Blizzard Covers Pheasant and Quail Food, Habitat
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Complete ICN locations are available online at www.iowadnr.gov/hunting
2012 Hunting and Fishing License Sales
In 2012, Iowans purchased…
Hunting 164,194 hunting licenses
161,843 annual, 2,351 lifetime
161,228 habitat fees, 24,301 migratory game bird fees
9,555 youth season deer licenses
Landowner licenses
In 2012, nonresidents purchased…
Hunting 23,421 hunting licenses and habitat fees
2,162 migratory game bird fees
Blizzard Covers Pheasant and Quail Food, Habitat
A blizzard was not the way Iowa's pheasant and quail wanted to start winter.
About half of Iowa received 6 to 12 inches of wet heavy snow that collapsed most "grassy" cover. The cover that did not collapse was drifted full of snow from the high winds.
"This was a bad storm for upland game birds," said Todd Bogenschutz, state upland game biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. "It's very likely we saw some bird mortality with this blizzard."
Winter snowfall from December 1 thru March 31 is a good predictor of whether upland bird populations will increase or decrease the following year, and to have upwards of one foot of snow only 20 days into December does not bode well for pheasants, said Bogenschutz.
"Iowa had only 17 inches of snow last winter. Parts of Iowa are close to that total already with this first storm," he said.
Iowa's pheasant and quail populations were decimated by five consecutive winters of 30-50 inches of snow from 2007 thru 2011. The winter of 2011-12 with only 17 inches of snow led to the first increase in pheasant numbers in years.
"Upland bird hunters were hopeful this winter would also be dry and mild to speed a population recovery. Let's hope there are no more storms like this for the rest of the winter," Bogenschutz said.
Once Farm Bill Passes, Additional Winter Habitat Available
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Pheasants Forever chapters will meet jointly next month to discuss methods to improve winter habitat for pheasant and quail.
Iowa has 50,000 acres under a new Conservation Reserve Program called Iowa Pheasant Recovery SAFE. Landowners have the opportunity to enroll in this program first come first serve until the acres are gone.
Unfortunately county FSA offices cannot enroll Iowa landowners until Congress gives USDA authority to begin enrollment under a new farm bill.
KANSAS
LIGHT GOOSE CONSERVATION ORDER PROVIDES LATE-SEASON HUNTING
Special season set to reduce light goose populations
The dark and light goose regular seasons end Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013. However, from Feb. 11-April 30, 2013, hunters can hunt snow and Ross' geese during the Light Goose Conservation Order. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the special season 13 years ago to increase the harvest of light geese.
Since the mid-1970s, mid-continent light goose populations have increased more than 300 percent. These historic numbers of geese have denuded portions of their fragile tundra breeding habitat in the arctic, which may take decades to recover. This im
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