Iowa pheasant harvest at all-time low

The smallest contingent of Iowa pheasant hunters in modern history achieved the state's second straight record low harvest, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

An estimated 74,000 Iowa pheasant hunters shot an estimated 271,126 roosters during the season that ended Jan. 10, Todd Bogenschutz, the DNR's upland wildlife biologist, said.

That is a 29 percent decline from the previous year's record for futility, in which 86,000 hunters bagged 383,000 roosters.

Unfortunately, given this year's snowy winter and wet spring, next year's harvest will likely be even lower.

Bogenschutz said the August roadside survey – the best predictor of hunter success in the fall – will be “flirting with a record low count this year.”

Last year's roadside index of 15.5 pheasants per 30-mile route was the second lowest on record – down from the previous year's index of 18 and just above the all-time low of 13, established in 2001.

By contrast, that index averaged 56.5 in the 1960s and 53.4 in the 1970s, and harvests averaged 1.5 million roosters per year in that golden era.

Records accumulated over the past 50 years indicate that pheasant populations decline when winter snowfall accumulation exceeds 27 inches and when rainfall in April and May exceeds 8 inches.

The statewide average snowfall during the past winter was 47 inches and the statewide average rainfall in April and May was 8 inches, Bogenschutz said.

After four straight unfavorably cold and snowy winters, the hen population has been so depleted that the pheasant population could not rebound much even in a spring with warm, dry hatching and brooding conditions, Bogenschutz said.

Based on last year's roadside index, Bogenschutz had predicted a harvest of about 300,000 pheasants. It fell well short of that mark, he said, because of the decline in hunter pressure and the onset of tough winter hunting conditions in early December.

“It's not one thing you could fix to turn it around,” said Tom Fuller of Oxford, Pheasants Forever's regional representative in Eastern Iowa.

“We can't control the weather, but we can improve habitat by encouraging farmers to take advantage of conservation programs,” he said.

A general signup later this year for the Conservation Reserve Program should help replace some expiring acres, but the smaller, targeted programs such as SAFE (State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement) hold the most promise, Fuller said.

Under its “Reloading Iowa” program, Pheasants Forever is now hiring its fifth private lands biologist to help landowners enroll in available programs. The organization hopes to hire two more yet this year, with a goal of 50 in Iowa, he said.

Bogenschutz said the DNR will not propose any changes in the length of season or the three-rooster daily bag limit.

Neither measure would have much effect on pheasant numbers, he said, because hens are the limiting factor, and they are already protected from harvest.

The only reason to lower the bag limit would be to more equitably distribute the few birds remaining, he said.

Live trapping and redistributing wild hens could help repopulate depleted areas, “but we wouldn't gain much in the current weather scenario,” Bogenschutz said.

A law taking effect July 1 will allow landowners to release pen-raised pheasants from licensed facilities on their own property, he said.

Noting that pen-raised pheasants quickly succumb to predators, Bogenschutz said his advice would be to release them immediately before a planned hunt.