Several national wildlife refuges in North Dakota will open to late-season upland game bird hunting the day after deer gun season closes.

Arrowwood, Audubon, Des Lacs, J. Clark Salyer, Lake Alice, Lake Zahl, Long Lake, Lostwood, Tewaukon (pheasants only), and Upper Souris NWRs open Nov. 26.

Contact refuge headquarters for map leaflets designating closed areas and other restrictions: Arrowwood (701) 285-3341; Audubon (701) 442-5474; Des Lacs (701) 385-4046; J. Clark Salyer (701) 768-2548; Lake Alice (701) 662-8611; Lake Zahl (701) 965-6488; Long Lake (701) 387-4397; Lostwood (701) 848-2722; Tewaukon (701) 724-3598; and Upper Souris (701) 468-5467.

Hunters are reminded that use of nontoxic shot is required on all U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. State regulations found in the North Dakota 2007-08 Small Game Guide apply. Seasons for pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse, Hungarian partridge and ruffed grouse close statewide on Jan. 6, 2008.

National wildlife refuges are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Portions of each refuge are closed to hunting.

By Lowell Washburn
Iowa Department of Natural Resources

Rick Seume has a hectic schedule.  On week days you’ll find him standing at the front of a classroom, teaching chemistry or biology to students of the Webster, Wisconsin high school.
 
But if anyone wants to touch base with Seume on a Saturday morning, they’ll most likely have to travel to the tawny bird covers of northern Iowa.  That’s where this Wisconsin school teacher spends his fall and winter weekends, carefully following the nose of a well trained bird dog in quest of the ever popular, ever elusive rooster pheasant.
 
Ask him how the bird hunting is going this season, and Seume nearly explodes with enthusiasm. 
 
“The habitat is in really great shape this fall and, so far, I’m finding about the same number of birds as last year which is really good,” says Sueme.
 
“I’ve been coming down to Iowa for twelve years now and have gotten to know a lot of farmers.  Getting permission to hunt hasn’t been a problem and the people are really great.  Over the years, I‘ve gotten to know some of the local farmers pretty well and have become good friends with many of them.  To me, that‘s great.”
 
Although Seume spends a good part of the early season tromping private lands, his attentions may turn toward public areas as winter arrives.
 
“Iowa’s public lands are incredible,” says Seume.  “The habitat is good.  There’s room to do all the walking you want, and we always seem to see a lot of birds.  I keep coming down [to Iowa] for the entire season and it usually seems to get better and better the later you go.  Hunting pressure usually goes way down and the birds really pack into the thick [public] areas once the weather gets tough.”
 
When I crossed trails with Seume early Monday morning, he had just finished walking a fog bound chunk of low lying private grassland north of Clear Lake.  As is normally the case in foggy weather, the birds were skittish with several pheasants flushing wild.  One rooster, however, had made the fatal mistake of sitting too tight for too long.
 
Seume admired the plump bird’s plumage as he slowly and respectfully rolled it in his hand.  The day was young.  One rooster down.  Two to go.
 
“The pheasant hunting down here is really spectacular,” said Seume.  “We’re starting to get better [pheasant] numbers back home, but it will never be anything like you have down here [in Iowa].”
 
So how did a Wisconsin high school teacher get to hunt ring-necked pheasants in Iowa on a Monday morning?  The answer was simple.
 
“Actually, I’m on vacation for the whole week,” grinned Seume.  “The Wisconsin deer season opened last Saturday and everything —- including the public schools —- just shut down for the entire week.”

A Tama man is recovering from injuries suffered while pheasant hunting in rural Poweshiek County today, state conservation law enforcement officials said.

James Harris, 37, was hunting approximately three to four miles north of Grinnell when the accident happened around 3:15 p.m. today. Authorities said the group had shot a bird, which landed across a fence on adjoining property. Harris reportedly went to retrieve the bird, placed his gun on the ground and crossed the fence near the muzzle end. When he crossed the fence, hunting dogs stepped on the gun, which discharged and struck Harris in the left calf at a distance of roughly three feet.

Harris was treated at Grinnell Regional Medical Center and later transported by helicopter to University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City.

The incident remains under investigation.

By Tom Cadden, public information officer, Arizona Game and Fish Department

Have you ever wondered how many beginning campers have been duped into participating in a “snipe hunt?”

The ritual goes like this: The unsuspecting newbie is told about a unique bird called a snipe and is given some ridiculous method of catching it, such as running around the woods with a bag while making strange noises or banging sticks. The practical joke leaves the recipient red-faced and his pals with a good laugh.

Many Arizonans, including some hunters, might be surprised to know that snipe not only exist, but offer some enjoyable, sporty hunting opportunities.

