California quail (Callipepla californica) were once widespread across San Francisco but have been extirpated since approximately 2009. The Presidio Trust, in collaboration with agency partners, researchers, and local bird conservationists, is developing a science-based reintroduction effort to restore quail to the Presidio of San Francisco. This represents the first urban California quail reintroduction ever attempted. This presentation will begin with an overview of how two decades of habitat restoration in the Presidio have laid the ecological foundation for quail recovery. Ongoing management actions -- such as maintaining native shrub cover, reducing predator attractants, and designing restoration sites with quail habitat needs in mind -- have created conditions that may now support a reintroduced population. We will then present the reintroduction and monitoring plan, co-developed with a working group of experts and anticipated to launch in fall 2026. The project integrates adaptive management and research to evaluate post-release survival, habitat use, and retention time, providing a foundation for evidence-based refinement of future releases. By linking restoration, management, and monitoring, this project aims to advance understanding of species persistence and human-wildlife coexistence in urban parks.

Dr. Phoebe Parker-Shames is the Wildlife Ecologist for the Presidio of San Francisco where she manages the diverse fauna of one of the nation's most-visited urban national park sites. She is an interdisciplinary researcher combining landscape ecology, wildlife conservation, community ecology, and social science to examine the role of humans within ecological systems. Her work engages stakeholders in conservation solutions that intersect policy, management, and the environment.