# Statewide Pheasant Numbers Down from 2003



## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Statewide Pheasant Numbers Down from 2003

Based on roadside brood count information gathered during late July and
August, the 2004 pre-hunt pheasant population is down about 15 percent from
2003, according to Stan Kohn, upland game bird biologist for the North
Dakota Game and Fish Department.

Brood observations statewide were down 7 percent from last year, and average
brood size was down 14 percent. "We must remember that we are comparing 2004
production data to last year when a bumper crop of pheasants led to a record
harvest of nearly 600,000 roosters," Kohn said.

Cool, wet weather during the peak of the hatch in mid-June likely caused
chick mortality, Kohn said, resulting in fewer young observed in July and
August. "I suspect most of those chicks that made it to the two-week age
stage were able to survive through the remainder of the summer as the
weather improved and insect production was good," Kohn added.

The northwest corner of the state showed the biggest decrease in total
pheasants at 44 percent. The central part of the state was down 20-50
percent, Kohn mentioned, but some localized areas will produce a fair number
of birds. The southwest portion of the state was down 35 percent, but
surveys indicated a 35 percent increase in the southeast. "The southeast
corner actually showed nice increases in total birds and broods observed,"
Kohn said. "Hunting in this area likely could be similar to 2003."

Kohn points to the southeast, and then south of Interstate 94 west to the
Montana border as viable areas. "Hunters are going to find fewer young birds
and fewer total pheasants if hunting elsewhere," he added, "especially if
hunting in the northwest corner of the state."

Hunters this fall are likely to find pheasant numbers similar to 2002, Kohn
mentioned, when 517,000 birds were harvested. "Pheasant numbers this year
will still be fair in many areas, but not approaching the numbers of last
fall," he said.

Last year, hunters in North Dakota harvested 592,000 roosters. Counties with
the highest percentage of pheasants taken were Hettinger, McLean, Stark,
Burleigh, Emmons and Sargent.

Boosted by last year's high total, the average annual harvest in the last
decade was 329,000, with last year's figure reaching the 10-year high, up
from a low of 136,000 in 1997.

The 2004 season opens Oct. 9 and continues through Jan. 2, 2005. Limits are
three roosters daily and 12 in possession. Hunting hours are one-half hour
before sunrise to sunset each day. Hunters should refer to the North Dakota
2004-05 Small Game Guide for regulations.

Hunters are reminded that Private Land Open To Sportsmen acreage and state
wildlife management areas are open to hunting by resident hunters only from
Oct. 9-15. Nonresidents, however, can still hunt those days on other state
owned and federal lands, or private land.


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