Family-Outdoors

North Dakota’s roadside pheasant survey conducted in late July and August indicates total birds, number of broods and average brood size are all down statewide from 2012. Stan Kohn, upland game management supervisor for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said the survey shows total pheasants are down 30 percent from last year. In addition, brood observations were down 29 percent, and the average brood size was down 10 percent. The final summary is based on 253 survey runs made along 101 brood routes across North Dakota. “Poor production this spring resulted in fewer young birds added to the population and a lower fall population in all areas of the state,” Kohn said. Noteworthy factors cited for the decrease in brood numbers, according to Kohn, were continued land use changes in the prime pheasant range, including removal of Conservation Reserve Program acres, grasslands converted to croplands and small grain fields converted to row crops; ...

We just returned from just over a week on the northern portion of the LP of Michigan.  Here is some of what is going on around the Midwest - we will catch up on other news in coming days.  Remember if your passion is deer hunting to visit us at Midwest Deer Hunting , or if your interests are more specifically in Missouri, visit Missouri Outdoors . Our main site is Family-Outdoors . North Dakota News The ND Game and Fish Department has set the small game regulations for 2013 with few changes. Notably, prairies chickens and sage grouse seasons will be closed again due to low numbers. Residents only will be able to hunt waterfowl between Sept 21 and 27.  Beginning the 28th, nonresidents will be allowed to hunt waterfowl in ND.  Further waterfowl regs will be finalized about mid-August. Between Oct. 12 and 18, residents only will have access to ND Game and fish lands as well as PLOTS (Private Land Open to Sportsmen) land. For details visit gf.nd.gov . I...

  Knowing what species are present in a particular area is important both now and in the future. To that end, a team from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) is engaged in a yearlong species survey at the Cross Timbers Wildlife Management Area in Love County.             The effort is being conducted by the Wildlife Diversity Program, which includes Mark Howery, a wildlife diversity biologist with ODWC.             "We're not just going on bird-watching trips," Howery said. "The point is to document the presence or absence of species and their relative abundance in ways that can be repeated over time to detect broad changes in populations."             He said surveyors ideally could return in 10 or 20 years to the same area to see whether they find any dramatic differences ...