Thoughts of a OG

[gsh lover]

Like some of the other on here, I'm a long time upland hunter. Saw the best, during my life span, the 70's, early 80's. Never heard of CRP back in those days. Had plenty of weedy wheat stubble and nasty draws, and weedy ditches.
Sometime in the mid to late 80's the population declined, drought induced, along with farming practices. Along comes CRP to help the farmer, and all of a sudden, the upland bird numbers increased.
The late 90's and into the 2000's birds were good to almost great!
Then came the deer hunters.
Then came the money.
Then the State realized the potential windfall of advertising, "Come to Kansas, kill a big buck!" And boy, did they come. I think it was around 2005-10 the deer boom really took off, if there was a great piece of CRP that maybe had a draw, it was soon leased up. Back here in SEK, during October through December, it's like the State of Louisiana has moved up here.
My hope is that the State will import some wild birds and release them in various locations that need help. This would be a long term program, I'm sure it would cost a lot, with the current weather patterns changing, we can look forward to more normal rainfall and snow. The cover will be there, just need some seed stock.

 

[westksbowhunter]

Like some of the other on here, I'm a long time upland hunter. Saw the best, during my life span, the 70's, early 80's. Never heard of CRP back in those days. Had plenty of weedy wheat stubble and nasty draws, and weedy ditches.
Sometime in the mid to late 80's the population declined, drought induced, along with farming practices. Along comes CRP to help the farmer, and all of a sudden, the upland bird numbers increased.
The late 90's and into the 2000's birds were good to almost great!
Then came the deer hunters.
Then came the money.
Then the State realized the potential windfall of advertising, "Come to Kansas, kill a big buck!" And boy, did they come. I think it was around 2005-10 the deer boom really took off, if there was a great piece of CRP that maybe had a draw, it was soon leased up. Back here in SEK, during October through December, it's like the State of Louisiana has moved up here.
My hope is that the State will import some wild birds and release them in various locations that need help. This would be a long term program, I'm sure it would cost a lot, with the current weather patterns changing, we can look forward to more normal rainfall and snow. The cover will be there, just need some seed stock.

Unfortunately, the cover isn't out here. As much as I despise NR deer hunting and how it is managed, that has not been the fall for the decline of pheasants. In the last 12 years, the landscape out here has changed drastically. Around 2009, the CRP took the first big hit. And the years following were not good. Pheasants can easily withstand a drought. But what they can't withstand his human interference during a drought (emergency grazing, cutting draws, crop stubble, etc). We went from nearly 4 million acres of CRP during the good years of 2002-2012 to barely over 1 million today. And over half of the remaining 1 million plus acres of CRP has been emergency grazed. I would like to see an estimate of thick standing CRP that is present today. I suspect it is way less than 750,000 acres. That is not much cover this winter for wintering pheasants. And was about the same last year. Grown up homesteads and shelter belts have been pushed out. I see sprayers running more frequently than combines. That is why our numbers are horrible. I think many of you will be in disbelieve when you come out and look at the cover this fall. Releasing birds won't help. They will never survive the winters without habitat. I don't want to see birds released. That will just result in more advertising by our state and a cheap band aid fix to what really needs to happen. A program where CRP are not emergency grazed, a corners program, a public utility program. Instead of throwing money away on WIHA, give that money to landowners to set aside a small portion of each quarter section for wildlife habitat. 2.5% of each 160 acres is 4 acres set aside for wildlife habitat. Could you imagine how many pheasants could survive on 4 acres of thick lush CPR grass up next to a milo or wheat field. That is 16 acres potentially per section. Pay the landowners with the WIHA money instead of tossing it way for public hunting. There are so many programs the KDWP could start instead of WIHA, which does nothing for wildlife. But releasing birds won't help anything.

 

[gsh lover]

Very good information.
Not sure where you are located, I know you are north of Dodge..
The pictures of where we hunt at, are weedy.
10 inches of rain will do that.
I disagree about capture and release.
How did the pheasant get here? They are a non native species. Sure, it will take numbers and dollars, but if the weather is going to change, and provide the necessary moisture, the weeds will grow.
I really like your idea about 2.5% managed for wildlife, that is exactly what the State needs to do.

 

[westksbowhunter]

Yes releasing pheasants worked, in 1906. This isn't 1906 and we don't have the habitat to support releasing birds. If you want to rebuild the pheasant population, you have to work with private landowners. And encourage them to establish habitat. Pay them a $1000 per acre for small parcels of CRP. That is better than throwing away $4 to $20 per acre with WIHA on land that isn't suited to hunt on.

 

[BirdGuy]

Correct. Would be nice if every farm in America left a buffer strip surrounding every ag field/waterway not only for wildlife but for the water quality due to sedimentation/fert runoff. Until that makes financial sense though, every available acre will continue to be row cropped.

 

[matto]

Yes releasing pheasants worked, in 1906. This isn't 1906 and we don't have the habitat to support releasing birds. If you want to rebuild the pheasant population, you have to work with private landowners. And encourage them to establish habitat. Pay them a $1000 per acre for small parcels of CRP. That is better than throwing away $4 to $20 per acre with WIHA on land that isn't suited to hunt on.

Agreed, in general. The releases that worked in the beginning are better understood as "trap and transfer" operations. If the habitat was there, that WOULD work. Unfortunately 2023 hatchery stock is dozens of generations removed from the wild. The birds mostly look the same, but it's almost a different species.

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

Unfortunately, the cover isn't out here. As much as I despise NR deer hunting and how it is managed, that has not been the fall for the decline of pheasants. In the last 12 years, the landscape out here has changed drastically. Around 2009, the CRP took the first big hit. And the years following were not good. Pheasants can easily withstand a drought. But what they can't withstand his human interference during a drought (emergency grazing, cutting draws, crop stubble, etc). We went from nearly 4 million acres of CRP during the good years of 2002-2012 to barely over 1 million today. And over half of the remaining 1 million plus acres of CRP has been emergency grazed. I would like to see an estimate of thick standing CRP that is present today. I suspect it is way less than 750,000 acres. That is not much cover this winter for wintering pheasants. And was about the same last year. Grown up homesteads and shelter belts have been pushed out. I see sprayers running more frequently than combines. That is why our numbers are horrible. I think many of you will be in disbelieve when you come out and look at the cover this fall. Releasing birds won't help. They will never survive the winters without habitat. I don't want to see birds released. That will just result in more advertising by our state and a cheap band aid fix to what really needs to happen. A program where CRP are not emergency grazed, a corners program, a public utility program. Instead of throwing money away on WIHA, give that money to landowners to set aside a small portion of each quarter section for wildlife habitat. 2.5% of each 160 acres is 4 acres set aside for wildlife habitat. Could you imagine how many pheasants could survive on 4 acres of thick lush CPR grass up next to a milo or wheat field. That is 16 acres potentially per section. Pay the landowners with the WIHA money instead of tossing it way for public hunting. There are so many programs the KDWP could start instead of WIHA, which does nothing for wildlife. But releasing birds won't help anything.

You have some excellent recommendations.