“Snipe are one of the most overlooked game birds in the state,” says Randy Babb, information and education program manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Mesa region. “They flush similar to quail, and their zig-zag flight patterns make for a challenging target.

Snipe prefer marshy habitats along rivers and lakes and will also use flooded agricultural areas. Birds can often be spotted by the hunter prior to entering an area by glassing the water’s edge with binoculars.

Babb advises hunters to check snipe habitat often, as the birds tend to suddenly appear and disappear in the feeding areas.

“Snipe offer a great ‘extra’ for duck hunters,” says Babb. “After a morning duck hunt, hunters should walk the nearby marshy areas or other flooded vegetation. If you prefer to jump-shoot ducks, snipe are common visitors to stock tanks.”

The season dates for common snipe this year are Oct. 5 through Jan. 13 in the mountain zone, and Oct. 19 through Jan. 27 in the desert zone. You must have a valid Arizona hunting license and an Arizona migratory bird stamp. For more information on open areas, bag limits and other regulations, check the Arizona Waterfowl and Snipe Regulations on the Department’s Web site, or pick up a copy at department offices.

Snipe are classified as an upland game bird, and steel shot is not required for hunting them.

Pheasant hunters who take to the field on Saturday, Oct. 27, will be able to begin their quest for birds two hours earlier. On that day shooting hours start at 10 a.m. Central Daylight Time and run through sundown.

In the past the change of shooting hours took place on a Sunday, the first day of the change from Daylight Time to Standard Time. That practice was changed because this year the time change doesn’t take place until early November.

Hunters should note that the 2007 version of the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department Hunting and Trapping Handbook is in error on the topic of pheasant season shooting hours. While the handbook properly lists the date of the change as Saturday, Oct. 27, it improperly lists the start time that day as 10 a.m. Central Standard Time. On that date South Dakota will still be operating under Central Daylight Time.

Survey results for the 2006-07 hunting season show Georgetown, Clarendon, Horry, Sumter and Lee counties were the top five counties for quail, while the top five counties for rabbits jumped per hour were Fairfield, Saluda, Edgefield, Hampton and Newberry, according to biologists with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources Small Game Project.
           
Through intensive field observations, South Carolina quail and rabbit hunters maintained detailed records of their hunting excursions throughout the year and provided the data to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Small Game Project for analysis. Hunting data compiled included the number of quail coveys flushed, covey size, number of rabbits jumped, the dates and counties where hunts occurred, and the amount of time expended in pursuit of these species. The S.C. State Council of Quail Unlimited assists with funding for the supplies necessary to conduct the surveys.
           
To receive a copy of the Quail Hunter Survey and the Rabbit Hunter Survey report or to have your name added to the list of potential cooperators, contact the DNR Small Game Project at (803) 734-3609.
           
Statewide survey results indicate a slight increase in the number of quail coveys flushed per hour and a slight decrease in the number of rabbits jumped per hour when compared with the previous year. The quail covey flush rate was 0.59 coveys/hour during the 2006-07 season, up from 0.49 coveys/hour the previous year. Quail hunters in the top five counties reported flushing an average of 0.57 to 1.89 coveys per hour. The rabbit-jumping rate decreased from 1.39 to 1.26 rabbits/hour during the 2006-07 season.
           
The Northern Coastal Plain, defined as a seven-county area from the Charleston-Georgetown county line north to the North Carolina line and inland to Dillon, Florence, and Clarendon counties, claimed the highest rate of quail finds at just over one covey per hour. Piedmont quail hunters had significantly less success than those hunting in other regions of the state, said Billy Dukes, DNR Small Game Project supervisor.
           
The Rabbit Hunter Survey has shown slightly declining hunting success during the past three years. A majority of rabbit hunting (74 percent) by survey cooperators occurred in the Piedmont. The Southern Coastal Plain exhibited the highest rate of rabbits jumped per hour (1.52), among regions with a minimum of 25 hunts, said Judy Barnes, wildlife biologist with the DNR Small Game Project.
           
Written comments from hunters in the surveys provided some excellent field observations, particularly on food items of quail. The preferred foods reported for quail were agricultural grains, soybeans and lespedeza. Other food items such as native legumes and acorns were also reported. Many cooperators also noted that a lack of prescribed burning on public and private lands has resulted in impaired habitat quality and hunting success.

“To ensure continued accuracy and usefulness of future small game surveys, the Small Game Project would like to increase the number of hunters participating this coming season,” Dukes said. Avid quail and rabbit hunters across the state who are willing to assist by taking careful notes on their hunts should write to DNR Small Game Project, PO Box 167, Columbia, SC 29202. Indicate whether you are interested in participating in the Quail Hunter Survey, the Rabbit Hunter Survey, or both. Survey materials will be mailed to cooperators in mid-November, just prior to the opening of statewide quail and rabbit seasons.

