IOWA
Iowa Pheasant Numbers Down; Good Hunting Still Available
The Iowa pheasant population declined 22 percent over the past
year, despite having a nearly average winter and spring nesting
weather conditions. The lower pheasant count was discovered during
the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) annual August
roadside survey.
Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist for the DNR who is
in charge of the survey, said for whatever reason, the weather
conditions were not optimal for good pheasant recruitment across
much of the pheasant range in 2006. The pheasant population in
Kansas and South Dakota is lower and is status quo in Minnesota
and Illinois.
"Nothing seemed out of the ordinary when I looked at the
weather data," he said. Based on the population survey,
Bogenschutz said hunters in Iowa could expect to harvest between
700,000 and 750,000 roosters this season.
The survey found higher pheasant numbers in northwest, north-central
and central Iowa. The Iowa pheasant season is Oct. 28 through
Jan. 10, 2007. Shooting hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The daily
bag limit is 3 rooster [male] pheasants and the possession limit
is 12. The Iowa youth season is Oct. 21 to 22, with a daily bag
limit of one rooster and possession limit of two. Shooting hours
for the youth season are the same as in the regular pheasant
season.
Other species included in the roadside survey had mixed results.
Bobwhite quail numbers were up from 2005, with the better hunting
in southeast Iowa, followed by south central and southwest. Partridge
numbers were down 29 percent, with better counts in north central
and northeast Iowa.
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The August roadside survey generates data
from 215, 30-mile routes on ring-necked pheasants, bobwhite quail,
gray partridge, cottontail rabbits and white-tailed jackrabbits.
The routes are driven over the same roads each year to maintain
consistency from year to year. Go to www.iowadnr.com then click
on wildlife to view the entire survey.
For more information, contact Bogenschutz at 515-432-2823.
This Year's Duck Hunting Forecast Offers Mixed Bag of Good
and Bad News
Fall hunting seasons are almost here. With this year's duck opener
barely three weeks out, Iowa waterfowlers are wondering just
what to expect when they finally bag the decoys and head to area
wetlands.
Making meaningful predictions for the upcoming waterfowl season
is always tricky business. This year the task is nigh unto impossible,
says DNR Waterfowl Biologist, Guy Zenner. The good news is that,
come autumn, generous numbers of ducks will be flying south out
of prairie Canada. The bad news is that most Iowa wetlands may
be dry when they get here.
"There's little doubt that we'll be looking at a good fall
flight coming out of Canada," said Zenner. "When ducks
arrived on prairie Canada last spring, they encountered good
to very good wetland habitat conditions across most of Saskatchewan
and southern Manitoba. Those are key breeding areas, and Iowa
gets a large number of ducks from those regions."
"Here in Iowa, this spring's breeding pair survey was down
somewhat, and I expect overall duck production to be lower as
well," said Zenner. "Water levels remained adequate
during April and May, and brood survival was good. The rains
stopped during the summer, and by mid-July habitat |
conditions were changing. Wetlands began
drying up."
Water levels continued to decline across most of the state during
August. Currently, most wetlands in the prairie pothole region
of north central and northwestern Iowa are dry or nearly dry.
Many potholes have been dry for more than six weeks and have
become completely revegetated with duck preferred, moist soil
plants, such as smartweed.
Although few duck hunters are likely to view current marsh conditions
as favorable, this summer's lack of water may offer mixed blessings
says Zenner.
Most of the ponds across northern Iowa have been full of water
for more than a decade. But in order to function properly, prairie
wetlands need dry cycles as well as wet. That's when marshes
recharge and revegetate. And although it may be hard for hunters
to take in the short term, regenerated marshlands have a much
greater diversity of plant and invertebrate animal life when
water returns. Potholes that are dry today will offer greatly
improved habitat conditions and hunting opportunities during
future seasons.
Although this year's duck hunting forecast is far from rosy,
Zenner cautions hunters not to become overly pessimistic. Fall
weather patterns are classically fickle and substantial rainfall
could be just around the corner. With the state's flood control
reservoirs - Red Rock, Rathbun, Saylorville, and Coralville -
currently hosting thousands of acres of mature smartweed; the
stage is set. A few inches of water is all that is needed to
turn these dry backwaters into a food rich, waterfowl paradise.
Zenner also notes that many of the larger public wetlands such
as Otter Creek, Lake Odessa, Green Island, Sweet Marsh, and Big
Marsh also enjoyed excellent production of moist soil food plants
during the past summer.
"If we do get substantial fall rains, duck hunting could
be excellent," said Zenner. "If we don't get those
rains, hunting conditions will be challenging across much of
the state.
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