Opinion: Future of South Dakota Hunting

[MAJTSHR06]

Why all the hostility?

Isnt this a Forum? Im 47 and live in Pennslyvania. I,ve never hunted wild pheasants in my state. I started hunting at the age of 12 and accomponied my father for several years prior to that. When my father was young the phesant population was very abundant probably similiar to south Dakota hunting. Dad told me many stories about coming home from school and grabing a shotgun to hit the fields, putting up flocks of 30 40 birds with maybe a rooster or two, but usually getting a limit before dark. Farming practices were much different then fencerows between every field, corn, timmothe hay fields, oats, clover and alfalfa fields. Insects everywhere (grasshoppers) etc. Nowadays none of that now. Corn and soybeans rule, when the corn is cut nothing but dirt and stubble, I can count on one hand the grasshoppers ive seen this year. What happened? I dont know. Farming practices changed, the stocking of stupid farm raised birds diluted the gene pool, some say I forget the name of the hurricane that came thru but that was about the time the nail was put in the coffin. Maybe a little bit of all this was the perfect storm to end our bird population. I came out to SD 2 years ago and can tell you that (generally speaking) your habitat isnt any better than the habitat here. I sincerely hope your population rebounds fast, but beware of a few more years of bad hatches and bad weather along with the farming practices and what might happen in your state. I will be coming out again this year and look forward to seeing the differences myself from 2 years ago. I believe that habitat while the population is their is what is needed to keep what you have because once its gone it wont be back. Just my thoughts.

 

[david0311]

david0311

Enough is Enough!!

This thread is going no where except south. Let's everybody reign it in. We all have our opinions and it's okay to express those opinions. There will always be those that take exception to your opinion and that's usually where the problems begin. You have to learn to just ignore some of the stuff you don't agree with.

This thread has run it's course and is close to being shut down. Everyone back off or it will be closed.

Come on George--- let em play --ain't like anyone is bleeding---may end up as friends in the end---

And to quote Rodney King:

"Glub-Glub-I can't swim--Whoops wrong quote-- This is the one I was thinking of "Can't we all just get along"

 

[UGUIDE]

Some have indicated that I and other posters "get pleasure" out of reporting what we have observed taking place in SD over many decades of experience..I can tell you that is NOT TRUE.

What has happened is a devastating loss to myself, the hunting community, South Dakota and conservation in general.

Safari, a loss implies something that was a surprise, unknown, all of a sudden, uninvited, etc., etc.

Every acre of CRP ever put in has an expiration date with a known conversion back to crop land.

The issues with the government and the farmbill basically say that the taxpayer can no longer afford CRP (at the previously capped acres).

In other words, the general public has said "we cannot support paying for all these CRP acres, let them return to farming it".

It is not a great loss! It is a contract deal with the taxpayer and it had an end date from day 1.

Agents of change do not waste their time focusing on how good the good old days were and how steep the downward slope is. They analyze the facts for what they are, determine where they are going to invest time and money, and proceed in the direction of their dreams.

The issue with tolerance of the doomsdayers and free radicals is that what they preach is in stark contrast to what Covey's 2 major habitat principle is: "Begin with the End in Mind".

The dooms dayers and free radicals posts never look up and they never look forward and almost always are pointing down, as far as the end in mind is concerned. With them there is nothing but the end or the demise and often times in disregard of the time and efforts going on to create a much different end in mind.

Take for example some threads about farming we have had in the past. There would be some farmer/hunters that may come on a post for a bit but are easily thwarted by the free radicals that have more or less an anti farming outlook. That is why you will never see long term farmer posters or even farmer hunter posters for that matter. They will just go find more productive ways to spend their time as opposed to getting a dose of open forum bitter gall.

Just sayin

Two other site that do a good job with this and have a very respectful poster base is Fishing MN.com and QDMA. These are monster monster forums.

 

[hunter94]

really guys, bitchin about it wont change it...you either pay to hunt wild birds or pay at a preserve to shoot birds and stay home...farmers make more money converting idle land back into production, SD businesses lose big money...its just economics...business decisions really....winners and losers.

 

[safari]

Safari, a loss implies something that was a surprise, unknown, all of a sudden, uninvited, etc., etc.

Every acre of CRP ever put in has an expiration date with a known conversion back to crop land.

The issues with the government and the farmbill basically say that the taxpayer can no longer afford CRP (at the previously capped acres).

In other words, the general public has said "we cannot support paying for all these CRP acres, let them return to farming it".

It is not a great loss! It is a contract deal with the taxpayer and it had an end date from day 1.

Agents of change do not waste their time focusing on how good the good old days were and how steep the downward slope is. They analyze the facts for what they are, determine where they are going to invest time and money, and proceed in the direction of their dreams.

The issue with tolerance of the doomsdayers and free radicals is that what they preach is in stark contrast to what Covey's 2 major habitat principle is: "Begin with the End in Mind".