DNR protects and manages South Carolina’s natural resources by making wise and balanced decisions for the benefit of the state’s natural resources and its people.

Hunters in South Dakota’s fields are likely to find plenty of pheasants this weekend. They are also going to find unusually wet fields and roads.

“Recent rains have caused some fields and roads to become saturated,” said Tony Leif, game program administrator for the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department. “In these wet conditions, vehicles can cause a great deal of damage.”

GFP is cautioning hunters to drive carefully on gravel roads and consider alternative routes in areas served by dirt roads. “Please respect the land,” Leif said, “and walk into and out of fields.”

It may take several days of sunshine to dry out fields and roads. In the meantime, hunters should use caution.

The opening day of pheasant season is a time to enjoy the outdoors and renew old acquaintances. However, all of the activity and excitement of the hunt shouldn’t be allowed to get in the way of safety.

“Hunters can’t let their enthusiasm for opening day cloud their better judgment,” said Curt Robertson, hunter safety program specialist for the S.D. Department of Game, Fish and Parks. “They need to practice safe hunting techniques at all times.”

To that end, Robertson offers a list of Top 10 safety points that hunters should always keep in mind. They include:

• Watch that muzzle!  Keep it pointed in a safe direction at all times
• Treat every firearm with the respect due a loaded gun. It might be loaded, even though you think it isn’t.
• Be sure of the target and what is in front of it and beyond it. Know the identifying features of the game you hunt. 
• Know the location of all your hunting partners at all times.
• Keep your finger outside and alongside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.  This is the best way to prevent an accidental discharge.
• Check your barrel and ammunition. Make sure the barrel and action are free of obstructions and carry only the proper ammunition for your firearm.
• Unload firearms when not in use. Leave actions open; carry firearms in cases and unloaded to and from the shooting area. Unload firearms before you enter a vehicle and leave the action open.
• Wear blaze orange hats, shooting glasses and hearing protection. Keep yourself safe as well as others.
  Don’t run, jump or climb with a loaded firearm. Unload firearms before crossing fences or jumping a ditch.
• Stay straight to shoot straight. Shun alcoholic beverages before and during the hunt.  Also avoid mind- or behavior-altering medicines or drugs.
• You are responsible!  When you discharge a firearm, you are responsible for the results.  When in doubt, don’t shoot. 

GFP brood counts indicate a near record pheasant population in South Dakota this year. “There are plenty of pheasants out there,” Robertson said, “so be patient and always take the safe shot.”

Hunters should get ready to step back in time as they prepare to share the fields with a pheasant population the likes of which hasn’t been seen in South Dakota since the Soil Bank years of the 1950s and ’60s.
 
Brood count surveys by the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department estimated that statewide this year’s pheasant population was 23 percent higher than last year’s and 18 percent greater than the 2005 pheasant population that was at a 40-year high.
 
“South Dakota’s pheasant population is booming this year because of optimum weather conditions coupled with a wealth of acres in the Conservation Reserve Program that provide excellent habitat,” said GFP Secretary Jeff Vonk. “This kind of pheasant abundance could be short-lived if there isn’t a healthy conservation component like CRP in the next Farm Bill.”
 
According GFP, approximately 300,000 acres of CRP could be lost this year, making it unavailable for nesting cover in 2008. “Hunters may see the signs of the change,” said acting Wildlife Division Director George Vandel, “as some of the CRP fields will likely be burned, plowed or hayed by the time of the pheasant opener.”
 
Public lands open to hunting can be found throughout South Dakota. However, private landowners who open their lands to hunting are still one of the keys to a successful pheasant season. “Our department works diligently to secure land for public hunting,” Vonk said, “but we’ll always be grateful for private landowners who graciously allow hunting on their property.” Vonk noted that hunters must always ask permission from the landowner when considering hunting on private land.
 
Safety is another key to a successful season. “Hunters can’t let the excitement of the day cloud their judgment,” said Vandel. “Safety has to be on the minds of all hunters.”
 
Vandel offers a few important safety reminders for hunters:

• Though it’s not required by South Dakota law, upland bird hunters should wear fluorescent orange clothing.
• Keep track of hunting companions in the field. “Too often an accident occurs when one hunter swings on a bird and shoots without noticing other hunters in the line of fire,” Vandel said.
• Road hunters must keep in mind the 660-foot safety zone around a schools, churches, occupied dwellings and livestock.

“If hunters remain aware of safety precautions and the state’s hunting regulations, this should be a great hunting season for everyone,” Vandel said.
 
