Stan, that's also great info, and I didn't mean to imply that I thought the herbicide site prep is bad. It's what I've done with my property for all the recent site preps. Most of it was done by helicopter, and I did the edges myself with an ATV sprayer. It's easier on the land than using dozers because it doesn't disturb the topsoil and results in less erosion.
However, I think that the fact that the dozers disturbed the topsoil is the reason that method produced better quail habitat. All sorts of beneficial plants will sprout and grow if you disturb the topsoil in some way. There are some folks who mimic that effect now by disking between the pine rows each year. You don't have to plant anything to get the benefit; just run the disk through it and disturb the soil. I've done it some, but it's hard on my disk and I broke down last year before getting much done.
Gil, you have told me about that section of GA before, and I think it's proof that the primary reason for the demise of our quail is habitat. They can still thrive if the habitat is right.
