Pheasants Forever News

2010 South Dakota Pheasant Hunting Forecast - Sep. 13, 2010
Forecast: Coming off a season in which hunters harvested more than 1.6 million roosters, South Dakota's 2010 brood survey count showed a 3 percent increase from last year. To state it best, South Dakota remains the "Pheasant Capital."

2010 Utah Pheasant Hunting Forecast - Sep. 13, 2010
Forecast: It's a rosy outlook for pheasant hunters in Utah this year, according to Dave Olsen, upland game coordinator with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. That means the state's 17,000 pheasant hunters should surpass the 35,000 roosters bagged in 2009. The southern half of Utah did endure a hard winter and wet spring, but the northern half of the state is where the premiere pheasant hunting is found. Olsen says the state's wildlife management areas are real gems, so upland hunters should look to put the boots down there. Season Dates: November 6-21, 2010 (extended in some counties, see regulations) Daily Bag Limit: 2 Possession Limit: 2 Field Notes: Utah has a three-year old Walk-in-Access program providing opportunities for sportsmen and incentives for landowners. In fact, interested landowners are needed to expand the program in the south and southeast regions of the state.

2010 Washington Pheasant Hunting Forecast - Sep. 13, 2010
Forecast: May and June were considerably wet and cold this year in Washington with some severe isolated storms throughout the eastern part of the state. With the weather impacts on pheasant nesting, hunters can expect a year similar to 2009, says Joey J. McCanna, upland game bird specialist with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. Last year, 19,519 hunters harvested 65,919 roosters. Roadside surveys in the Pheasant Focus Area of southeastern Washington averaged 1.36 pheasants per mile and .18 broods per mile this year. Franklin County looks like the go-to pheasant area in Washington again this year. McCanna suggests pheasant hunters look to hunt areas with quail and Hungarian partridge, as numbers for those species are up this year. The Columbia Basin is a great place to hunt for a mixed bag of upland birds and waterfowl, especially Grant County. Season Dates:October 23 through January 17, 2011 Daily Bag Limit: 3 Possession Limit: 15 Field Notes:CRP lands on the Palouse region in southeastern Washington consistently produce more pheasants than any other areas of the state. The best hunting within the focus area is on these private lands. To locate private lands in state hunting programs and state managed lands, check out Washington's GoHunt online mapping.

2010 Wisconsin Pheasant Hunting Forecast - Sep. 13, 2010
Forecast: The pheasant outlook is down for the third year in a row in Wisconsin, with the 2010 rural mail carrier pheasant survey indicating a 14 percent decrease from last year. Wisconsin pheasant numbers have been set back by the long, snowy winters in 2007-08 and 2008-09, a wet and cool spring in 2008 and a decrease in CRP (loss of more than 175,000 acres since 2007). Last season, more than 57,400 hunters went out in search of pheasants and reported harvesting 241,800 birds in Wisconsin. All things considered, Wisconsin pheasant hunters can still expect to find bird hunting success this autumn. Counties with the highest number of pheasants reported on the mail carrier survey are Lafayette, Polk, Fond du Lac, Pierce and Jefferson. Season Dates: October 16 (noon) through December 31 Daily Bag Limit: 1 daily October 16-17, 2 remainder of season Possession Limit: Twice daily bag limit Field Notes: State-issued Pheasant Stamp is required to hunt pheasants in Wisconsin. Since 1991, the stamp has helped create funding for pheasant restoration and management.

2010 Wyoming Pheasant Hunting Forecast - Sep. 13, 2010
Forecast: The best areas for wild pheasants this year in Wyoming will, as usual, be in habitat that exists in the Big Horn Basin. Despite average to below average production this spring, Goshen and Bighorn Counties are the cream of the pheasant hunting crop in the state. Season Dates: Varies, consult regulations Daily Bag Limit: Varies, consult regulations Possession Limit: Varies, consult regulations Field Notes: Hunters have been able to gain access to more than 3 million acres through generous efforts of landowners and donations to the ACCESS YES program, which Pheasants Forever has supported.

Pheasants Forever's Farm Bill Program in SD Does Conservation on 500K Acres - Aug. 17, 2010
Brookings, S.D. - August 16, 2010 - Pheasants Forever's Farm Bill Biologist program, which provides conservation service to landowners through one-one-one consulting, launched in South Dakota in 2003. In just seven years, the program has worked to improve soil, water and wildlife habitat quality on more than 500,000 South Dakota acres. Pheasants Forever looks to add to that total during the current Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up.

Cabela's Headlining Pheasants Forever's National Pheasant Fest 2011 - Jul. 21, 2010
Pheasants Forever is proud to announce that Cabela's will be the presenting sponsor of the organization's signature event, National Pheasant Fest 2011, coming to the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, January 28-30, 2011.

Iowa Youth Come Away Winners from Diamond Conservation Fund - Jul. 19, 2010
Pheasants Forever and Diamond Jo Casinos announce the second distribution of grants from the Diamond Conservation Fund - totaling $3,750 - that will benefit four local wildlife habitat restoration and youth conservation education projects in northeast Iowa.

North Dakota's Walsh County Lands New Pheasants Forever Chapter - Jul. 12, 2010
Dedicated pheasant hunters with high interest in conservation have formed the newest Pheasants Forever chapter in North Dakota. Known as the North Valley Pheasants Forever Chapter, the Walsh County group has rallied around introducing youth to outdoor activities.

Pheasants Forever Applauds USDA Action Aimed Toward Fulfilling 32 Million CRP Acres - Jun. 10, 2010
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released the final draft of a new crop insurance agreement, announcing $6 billion in savings has been created through this action. Pheasants Forever is pleased that one third of these savings will be invested in Farm Bill programs, including increasing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage to the maximum authorized level of 32 million acres nationwide.