Pheasant numbers at all-time low, according to survey by Iowa DNRThe 2010 August Upland Wildlife Roadside Survey released earlier this week by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources revealed what interested parties already knew: There aren?t many pheasants left in the state.
Another cold, snowy winter followed by a cool wet spring and summer once again hammered a ringneck population already crippled by similar conditions the previous three years as well as a mounting loss of habitat. The result was evidenced in early August when DNR staff counted 29 percent fewer birds statewide than they did in 2009.
Statewide, DNR staff counted an average of 11 birds per 30-mile route this year compared to 16 per route in 2009. That represents an all-time low, eclipsing the average of 14 birds per route in 2001.
In central Iowa, which, among others, includes Boone, Hamilton, Hardin and Story counties, the numbers dropped nearly 41 percent, from 19 birds per route in 2009 to 11 birds per route this year.
The DNR has counted ringnecks annually for more than 40 years.
?We figured the results were going to be on par with what we saw this spring with all the cold wet weather we had following another terrible winter,? said Jared Wiklund, regional representative for Pheasants Forever. ?We had pounding cold temperatures this winter that resulted in a lot of mortality, and then we lost a lot of hens and chicks to drowning this spring and early summer.?
The weather was hard on all upland wildlife. Quail and cottontail rabbits both saw record-low counts this year, as well. Quail numbers dropped 70 percent statewide, and cottontails dropped 38 percent, including 63 percent in central Iowa. Partridge numbers fell 21 percent statewide.
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The decline in pheasant numbers coincide with a loss of habitat in the form land set aside in the USDA?s Conservation Reserve Program. Established in 1985, CRP offers landowners annual payments on 10- to 15-year contracts for establishing native grasses, shrubs, trees and wetlands on their land. It?s widely credited with significantly boosting pheasant and other wildlife populations.
In the past three years, Iowa has lost nearly 400,000 acres of CRP. There are currently 1.6 million acres under contract in Iowa, but contracts holding another 117,000 acres are set to expire this fall, and nearly 500,000 more acres will come out between 2011 and 2013.
Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife research biologist for the DNR, said based on this year?s roadside counts, he expects hunters to harvest between 150,000 and 200,000 roosters this fall. Last year, hunters killed an all-time low 271,000 roosters, which was more than 100,000 fewer than in 2008, also a record low at the time.
Iowa?s 2010-11 pheasant hunting season opens Oct. 30 and runs through Jan. 10, 2011.
The full roadside report can be scene on the DNR?s website
http://www.iowadnr.govhttp://amestrib.com/articles/2010/09/13/boone/news//doc4c8b1dbbb79ae577188563.txt
