It's often difficult to effect change to boost pheasant habitat, as the situation in South Dakota underscores.
Attendees at a Pheasant Summit last year came up with a laundry list of ideas to boost habitat and pheasants. It remains to be seen whether concrete actions will be taken.
"The devil is in the details," said Chris Hesla, executive director of the South Dakota Wildlife Federation. "People have to put their money where their mouth is."
State officials there recently held a meeting to discuss the possibility of asking farmers to delay mowing of highway ditches, so fewer pheasant nests would be destroyed. Instead, several landowners said the rules should be changed to allow earlier mowing.
"We can't even get them to delay cutting hay in the ditches; we just want them to wait another 10 days and let the birds get off the nests," Hesla said. "If you want people to come here to hunt pheasants, you need pheasants."
DOUG SMITH
