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Iowa Pheasant Harvest Hits Record Low
DES MOINES - Based on results of licensed hunters who pursued small game in Iowa, an estimated 383,000 rooster pheasants were harvested during the 2008-09 season, the lowest total on record and marking only the second time since 1958, Iowa's pheasant harvest did not reach 500,000 roosters. Unfortunately for Iowa pheasant hunters, both times happened within the last eight years, and both followed winters rated among the most severe in Iowa's history. "The good news is that so far, we are having a good nesting season and if the weather holds through the middle of June, our pheasant population could see an increase of up to 20 percent," said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. "There are three factors to having a good pheasant population: a mild winter; a warm and dry spring and large chunks of habitat. Missing one of those can impact the population. Unfortunately in the past 10 years, the trends for all these factors have been mostly negative." Bogenschutz said he was not too surprised with the harvest totals because he saw a preview in the annual August roadside survey. That poor pheasant forecast also may have led to fewer hunters taking to the field. Based on the hunter survey, an estimated 86,000 hunters pursued pheasants, which is an all time low in Iowa.
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