Family-Outdoors

Fruits of the hunt! (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Fall pheasant hunters will take a step back in time, as the season opens. Following August roadside surveys, the average number of birds seen on over 200 30-mile route was 6.5; virtually identical to the 6.6 posted in 2011.   That  count was the lowest in 60 years of summer surveys and preceded the lowest harvest in Iowa’s rich pheasant hunting history. “Spring 2013 was terrible for ground nesting birds,” reviews DNR upland game research biologist Todd Bogenschutz. “Rainfall was the highest in 141 years of record keeping in Iowa. Over 15 inches fell in April and May; more than twice our normal rainfall.”  With the fifth coolest temperatures on record, survival of pheasant chicks plummeted. As a result, hunters should expect to harvest 100,000 to 150,000 pheasants during the October 28-January 10 season. On the upside, good habitat will still yield results. “Hunters will find birds in those good core areas; wi...

Iowa’s pheasant recovery plan takes a second step this year with a new 50,000 acre continuous CRP practice.   The new Iowa Pheasant Recovery project is Iowa’s fourth special project under USDA’s CP38 program “State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement” CRP practice to address local wildlife habitat conservation needs. The Iowa Pheasant Recovery project was designed for the year-round needs of pheasants – provide severe winter cover, nesting habitat, and food – and be located in counties with the best chance for pheasant recovery. “Combining specific conservation practices with counties where we have the opportunity to get the highest bird production should put us on the path of growing our pheasant population again once the plan is installed and has a few growing years under its belt,” said Todd Bogenschutz, upland biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The requirements of the Iowa Pheasant Recovery project are designed to create favorable winter and ne...

Department of Natural Resources Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Landowners from 14 additional counties now can enroll land in the Walk-In Access program, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said. Walk-in lands provide public access to private land. Landowners, in turn, are paid for the access. The program now includes 35 counties in the western half of the state. “We’ve had many requests to expand the area of our Walk-In pilot program,” said Marybeth Block, DNR walk-in access coordinator. “As we enter our third year for the program, the time seems right to add some additional counties.” New walk-in counties include Becker, Blue Earth, Clay, Douglas, Faribault, Grant, Le Sueur, McLeod, Meeker, Nicollet, Otter Tail, Sibley, Traverse and Wilkin.  Walk-in targets privately owned parcels of 40 acres or more, which are enrolled in a conservation program such as Conservation Reserve Program or Reinvest In Minnesota. River bottoms, wetlands and other hi...