Iowa Pheasant News
(PF)
2010 Iowa Pheasant Hunting Forecast
Sep. 13, 2010Forecast: No state is in need of some good pheasant news as much as Iowa, but it won't be this year. Coming off a record low year of just 74,017 hunters bagging 271,136 roosters, Iowa's statewide August roadside survey count showed a decrease of 30 percent from last year. Iowa hasn't been able to escape moisture, with the period from December of last year through this February as the snowiest period in state history, only to be followed up by a June through August stretch that was likely the wettest in state history. Mix in the previous years that haven't been good for pheasant production, and CRP acreage losses, and it's easy to see why Iowa pheasants have dropped to such historically low levels. Pheasant hunters not deterred by this news will find the highest concentration of roosters in northwest Iowa, where the roadside survey averaged 30 birds per route compared to 11 across the rest of the state. North central Iowa checks in as the next best option. As for the remainder of the state, pockets of good bird numbers may still be found in regions with exceptional habitat, according to Todd Bogenschutz, upland game Biologist/Farmbill coordinator with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Season Dates: October 30 through January 10, 2011 Daily Bag Limit: 3 Possession Limit: 12 Field Notes:Pheasants Forever has placed five Farm Bill Biologists in Iowa as part of its "Reload Iowa" campaign, a three-year statewide effort to improve 1 million acres of wildlife habitat on private and public land in the state. Pheasants Forever plans to establish more such positions across Iowa in the coming years.
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.
