Hunter numbers low for opening of pheasant season

IOWA CITY -- What conservation officers described as a beautiful day to open pheasant hunting season in Iowa, did not translate into a large amount of participants.

Brad Baker, an Iowa County conservation officer for the department of natural resources, said the number of hunters is the lowest he has ever seen in the county. He added only less than a decade ago, the scene was drastically different.

"In 2003, the hotels in the area 2003 the hotels would be busy, now hardly anyone is coming anymore," Baker said. "I've only seen maybe about 20 to 30 guys out in the field and their success rate has been pretty poor."

In Linn County, the results were no different.

"The numbers were very low, and that was to be expected," Linn Count conservation officer Aric Sloterdyk said. "I used to check around 100 hunters on opening day in the 80's and 90's. today I checked around a dozen."

But Sloterdyk said the numbers and success rate for hunters was more positive further north in Delaware and Buchanan Counties.

"There were more hunters and more success up north," he said. "People were pretty happy with what they wer able to get. It seems the farther north you go, the better it is for hunting."

Conservation officers said the decline in hunters is a direct result of lower bird numbers in the area. A major contribution to the decline in bird numbers has been extreme weather including flooding and harsh winters.

"It's a combination of habitat issues and the weather," Baker said. "But things like this can run in cycles. We're kind of at the bottom right now, but that's not to say in a few years it could improve."

Sloterdyk said the 2008 flood has been the main contributor to the decline in bird numbers.

An additional factor contributing to a bird decline is the amount of available habitat space for the birds in eastern Iowa. Conservation officers said a decline in conservation reserve programs, or CRP's, has been a hot topic.

In conservation reserve programs, farmers are paid by the acre to keep their land free from farming. In other words, the land that is not being farmed results in habitats for birds. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the conservation reserve program reduces soil erosion, protects the nation's ability to produce food and fiber, reduces sedimentation in streams and lakes, improves water quality, establishes wildlife habitat, and enhances forest and wetland resources.