The dooms dayers and free radicals posts never look up and they never look forward and almost always are pointing down, as far as the end in mind is concerned. With them there is nothing but the end or the demise and often times in disregard of the time and efforts going on to create a much different end in mind.

Take for example some threads about farming we have had in the past. There would be some farmer/hunters that may come on a post for a bit but are easily thwarted by the free radicals that have more or less an anti farming outlook. That is why you will never see long term farmer posters or even farmer hunter posters for that matter. They will just go find more productive ways to spend their time as opposed to getting a dose of open forum bitter gall.

Just sayin

Two other site that do a good job with this and have a very respectful poster base is Fishing MN.com and QDMA. These are monster monster forums.

Just a difference in opinion Chris..in my book going from 12 million birds (2007) to 3 million today, with the corresponding loss of habitat constitutes a "devastating loss".

 

[UGUIDE]

Just a difference in opinion Chris..in my book going from 12 million birds (2007) to 3 million today, with the corresponding loss of habitat constitutes a "devastating loss".

The Game and Fish and the Tourism department will suffer the biggest losses. Likely they will find they have little influence over what private landowners. They too compete with the commodities markets.

 

[SDJIM]

The farmer that does some of my land has a regular group that comes up from Arkansas every year and this year he called them and wanted to know if they wanted him to plant some pen raised birds to boost the low numbers.

NO WAY was the reply--wild birds is what they made the drive for-- those guys just made a few brownie points with me.

His land is just across the road from mine and I like the all wild strain of pheasants we have, glad to see it stay that way.

I'll try to get out to the local public land tomorrow to see what's going on and report back.

 

[CRP]

I have not posted in a year due to folks that actually answer requests for opinions or replies to opinions being grilled or ostracized for those replies. If you don't agree with an opinion, that's OK, just don't get all resentful or bent out-of-shape!

As a SD resident (and bird hunter) for most of my 50+ years, I've seen way too many changes in our bird hunting situations to list here. From hunting all day only to get a very few birds to getting a limit in 15 minutes, I've been in on both situations.

Like it or not, farming for higher-priced crops and losing CRP acres has already lead to fewer wild birds. It happened in the past, and will stay with us for a long time. Federal or state government involvement to fix the problem depends on who is screaming the loudest. But, do you think 99% of city dwellers (non-hunters) are really worried about losing CRP acres or the lack of pheasants?

Because the "word is out" regarding the low pheasant numbers, SD motels are already getting cancellations. Will the loss of pheasant revenue mean some small towns and business' will simply dry up? I don't know. The state Tourism Bureau knows that small bus. hunting related revenue is needed from October through December for these business' to survive. However, how much money do they have to throw at this problem?

Pheasants are tough and the numbers can come back quickly with GOOD habitat. Closing a season to save remaining birds will never happen. There is just too much money involved. Curtailing the number of non-resident hunters would save some birds too. That too will never happen.

I am more than just concerned about the future of pheasant hunting here in SD. A lot of factors have caused the low bird numbers this year. And, if corrective action is not taken soon, it will not get better.

 

[haymaker]

I have not posted in a year due to folks that actually answer requests for opinions or replies to opinions being grilled or ostracized for those replies. If you don't agree with an opinion, that's OK, just don't get all resentful bent out-of-shape!

As a SD resident (and bird hunter) for most of my 50+ years, I've seen way too many changes in our bird hunting situations to list here. From hunting all day only to get a very few birds to getting a limit in 15 minutes, I've been in on both situations.

Like it or not, farming for higher-priced crops and losing CRP acres has already lead to fewer wild birds. It happened in the past, and will stay with us for a long time. Federal or state government involvement to fix the problem depends on who is screaming the loudest. But, do you think 99% of city dwellers (non-hunters) are really worried about losing CR acres or the lack of pheasants?

Because the "word is out" regarding the low pheasant numbers, SD motels are already getting cancellations. Will the loss of pheasant revenue mean some small towns and business' will simply dry up? I don't know. The state Tourism Bureau knows that small bus. hunting related revenue is needed from October through December for these business' to survive. However, how much money do they have to throw at this problem?

Pheasants are tough and the numbers can come back quickly with GOOD habitat. Closing a season to save remaining birds will never happen. There is just too much money involved. Curtailing the number of non-resident hunters would save some birds too. That too will never happen.

I am more than just concerned about the future of pheasant hunting here in SD. A lot of factors have caused the low bird numbers this year. And, if corrective action is not taken soon, it will not get better.

Good observations CRP. The only thing that I would add is that if the weather gets better it will help. I kicked up three young birds today that I could not tell what they were and won't be able to for at least a month. Something went wrong with the early hatch, I assume it was weather related.
We will have good weather again sometime and a better hatch. I have more habitat than I have ever had so I don't think it was so much a habitat issue.