Some of those regulations include:
 
Season dates: In most of South Dakota the season runs from Oct. 20 through Jan. 6, 2008. At the Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Brown County and at Renziehausen Game Production Area and Game Bird Refuge in Brown and Marshall counties, the season is open from Dec. 10 through Dec. 31.
 
Shooting hours: From Oct. 20 through Oct. 26 the shooting hours are noon Central Daylight Time to sunset. For the rest of the season, shooting hours are 10 a.m. Central Standard Time to sunset.
 
Daily/possession limits: The daily limit is three cock pheasants. The possession limit is 15 pheasants taken according to the daily limit. An individual hunter can possess no more than three pheasants on the Saturday of opening weekend and up to six on Sunday. To possess another hunter’s birds, a free transportation permit must be obtained from a GFP conservation officer. Arranging for this permit should be handled well in advance of opening day. Transportation permits are not issued as a means of allowing the daily/possession limits to be exceeded.
 
License/I.D.: Hunters must possess, while hunting, a valid S.D. hunting license and the proper form of identification. That I.D. may be a valid state-issued driver’s license or a state-issued and expiration-dated identification card. Hunters under the age of 16 can carry their HuntSAFE card.
 
Transporting birds: Pheasants and grouse must have either the head, fully feathered wing or foot attached while being transported. All other game birds must have either the head or a fully feathered wing attached.
 
Nontoxic shot: Most public lands in South Dakota require the use of nontoxic shot while hunting for pheasants except on U.S. Forest Service National Grasslands, areas administered by the Office of School and Public Lands or on GFP-leased property designated as Walk-In Areas.
 
Dogs: A hunter who brings a dog into the state must have the animal’s health certificate from their local veterinarian indicating that all shots are up to date and that the dog is disease-free. Hunters should also remember to bring along enough water for their dogs.
 
These details and more can be found on the GFP Web site at www.sdgfp.info and in the 2007 S.D. Hunting and Trapping Handbook which is available online in PDF format.

Applications are now being accepted for a lottery dove hunt to be held on the Bayou Pierre Wildlife Management Area the first day of the September 2007 dove season. The opening day hunt will be limited to 75 hunters who will be selected by a computerized, random drawing. Dove hunters wanting to apply for the drawing can obtain an application from any regional office of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries or the department Web site at www.wlf.louisiana.gov.
Hunters may apply individually or as a group with no more than five applications per group. Applications included in a group should be stapled together. A $5 administrative fee will be charged for each applicant regardless of age, whether submitted individually or as a member of a group. Applications must be accompanied by a check or money order made payable to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The administrative fee is non-refundable. The deadline for returning the applications to the address listed on the application is July 6, 2007. All successful applicants will be notified by mail.
Last year’s lottery hunters enjoyed a pleasant but somewhat less successful hunt compared to previous years due to a very weak, late August cool front that caused a large number of the doves to move out of the area.
Out of the 75 hunters selected in the 2006 lottery, 70 participated. A total of 192 doves were harvested with one hunter bagging a limit on the opening day lottery hunt, which was down from the 2005 opening day harvest of 545 doves. During the first three days of last year’s season, Bayou Pierre WMA hunters logged in 131 hunting efforts and bagged 253 doves, which again was less when compared to the first three days of the 2005 season that saw 135 hunting efforts resulting in 647 doves being bagged.
Following the opening day lottery hunt, Bayou Pierre WMA will be open to all hunters wanting to participate in the dove hunting tradition. The Bayou Pierre WMA dove season will then correspond to the outside season for the remainder of the 2007-08 dove season.
At the end of April, Bayou Pierre WMA Supervisor Don Carpenter reported that the fields planted this spring were showing promise even though germination had been spotty. The wheat fields were fair and should produce sufficient wheat to attract resident and early migrating doves. Resident doves were already frequenting the fields. Approximately 100 acres are managed for doves with 30 acres planted in winter wheat, 20 acres in upland mix and 50 acres in sunflowers.
Bayou Pierre WMA encompasses 2,212 acres and is located in Red River and Desoto Parishes approximately 20 miles south of Shreveport. On-line applications for printing can be obtained by going to www.wlf.louisiana.gov and looking under Hunting-WMAs/Refuges-Lottery Hunts and then clicking on Bayou Pierre Dove Lottery Hunt Application 2007. For additional information contact Steve Hebert at 318-371-3050 or shebert@wlf.louisiana.gov.

