By UGUIDE | September 23, 2008
PF Pheasant Hunting Forecast
Pheasants Forever 2008 Pheasant Hunting Forecast
Save for Iowa, where devastating weather negatively impacted the pheasant population, the remainder of the core pheasant powerhouses the Dakotas, Kansas, Minnesota and Nebraska will provide great opportunities for you to slide roosters into your vest this fall. The good news is easy to digest: South Dakota has its highest pheasant numbers in 45 years with over 2 million roosters harvested there last year; Kansas had its highest harvest since 1987 and numbers this year are expected to be higher; Minnesota had its highest harvest since 1964 in 2007 and looks to again have a strong pheasant population.
The bad news doesn't go down so easy. Unfortunately, because of massive habitat losses, mostly from recently expired Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts, the sun may be setting on "the modern good ol' days" of pheasant hunting. Over 800,000 CRP acres are already gone from the Dakotas, and millions more acres are set to expire across the pheasant range in the coming years. Given today's current agricultural climate, many expiring acres are expected to be lost to row crop conversion. Fortunately, CRP was reauthorized by the 2008 federal Farm Bill, and Pheasants Forever will continue working to establish a dynamic and economically competitive CRP going forward. The new continuous, state-specific CRP program - State Acres For wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) - and the early success of that program in states like South Dakota and Minnesota, indicates landowner support for CRP remains strong. Yes, 2008 may be the end of the recent run of spectacular pheasant numbers, but at Pheasants Forever, we're already working to create the next run of "good ol' days." They'll come around again, but only with your help.
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