Iowa Pheasant Hunting - Facts That Will Make You Think
The ring-necked pheasant has its origin in Asia, but somehow found its way to the shores of North America in 1881! They continued to flourish in this continent too. In 1990, a person named William Benton decided to breed these birds in his pens at Cedar Falls. Unfortunately, a storm destroyed his pens one day and nearly 2, 000 ring-necked pheasants escaped. While roaming in the wild, the birds spread across the state of Iowa. An opportunity for Iowa pheasant hunting was therefore created!
Thanks to the efforts of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), which decided to stock the birds from 1910 onwards, Iowa pheasant hunting has gained in popularity! In fact, Iowa has been referred to as the "pheasant hunting capitol of the US". The state economy has also received a great boost because of this activity.
Even today, the IDNR takes time off in the month of August (first two weeks), to conduct its annual roadside survey. The survey, of course, deals with the existing Iowa pheasant's population.
The mornings during the month of August are cool and sunny, but there is heavy dew too. The young chicks are brought to the roadside by the hen mothers, for the purpose of drying off. The feeding begins after this process. Biologists and conservation officers take a count of the birds at this time (how many broods and the size of each one), while they are traveling on the gravel roads (6, 300 miles).
When information about the pheasants as well as various wildlife species has been gathered together, a small-sized game distribution map is produced. Yes, the numbers need not be absolutely correct always; there could be some discrepancies. Maybe the timing of the survey is not correct for that particular year, or spring hatching has gone off course. Even if lesser numbers are reported, they generally have no impact upon Iowa pheasant hunting.
Why does Iowa pheasant hunting promise a rich haul?
Iowa is covered with croplands and grasslands--ideal pheasant habitat. The
grasslands controlled by the Conservation Reserve Program are large tracts of land, where pheasants love to hide from predators. Other domains protecting pheasants are thorny brush, and cornfields with wide and grassy draws. Can anyone going in for Iowa pheasant hunting ask for more?
The best hunting opportunities are to be found in north-central Iowa. Again, it is the IDNR which has made this possible. Efforts have been put in for both, public, as well as private lands. They have gone all out to create an improved habitat with grain crops, native grasses and wildflowers. Almost ideal conditions can be seen on the acreage owned by the Conservation Reserve Program.
Private landowners have unfortunately not been cooperating much with government officials. Farmers are more interested in expanding their fields than in preserving pheasant habitats. In fact, they are even taking over existing habitats and lands for their own purposes! Thus, the pheasant population is decreasing.
Despite all the efforts of the IDNR, external factors are creating more obstacles than they can handle. New agricultural practices are destroying natural habitat. So also the raising of commercial and residential complexes on more and more land. Thus, the future of Iowa pheasant hunting hangs in the balance!
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