The Department of Environmental Management announces that its Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Rhode Island state chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will co-sponsor a wild turkey seminar and hunter clinic on Saturday, February 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Coventry Community Center, 1277 Main Street in Coventry. The seminar is designed to educate Rhode Island’s wild turkey hunters of all ages and experience in methods that will lead to a safe and successful turkey-hunting season. A registration fee of $5 per person will be charged at the door.
The seminar will offer many topics to assist hunters in learning successful techniques, stressing safe and ethical approaches to turkey hunting. Topics will include the use of various types of turkey calls, how to locate birds, and how to scout hunting areas.
Joe Judd of Quaker Boy Game Calls of Shelburne, MA will be the featured speaker. Brian Tefft of DEM will present information about Rhode Island’s wild turkey population and discuss predictions for the upcoming 2007 turkey seasons.
Members of the state chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will be on hand to promote chapter activities and fundraising efforts they conduct to benefit wild turkey. Staff from the Northeast Big Buck Club will be available to measure and score buck deer taken during Rhode Island’s deer hunting season. Other participants will include representatives from the United Bowhunters of Rhode Island and staff from the RIHunts website.
For more information about the seminar, or to pre-register, call DEM’s Great Swamp Field Headquarters at 789-0281.

Several national wildlife refuges in North Dakota will soon open to late-season upland game bird hunting.
Arrowwood, Audubon, Des Lacs, J. Clark Salyer, Long Lake, Lostwood, Tewaukon , and Upper Souris NWRs open Nov. 27.
Hunters are reminded that use of non-toxic shot is required on all U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. State regulations found in the North Dakota 2006-07 Small Game Guide apply. Seasons for pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse, Hungarian partridge and ruffed grouse close statewide on Jan. 7, 2007.
National wildlife refuges are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Portions of each refuge are closed to hunting. Contact refuge headquarters for map leaflets designating closed areas and other restrictions: Arrowwood 285-3341; Audubon 442-5474; Des Lacs 385-4046; J. Clark Salyer 768-2548; Long Lake 387-4397; Lostwood 848-2722; Tewaukon 724-3598; and Upper Souris 468-5467.

As far as pheasant cover goes, the place doesn’t look like much. Just a narrow line of mashed down barbed wire, rusty fence posts, and a three-foot-wide strip of grassy vegetation interspersed here and there by patches of giant ragweed. Most of the line has been removed for crops. Less than a hundred yards of the old fence still remains.
Not exactly the sort of place you’d put on your list of Hot Spot Pheasant Valhallas. Stuck in the middle of nowhere and a good half mile from the nearest block of “real” bird habitat, the fence line appears so desolate that most self respecting hunters don’t even let off the gas pedal as they pass by. That’s probably one of the reasons why I’m rarely disappointed whenever I hunt here.
Although narrow band fence lines are easily hunted alone, it’s always more fun when you bring a friend. My companion for this outing was a Labrador retriever named Tucker.
Actually, I was dog sitting and the retriever really belongs to my son, Matt.
Although chiefly a water dog, Tucker also knows the drill when it comes to upland birds. Once a rooster is scented, the eight-year-old rarely fails to eventually ferret out his quarry. With last night’s frost still melting on the grass and cornstalks, it was a perfect morning for birds to put down some good scent. If there were pheasants about, I was confident we’d find them. As Tucker bolted from the tailgate, I checked my watch. 8:58 a.m.
Less than three minutes down the line, Tucker’s rapidly wagging tail and distinct change in body language told me the Lab was “makin’ game”. The scent appeared to be getting hotter by the second when the retriever suddenly did an abrupt right face and hit the brakes.
There was a sudden cackle, a whirr of wings, and the rooster was airborne. The shot was nothing short of a bird hunter’s dream — 15 yards, wide open, crossing to the left. I shouldered my gun and fired. The bird crumpled as it collided with the charge of 28 gauge #6’s. Even I can make shots like that one.
Forty yards farther and the dog was gamy again. A second rooster exploded and was brought to bag. Seconds later, a third rooster erupted. The range on this bird was marginal, and I decided to pass. Another forty paces and we were at the end of the fence line. It was 9:08. Three roosters flushed and two in the bag. Not bad for a ten minute hunt on the weekend before Thanksgiving.
Hard to believe, but it is late November. Iowa pheasants have been hunted and hunted hard for nearly a month now. Most of the dumb ones have made their way to the frying pan and the survivors have learned to avoid humans and their dogs. One of the best ways for roosters to accomplish this feat is to go where hunters don’t. High on their list of favorite haunts are those seemingly barren fence lines, overgrown rock piles, and poorly drained low spots where crop fields have turned to weeds.
Although many of these habitats may take less than ten minutes to hunt, they often produce as many roosters in those ten minutes as a gunner could locate during an entire morning of hunting larger, more traditional blocks of cover.
For a lot of Iowa pheasant hunters, the 2006 hunting season has already been a good one. Unfortunately, many of those same folks are becoming discouraged over not finding many birds during recent outings.
The truth of the matter is that there are still plenty of roosters dotting our rural landscapes. They’ve just changed their ways. To continue to put roast pheasant on the dinner table — hunters need to do the same.

