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The Iowa Pheasant Hunting Experience
from:The ring-necked pheasant, native to Asia, was introduced to Iowa about 1900 after being successfully introduced to the North American continent in 1881. Their introduction to Iowa was the result of a storm that destroyed the pens of breeder William Benton of Cedar Falls, freeing about 2,000 pheasants into the wild. In 1910 the Department of Natural Resources began stocking the birds and today the ring-neck pheasant has become the premier game bird of Iowa. The combination of Iowa’s grasslands and croplands makes the state one of the top pheasant harvesting areas in the country. Many retailers refer to Iowa as the pheasant hunting capitol of the nation, making Iowa pheasant hunting an important part of the state’s economy
For any hunter wanting an Iowa pheasant hunting experience, the state offers classic pheasant habitat featuring cornfields with wide, grassy draws, large tracts of Conservation Reserve Program grassland, and thorny brush--excellent for shielding the birds from predators. The future success of Iowa pheasant hunting depends on maintaining the pheasant habitat, which currently varies from generally improved on public lands to frequently ideal on CRP acres. A lack of uniformity characterizes conditions on private land, where farmers remove habitat and acres to enlarge fields thereby diminishing its value as habitat for pheasants and decreasing their numbers.
The north-central area of the state has, over the years, offered the best Iowa pheasant hunting opportunities, thanks in part to the actions of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources both on public and private land. However, efforts on public lands, including planting of native grasses, wildflowers and grain crops, have been offset by farming practices on private land. New farming techniques as well as structural development, residential and commercial, have eliminated more acres than have been replaced by the IDNR--thereby affecting future Iowa pheasant hunting prospects.
Information important to the hunter interested in Iowa pheasant hunting can be found from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which undertakes a yearly, roadside survey the first two weeks of August, when an attempt is made to assess the pheasant population. On cool, sunny mornings with heavy dew, hen pheasants bring their chicks to the roadside to dry off before they begin feeding. While the pheasants are on the roads conservation officers and biologists have an opportunity to count the number of broods and their size as they travel 6,300 miles of gravel roads. Other species of wildlife are counted as well as pheasants and the information is used to produce Iowa’s small game distribution map. Although helpful in estimating pheasant numbers, the August survey numbers don’t always reflect the number of pheasants hunters report finding. Discrepancies could be due to the timing of the survey and the timing of the spring hatch, and lower populations reported in August don’t always translate into lower harvests during hunting season.
Kansas Pheasant Hunting Specific links
Kansas Pheasant Hunting News
Women in the Woods - Traverse City Record-Eagle
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Read more...Hunt, trap shoot and dinner offered - Salina Journal
The morning hunts will be limited to about 20 youth and women hunters chosen by draw from applications. Those ages 11 to 15 and females of all ages are encouraged to apply. Hunting experience is not required, and completion of a hunter education ...
Read more...Lampe: Freaks of nature - Peoria Journal Star
What do black-bellied whistling ducks, a cinnamon-colored raccoon and a partial albino pheasant have in common? All three oddities were shot recently by groups that included central Illinois hunters. First to the whistling ducks, a very rare species ...
Read more...Have gun, will travel: economy only grazes hunting - Kansas City Star
Have gun, will travel - even if the economy's shot.
In the heart of South Dakota's pheasant-hunting country, license sales have been strong this fall despite gasoline prices near $3 a gallon and a looming recession. Ditto for hunting license ...
Read more...After fight with cancer, Kansas hunter is back shooting pheasants on ... - Kansas City Star
Just two years ago, he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. And the prognosis wasn’t good. He underwent major surgery, had part of his stomach removed and later lost 104 pounds. But there he was Saturday, ready to greet another pheasant season at the ...
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