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From February to April the only place any pheasant, wild or released were located was on the roads. That was the only place they could get something to eat. Everyday I came by for work and their numbers slowly but surely were less every day. They were just dying from exposure on the roads and...

I live in Aberdeen. The pheasant numbers are going to be down. I saw wind rows of dead pheasants from the snow plow in areas.

The mixed grass prairies versus tall grass is mostly determined by soil types/rainfall and what grasses are suitable for those areas. Most of the dakotas are Mixed. Tall Grass prairies are generally the river bottoms and are now crop land. Very few WPA's are located in the tall grass...

If you do no other management to that area the cattails will come back. I've burnt a lot of cattails. Ironically its because we are trying to reduce them with the hope of better nesting habitat. After the burn we grazed that area fairly hard to get that transition to happen. I know of...

Its two different programs with the same name but confusing for hunters hunting both states.

https://fwsprimary.wim.usgs.gov/wetlands/apps/wetlands-mapper/ Check the box by the FWS Managed Lands. 99% of the colored areas are under easement in the Dakotas east of the Missouri River. The other 1% is Fee Title actually owned by the FWS as a WPA or NWR.

I would say the biggest reason is the USFWS easement program. The USFWS has been actively protecting wetlands on private land since the 60's. That footprint is pretty big now east of the Missouri River in ND and SD. And like Weimdogman said we are always a little behind on technology too.

What do you mean cattail draws? Are you talking wetlands?

The Generic response is as follows. Conservation easements aim to protect habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife by limiting residential, industrial or commercial development. Contracts may prohibit alteration of the natural topography, conversion of native grassland to cropland, drainage...

Not sure on what PF can afford when it comes to actually funding these projects. Ducks Unlimited and other non gov organizations have funded temporary positions to help with acquisition. Maybe that's an avenue for PF to help as well.

https://gfp.sd.gov/userdocs/docs/WIA_FAQ_Updated.pdf This should answer some of your questions. But the short answer is they get a way smaller payment if the habitat is removed, if I remember correctly its about a $1 an acre without habitat versus $8 an acre if the habitat remains.

I've sprayed it with glyphosate before hoping to just get some annuals to replace it then disked. Bear River NWR uses a giant Marsh Master to spray Phrag and uses a quad track and disc afterwards to tear up the roots. It works but costly and labor intensive.

Congrats Dennis! We need to have coffee one of these days.

Its an easement program that is funded by the Farm Bill through the NRCS. Some easements are term for 30years and some are perpetual. That sign alone does not mean its open to public hunting. Basically that program is protecting the wetland basins from drainage. I am sure there are other...

There are some reward bands out there yet from different promotions that some areas put on. What area was it shot?

West is terrible. Not really even worth it. I was around Roscoe yesterday morning and 20mph was pushing it. The only road that I saw drivable was HWY 12. All the other roads have 3/4" of an inch of pure ice on them. I drove to Eden yesterday afternoon and the drive was almost perfect.

Sounds like they got really lucky. Hind sight is always 20/20 and don't get me wrong. I've been in some bad spots too on fires but I always encourage VFD guys to get their Red Card or S-130/S-190 certification training for wildland fire. I've seen some really scary tactics over the years from...

A lot of it depends on the objectives, timing of the fire, how its lit and realistic expectations. Giant forest fires that are basically nuclear bombs going off can sterilize the soil. Those events are landscape altering for sure. Most Conservation agency burns try to back or flank most of...

I watched one blow up yesterday and reported it to dispatch. The head fire was coming directly at a farm yard on HWY 37 north of Groton. I was knocking on the door to get people out of the house. It was impressive and the local farmers probably saved that yard from being burned up.

If you had 250 grand to spend, maybe you should focus on just a quarter of land for now. Build you own land castle. McPherson county SD you might have a chance at getting that. Ive seen pasture ground go for 300-500 an acre. Then sell the grass easement to the USFWS and regain some of your...