That raspy cackle of another flushing rooster is music to the ears of a pheasant hunter. It also plays well on Main Street in small towns across Iowa.
There may not be as much activity as in past years. However, from late October to early winter, pheasant hunting spawns it’s own tourist season. “It’s a working vacation. I’m very tired from walking yesterday,” laughed Chip Elbe, as his group stepped into a section of rolling switchgrass near West Branch earlier this month. “And we’re at it again today.”
Elbe, from Cedarburg, Wis., has been coming to Iowa for more than 30 years. “We stay at a motel in Cedar Rapids. We’re spending our money, so we’re keeping the economy going, hopefully.” He estimates that he and three companions drop $300 to $500 each during their fall hunting trip. That’s money spent on motel rooms, meals, entertainment and last minute hunting needs.
“The first couple weeks, we get a lot of them,” agrees Gordon Olberding, owner of the Hawkeye Motel, on the west edge of Washington. “November has always been our best month of the year; primarily due to hunters.” Olberding sees it taper off, then pick up around Thanksgiving, and again in the last 10 days of the season. “We have the same guys coming back year after year. It’s always good to see them,” he notes.
However, it’s not always business as usual. “It’s not like it was ten, 15 years ago. It used to be a big deal,” observes Great Outdoor Traditions storeowner Matt Schrantz, in Cedar Rapids. In that period, pheasant numbers have dipped. Biologists forecast 130,000 hunters in Iowa will shoot about 750,000 ringnecks this year, down 38 percent from the long-term trend in Iowa. A better than expected opener boosted expectations. However, the number of birds is still a factor. Though not seeing a big pre-season boom, business still picks up as the last Saturday in October approaches. “Blaze orange vests and hats. They’re buying those; brush pants. Footwear sales are always strong,” clicks off Schrantz. “Then, there’s always an extra gun or two for pheasant hunters.”
Those same hunters shop in small town hardware stores, sporting goods outlets and restaurants. Some businesses cater to the crowd. Olberding, for instance, has a stainless steel bird cleaning room at his motel. He’ll freeze birds for them to take home. Hunting dogs have an inside facility for overnight stays. “Some hunters drive 60 miles from where they hunt. It’s a busy season for us.”
Sometimes, the towns are not so small. The Governor’s Pheasant Hunt, last weekend, helped fill one Cedar Rapids hotel and kept caterers and restaurants busy feeding 50-plus hunters. Many came from out of state; some getting their first taste of Iowa hunting. Bob Hattaway, who has hunted across half the world, was all smiles after bringing down his first pheasant, on the last drive of the day. He made arrangements to have it mounted and shipped to him in Florida.
And each hunter has his or her own reason for enjoying a late fall day in an Iowa farm field. “I love watching the dogs work. It’s just phenomenal what they were bred for in life,” admits Elbe, from Wisconsin. “The fella we hunt with has a fabulous dog, Zeke; probably the best dog I’ve ever hunted over. The memories we have of him are just fantastic!”
Like Zeke, Elbe admits he’s getting a little older, but he’ll keep coming back to Iowa. For him…that’s where the birds are.

PIERRE, S.D. - Residents eager for the start of the pheasant season can sharpen their hunting skills this weekend during the resident-only pheasant season Oct. 14 through Oct. 16.
The season was established by the Game, Fish and Parks Commission as a way to provide residents with the opportunity to hunt public lands free of competition from nonresident hunters.
“This season represents an opportunity for residents to enjoy some of the finest wing-shooting in North America as the state’s public lands normally host strong populations of relatively ‘undisturbed’ pheasants,” said GFP Wildlife Division Assistant Director George Vandel. “Public areas and walk-in tracts in many areas of the state receive light pressure during this weekend. That makes it a great opportunity for beginning pheasant hunters, occasional pheasant hunters or those who may not have access to private land during the regular opener.”
The three-day season for resident hunters carries with it a few special regulations.
Shooting hours begin at noon Central Daylight Time all three days and last until sunset. The daily possession limit is three cock pheasants. The possession limit accrues at three cock pheasants per day through the three-day season for a total of nine pheasants.
During the resident-only season, public lands are open for hunting. Those lands include:
Property owned, managed or leased by the S.D. Department of Game, Fish and Parks. This includes Game Production areas open for pheasant hunting during the regular season and Walk-In areas.
Waterfowl Production Areas managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land adjacent to the Missouri River.
U.S. Forest Service National Grasslands.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Land.
Areas managed by the S.D. Office of School and Public Lands.
State parks, recreation areas and lakeside use areas.
Special regulations also govern hunting on road-rights-of-way during the short season. Hunting on rights-of-way is limited to roads adjacent to or part of the public hunting areas listed above.
Hunters should remember to use non-toxic shot when hunting pheasants. Non-toxic shot use is mandatory for small game hunting with shotguns on all state game production areas, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Wildlife Production Areas managed by GFP, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuges and Waterfowl Production Areas.
Regulations governing the resident-only pheasant season can be found on pages 16 and 17 of the 2006 edition of the South Dakota Hunting and Trapping Handbook. The handbook is available at GFP offices, most license agents and it may be downloaded from the department’s Web site at www.sdgfp.info.

