition found is 2024-25 (wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/uplandgame/annual_reports/2024-25.pdf). The report covers a July-June fiscal year, so a 2025-26 edition would not be expected until after that year closes; none found as of 2026-08-19, no fixed publish date confirmed.

WDFW publishes no discrete, forward-looking pre-season outlook for this species comparable to SD/NE/KS-style flagship documents. The only WA-specific data source found is the retrospective, all-species "Game Status and Trend Report" (535 pages, 2025 edition published Feb 25, 2026), which reports the completed prior season's harvest/status rather than forecasting the upcoming one -- treated as no dedicated forecast program exists, per this plan's established convention for retrospective-only coverage.