Bad news for pheasant hunters

Bad news for Minnesota pheasant hunters.

Last winter's severe weather, followed by a wet, cold spring will put a damper on ringneck prospects this fall, the Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday.

The state's pheasant population index dropped 64 percent from 2010, the DNR said, and is 71 percent below the state's 10-year average.

Contributing factors include:
· A second consecutive severe winter, resulting in hen counts 72 percent below the 10-year average.
· Cold, wet weather during the April through June nesting period, resulting in brood counts 75 percent below the 10-year average.
· Loss of nearly 120,000 acres of grass habitat enrolled in farm programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) since 2007.
The practical result of the drop-off: Ringneck hunters are expected to harvest about 250,000 roosters this fall, the lowest tally since 1997. This compares to harvests that have exceeded 500,000 roosters five of the past eight years. The 500,000 bird harvests correspond with a string of mild winters and high CRP enrollment.
"We expect hunters to harvest a similar number of birds in 2011 as they did in 2001, which was another year with a severe winter followed by a cold, wet spring" said Kurt Haroldson, a wildlife biologist for the DNR's Farmland Wildlife Population and Research Group in Madelia.

The unusually low ratio of hens to roosters was a particularly unwelcome finding of recent roadside counts. This suggests hen mortality was high or hens were nesting or caring for young broods during the survey. If the late nesting effort was greater than normal, the 2011 pheasant population and the fall harvest may be higher than forecast. Pheasant populations can rebound quickly given good habitat, mild winter weather and favorable spring nesting conditions.
South Dakota reported a 46 percent population index decline. North Dakota's spring population survey showed a decline, too.

According to the DNR:

The highest pheasant counts were in the east central region, where observers reported 51 birds per 100 miles of survey driven. Hunters will find fair harvest opportunities in pockets of south central and southwest Minnesota, but harvest opportunities in most of Minnesota's pheasant range are rated poor to very poor. This year's statewide pheasant index was 23 birds per 100 miles driven, the lowest index since 1986. The pheasant index in southwest Minnesota, typically the state's best pheasant range, fell 82 percent from last year to 19 birds per 100 miles driven.
Haroldson said the most important habitat for pheasants is grassland that remains undisturbed during the nesting season. Protected grasslands account for about six percent of the state's pheasant range. Farmland retirement programs such as CRP, Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, Reinvest in Minnesota and Wetlands Reserve Program make up the largest portion of protected grasslands in the state.
High land rental rates and competing uses for farmland diminish the economic attractiveness of farmland conservation programs. During the next three years, contracts for 550,000 acres of CRP lands are scheduled to expire. If not re-enrolled, this would reduce CRP acres in Minnesota by 36 percent.
To help offset continued habitat losses caused by reductions in conservation set-aside acreage, DNR has accelerated acquisition of Wildlife Management Areas in the farmland region of Minnesota. DNR also supports habitat conservation on private lands by working with a variety of partners in the Farm Bill Assistance Partnership and Working Lands Initiative. Also, nearly 10,000 acres of private property will be open to public hunting through the state's new Walk-In Access program.
The pheasant population estimate is part of the DNR's annual roadside wildlife survey. The survey summarizes roadside counts of pheasants, gray (Hungarian) partridge, cottontail rabbits, white-tailed jack rabbits and other wildlife observed in the early morning hours during the first half of August throughout the farmland region of Minnesota.
The August roadside survey, which began in the late 1940s, was standardized in 1955. DNR conservation officers and wildlife managers in the farmland region of Minnesota conduct the survey during the first half of August. This year's survey consisted of 166 routes, each 25 miles long, with 148 routes located in the ring-necked pheasant range.
Observers drive each route in early morning and record the number and species of wildlife they see. The data provide an index of relative abundance and are used to monitor annual changes and long term trends in populations of ring-necked pheasants, gray partridge, eastern cottontail rabbits, white tailed jack rabbits and other select wildlife species.
The gray partridge index was similar to last year but 75 percent below the 10-year average. The cottontail rabbit index was also below the 10-year and long-term average. The jackrabbit index was 96 percent below the long-term average. Finally, the mourning dove index was 26 percent below last year and 29 percent below the 10-year average.
The 2011 August Roadside Report and pheasant hunting prospects map can be viewed and downloaded from http://mndnr.gov/hunting/pheasant.