Even though we have population data on quail trends in Arkansas, we have not collected data on quail hunting and harvest in a number of years. It’s time to find out what is going on in the world of Arkansas quail hunting. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is asking for your assistance in collecting wild quail harvest and hunting information. To acquire this information, we are asking for your voluntary participation in a quail hunter survey. This survey is simple, yet it will provide a great deal of valuable information on quail harvest and hunter success. If you are interested in participating, we ask that you keep up with a few details throughout this quail season and return this data sheet to us at the end of the season.
Please note that this survey is only for hunts on wild quail. Please do not record any data for hunts on pen-reared birds . Please also note that this is to be filled out for an individual hunter, not a party. However, each member of a party can fill out a form for the same hunt as long as they use their own information on how many birds they harvested. Also, it is important to record all your hunts , so that we can get accurate calculations for the average hunt.
The survey form is in Adobe Acrobat format. If you do not have this free software, you can download it using the link at the bottom of the page.
Click here to download the Wild Quail Survey.

Quail hunters: You can assist ongoing Arizona Game and Fish Department quail management efforts by providing the right wing from each harvested Gambel’s quail Oct. 13-15, the opening weekend of the season.
“The wings will help assess the impacts of this year’s climate pattern on Gambel’s quail reproduction. This is the second year of the study,” says Mark Zornes, the department’s small game biologist. “Given the lack of winter and spring precipitation this past year, we need good quail hunter participation again this year so we can develop strong comparative data.”
Zornes says quail hunters really came through last year. “I’d like to personally thank all participants from last year. Hunters were very generous — 2,600-plus wings — and made the effort a great success.”
As in the past, the department will be conducting check stations on opening weekend of the quail season at Freeman Road near Florence, Willow Springs near Oracle, and at Punkin Center near Roosevelt Lake to gather quail harvest age and gender information.
For quail hunters who do not hunt near one of the check stations, you can help by removing only the right wing from each harvested Gambel’s quail and placing it in one of the manila wing envelopes available at any department office. Wings from multiple birds harvested can be stored in a single envelope. Wing envelopes must be labeled to be useful.
“Once you have placed the wings in the properly labeled department envelopes, you can let the wings dry without spoilage,” Zornes says.
After returning from your hunt, please drop off the wings in the labeled envelopes to any department office during regular office hours no later than Nov. 1. For more information, call 789-3352.

North Dakotans who have family and friends coming from out-of-state to hunt during opening week of pheasant season — Oct. 14-20 — are reminded that state law does not allow nonresidents to hunt on Game and Fish Department owned or managed lands during that time.
Private Land Open To Sportsmen acreage and state wildlife management areas are open to hunting by resident hunters only from Oct. 14-20. Nonresidents, however, can still hunt those days on other state-owned and federal lands, or private land.
The law, passed by the 2003 state legislature, applies to all small game, waterfowl, furbearer and big game hunting on PLOTS and state wildlife management areas during the first seven days of the pheasant season. Starting Oct. 21 this year, nonresidents may hunt on PLOTS and WMAs as long as the appropriate season is open.

The computer drawings for the Springer and Glendo special pheasant hunts were held Sept. 27 and some openings are still available for each hunt.
Openings are available Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 to the first youth to report those days to the Springer check station south of Yoder.
The Wyoming Game and Fish commission defines “youth” as a pheasant hunter who did not turn 18 by Oct. 1, 2006. Adults are encouraged to accompany all youth hunters and are required to be with kids under 14.
Openings for hunters of all ages are available Oct. 19 , Oct. 24 , Oct. 25 , Oct. 31 , Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 .
On the other days of the Springer hunt “stand by” hunters of all ages are permitted on the area as other hunters check out. No more than 110 hunters are allowed on the area at a time.
The following permits are available at the Glendo Special Pheasant Hunt for all ages of hunters: Nov. 27 and Dec. 4 .
Since there is no check station for the Glendo hunt, the permits are available as processed through the Game and Fish’s Cheyenne office. Hunters who did not draw another day of the Glendo hunt should mail or deliver another application at least 10 days prior to the hunting date. Applications are available at license agents or Game and Fish offices.
Hunters are reminded the $10.50 pheasant special management permit is required for the hunts and a state park permit is required for Glendo locations other than the County Line area.

