Iowa Pheasant News
Nesting Forecast Points to Increase in Pheasant Numbers
Jun. 09, 2009Has Iowa's sagging pheasant population hit bottom? Reviewing weather data from this past winter and spring, Department of Natural Resources upland wildlife biologist Todd Bogenschutz is cautiously optimistic. "Our pheasant population typically shows increases following mild winters and springs that are drier and warmer than normal. Pheasant numbers could increase 20-40 percent this year," he said.
THORNTON, Iowa - In Northern Iowa's 35-county, prairie pothole region, the value of natural wetlands is well understood. Marshlands have the ability to reduce erosion, buffer flooding, trap sediments, remove toxic pollutants, and recharge underground aquifers.
Iowa Pheasants Endure Long Hard Winter - Jan. 12, 2010
For Iowa pheasant populations it has already been a long hard winter, and it's no wonder that wildlife enthusiasts are expressing widespread concern over the future of Iowa's Number One Gamebird. But although this winter has been brutal by any standards, winter is always a time for pheasant losses. It's the simple reason why, come spring, hens will lay ten or twelve eggs to replace those losses instead of just two or three.
Vermeer Charitable Foundation behind Pheasants Forever's "Reload Iowa" - Jan. 04, 2010
Pheasants Forever is proud to announce a generous donation of $20,000 to the organization's "Reload Iowa" campaign by the Vermeer Charitable Foundation. The donation - the first major gift to "Reload Iowa - will help the campaign goal of improving 1 million acres of wildlife habitat, increasing the number of upland hunters and increasing hunting-related revenue to local communities in Iowa.
Iowa Teens Form Nation's First High School Chapter of Pheasants Forever - Dec. 16, 2009
Students at Iowa's Oskaloosa High School have formed the first-ever high school chapter of Pheasants Forever. The groundbreaking chapter, known as the Oskaloosa Pioneering Ringnecks, will help future land stewards gain valuable conservation experience through planning, fundraising and hands-on wildlife habitat project work.
Slow Pheasant Opener Expected - Oct. 29, 2009
The forecast is pretty well known. This weekend across Iowa, we find out where the pheasants are...or aren't. Iowa's premier game bird still draws a crowd. Even last year, with preseason counts at near record lows, 86,000 hunters were in the field.
Iowa Pheasant Season Opens October 31 - Oct. 13, 2009
BOONE - Iowa's pheasant and quail hunting seasons open on October 31, with an estimated 80,000 people expected to pursue upland game birds this year, which is down more than 100,000 hunters from 1999.
Pheasants Forever Races Into Iowa Speedway This September - Sep. 09, 2009
Pheasants Forever will be racing into the Iowa Speedway on Friday, September 18th and Saturday, September 19th with "Pheasants Forever Fan Fest." Throughout the weekend, Pheasants Forever will be highlighting its National Pheasant Fest 2010 - coming to Des Moines in February - and other wildlife habitat initiatives during the season finale at the track in Newton, Iowa.
Iowa Pheasant Numbers Hold Steady - Sep. 08, 2009
BOONE - The culmination of more than 200, 30-mile routes driven over the same gravel roads found that Iowa's pheasant population, on average, is about the same as in 2008. The DNR's Annual August Roadside Survey statewide pheasant average is 15.5 birds per 30 mile route.
