Iowa declined re pheasants for a variety of reasons.
CRP decline, surely, and fence row eradication, of course.
But, a couple of points...weather and principally the floods a while back and the snow, with ice, more recently are what slammed the birds.
Who would not expect CRP to decline as land becomes more profitable from either "not making it anymore" or farmers chasing the next great way to feed their families. Truthfully, Iowa pheasants were, by and large, abnormally high....some habitat issues are cyclical by nature. CRP and CREP and whatever are exactly that....could those programs return? Sure, measuring time and success by our or our dog's life tho is a poor measure. Luckily, pheasants can be raised and released, they can be trapped and transferred and they will return in a near instant, if conditions improve.
Pheasants are simple to manage. comparably.
Will that be soon?..not likely by the measure above but no one can predict a firm failure to ever have pheasants numbers approaching those of the past.
And, really, it is unreasonable to assume that the abnormal, and largely artificially-induced numbers recently will be matched...or should be matched.
Same as no one can or even should try and match the numbers of ruffed grouse in the appalachians at the turn to 20s of the last century....those numbers were as created by logging and burns of a far different economic times than now, as were a portion of the Iowa pheasants by Big Government.
Should the Iowa DNR do a study?
As with Ohio studying ruffed grouse...likely not, as the will and the cash to formulate change is not there post study...or not present in enough voters to require it to be there.
But, I say, Study Away...maybe lightning will strike and something may result that will take a small step to better cover or better understanding of the importance of diverse habitat......not for the pheasants...but for a whole range of critters. That will be the key to finding backing apart from what is a very, very small group of birdhunters.
And, I know, it is easy and common to shout at any DNR but, they have issues, self-generated and not, that can bind their hands...."fix it, DNR" is a mite silly when the fix is not within their pervue or the fix requires a voice made louder by more than the voices of birdhunters.
I hunted Iowa for a number of years in an area that remained good hunting, for many reasons till very recently, but change is to be expected and I have moved on. Moved on to another state where change will also impact the birds, and myself.
It is to be expected...not welcomed or bluntly accepted but change is more easily understood when the widest and longest view of all birdhunting versus Progress is examined.
And remember...Pheasants are easy birds to return to an area...comparably.
Till then, the Superslab is a Birdhunter's friend...embrace it.