LITTLE ROCK - This is the perfect time for eligible row-crop farmers to enroll in a new quail program from the USDA Farm Service Agency.
It’s called CP33-Upland Habitat for Birds. It’s a Continuous Conservation Reserve Program for cropland edges that aren’t farmed. This is the perfect time because Arkansas has a cap of 12,000 acres for the program and about 2,500 acres already are enrolled.
The idea is to establish native grass borders around row-crop fields to create habitat for quail, rabbits and grassland songbirds. This habitat’s also great for turkey and deer.
“Most crops are well into the growing season,” said David Long, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission private land coordinator. “Farmers can easily determine if they have crops around the edge of a field that are low-yielding, prone to drought, hard to irrigate or have reduced growth rates because of forest edges shading and pulling soil moisture out of the field. Comparing crop height and growth in the middle of the field to the edges is a good way this time of year to determine areas that are not very productive from a crop-production standpoint.”
Other reasons besides better habitat make this program attractive to farmers.
“The CP33 offers per-acre soil-rental payments to farmers each year under a 10-year contract, along with an up-front, one-time signing incentive payment of $100 per acre as an added incentive to farmers,” Long said. “The yearly CRP rental payments and the signing incentive payment — compared to the cost of production and marginal yields along these cropland edges — make it a no-brainer, especially with high fuel costs and other higher input-production costs. Many farmers are signing up field edges after evaluating yield differences between the crop edge and interior of the field.”
Farmers also receive a 50 percent cost-share and a 40 percent practice incentive payment for planting native warm-season grasses.
“When you combine these two incentives, which cover about 90 percent of the cost to establish the grasses, it means a farmer pays only 10 percent of the establishment cost,” Long said. “If a farmer plants the buffer himself, it usually costs even less. AGFC regional offices have native warm-season grass planters available at no cost.”
Farmers should contact an AGFC regional office a couple of weeks before planting.
The FSA has a method to determine soil-rental payments.
“Every soil on a farmer’s land has been assigned a rental rate based on productivity of that soil,” Long said. “Rental rates vary from a low of about $23 per acre up to $80 or more. A maintenance payment of $4 per acre is added to the base soil-rental rate, which provides additional financial assistance to the farmer.”
Native grass buffers for quail and other wildlife under CP33 may range from 30 feet to 120 feet wide.
“The wider the better for wildlife,” Long said. “We recommend that farmers look at crop-production cost along with yields, and consider going out to the full 120 feet, especially when the CRP payment and the signing incentive payment provide more income than producing a crop on marginal cropland edges. For farmers raising dry-land soybeans and other non-irrigated crops, the CRP rental payment often provides more income than a crop, considering crops along field edge — for various reasons — tend to produce fewer bushels of beans or other crops than the interior of the field.”
All cropland edges that were farmed four of six years between 1996-2001 qualify for CP33. Farmers may enroll at a county FSA office. Unlike regular CRP, farmers do not compete to get in the program.
After grasses are established, management is crucial.
“FSA offers a 50 percent cost-share to conduct periodic management such as light strip disking, inter-seeding legumes and prescribed burns of native grass buffers, usually on a three-year rotation,” Long said. “This additional incentive keeps buffers in premium condition to benefit quail and other wildlife. Without a periodic disturbance, grass stands become too thick and build up a layer of dead plant materials, which makes them unsuitable for quail and other grassland birds.
“This practice can do at least three things for farmers.
“First, it allows marginally profitable cropland to receive rental payments.
“Second, it creates premium wildlife habitat while taking small amounts of cropland out of production for a 10-year period, which can create hunting opportunities for the farm family and friends. A quail buffer 120 feet wide and a quarter-mile long covers 3.6 acres of cropland but reaps huge benefits to the farmer.
“Third, buffers help keep soil on the farm, which improves water quality in adjoining rivers and streams.”
Check the nearest FSA office for more information, or call an AGFC private lands biologist toll-free:
Brinkley: 877-734-4581
Calico Rock: 877-297-4331
Camden: 877-836-4612
Fort Smith: 877-478-1043
Hope: 877-777-5580
Hot Springs: 877-525-8606
Jonesboro: 877-972-5438
Little Rock: 877-470-3650
Monticello: 877-367-3559
Russellville: 877-967-7577