by Lowell Washburn
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
For Iowa pheasant populations it has already been a long hard winter, and it’s no wonder that wildlife enthusiasts are expressing widespread concern over the future of Iowa’s number one gamebird. But although this winter has been brutal by any standards, winter is always a time for pheasant losses. It’s the simple reason why, come spring, hens will lay ten or twelve eggs to replace those losses instead of just two or three. In order to rebuild populations, hens must first find a safe place to hide their eggs. That place is called nesting habitat. The importance of this commodity cannot be overstated, nor has it ever been more accurately defined than on an obscure Northern Iowa study plot that most contemporaries have never even heard of.
It’s called the Winnebago Study Area. Established in 1935, by the Iowa Conservation Commission [now DNR] the research tract encompasses 4,900 acres of private farmland in Winnebago County. Since research began here, the plot has ultimately provided the most detailed documentation to ever emerge regarding the fundamental relationship between land use and its effect on pheasant populations. Perhaps nowhere on earth has the ring-necked pheasant been more intensively studied over a longer period of time than on these select acres. Three quarters of a century later, the study area remains a hallmark example of scientific investigation. Although study area activities were originally designed to research a broad spectrum of biological topics, the primary focus was to monitor and interpret long-term population trends.
Study Area pheasant populations reached an all time high during the fall of 1941 when an incredible 400 birds per section were inventoried. During the early to mid-1950s, direct winter counts had dropped to around 100 pheasants per section. During the late 1950s populations rebounded. By 1960, bird numbers had soared to 235 pheasants per section.
Much of the welcome surge in pheasant numbers was credited to the Federal Farm Program and the new Conservation Reserve Program [CRP] created by the Soil Bank Act of 1956. The program reached its zenith from 1959 to 1964 and provided pheasants, along with other upland nesting birds, with greatly expanded acreages of secure cover. Iowa hunters were quick to cash in on the bonanza, consistently harvesting more than one million roosters annually. In 1963, pheasant harvest reached an all time high with a bag of 1.9 million roosters.
But the high times didn’t last. CRP contracts matured and expired; federal set asides were curtailed. By 1965, Iowa’s Soil Bank program had been reduced to less than one tenth of the acreage enjoyed just five years earlier. For Iowa pheasants, it was the beginning of dark days to come. Instead of setting conservation acres aside, farmers were suddenly encouraged to maximize production rather than profits as the era of road ditch to road ditch farming began. Pheasant populations on the Winnebago Study Area, as elsewhere, began a steady and rapid decline. By 1976, direct winter counts recorded a dismal average of zero pheasants per section on the Winnebago Study Area. Under the strain of sudden and unprecedented land use changes, pheasants had declined from their record of 400 birds per section in 1941 to virtual eradication by the mid-70s.
Reasons for the decline were painfully obvious. In 1941, nearly 60 percent of the entire study area consisted of potential nesting cover. By 1980, suitable nesting habitat could only be found on 9.7 percent of the area. Row crop coverage increased from about 47 percent in 1954 to 86 percent by 1980. During that same period, wetlands and pastures completely disappeared from the research area. Suitable wintering cover showed an equally alarming decrease.
Fortunately, the story didn’t end. Enter the 1985 Farm Bill and a brand new round of federal CRP set asides. Large tracts of row crop acreages were once again idled and grassland covers restored. Iowa pheasant populations quickly exploded into new habitats. Hunter success soared, and Iowa’s annual pheasant harvest became the highest of any state in the nation. Pheasant hunting became a multi-million dollar annual industry and the number one reason for tourism in Iowa.
But, once again, the high times didn’t last. CRP contracts matured and expired. Federal set asides were curtailed. Thousands of acres of critical nesting covers returned to row crop and pheasant populations began a dramatic decline. By 2008, Iowa’s pheasant population had hit rock bottom. When the fall hunting season concluded, statewide pheasant harvest had plunged to an all time recorded low of 383,000 roosters. This year’s harvest is expected to be lower yet.
There can be no question that for today’s pheasant flock, times are tough. But according to DNR Pheasant Biologist, Todd Bogenschutz, there’s little mystery surrounding the recent decline. After enduring a back to back series of long hard winters, above average snowfall, abnormally wet and cool spring nesting seasons, unprecedented flooding during 2008, and a catastrophic loss of habitat, it’s no wonder that bird numbers have fallen.
“Habitat and weather are the two critical factors driving our populations,” says Bogenschutz. “Unfortunately, neither of those factors have been pheasant friendly during the last few years.”
Gamebird populations are highly dynamic and it’s normal for pheasant numbers to fluctuate in response to their environment, says Bogenschutz. But what pheasants cannot compensate for is the loss of habitat. In 1993, more than 2.2 million acres of grassland nesting cover was enrolled in Iowa’s Conservation Reserve Program [CRP]. Bird populations soared and hunters bagged nearly 2 million roosters that fall —- virtually identical to the record harvest seen when CRP acres peaked under Soil Bank in 1963.
But as 10-year CRP contracts have expired, Iowa’s grassland acreage has declined dramatically — particularly across the northern half of the state. Current CRP enrollment has dropped to less than 1.7 million acres statewide. Last September, Iowa lost another 85,000 acres of CRP which is the equivalent of 132 square miles of critical nesting habitat. An additional 230,000 CRP acres are scheduled to expire in 2012.
“It’s very hard for people to visualize what those kind of habitat losses really look like,” says Bogenschutz. “It’s almost impossible people to accurately picture what something like 5,000 acres or 10,000 acres even looks like. What I tell people is to try and imagine a 300-mile-long, eight-mile-wide strip of continuous CRP grassland running all the way from Omaha to Davenport. That’s the amount of CRP nesting cover we’ve already lost in Iowa, and more losses are on the way. When you describe it to people that way, you can see the wheels start to turn,” said Bogenschutz.
“At this point it’s really difficult to speculate on what the future holds for Iowa pheasants, but one thing is sure,” says Bogenschutz. “We definitely need to keep CRP on the landscape. We need to fight tooth and nail to keep every single acre that is still out there. At least 80 percent of Iowa’s pheasant harvest occurs on private land and pheasants live or die by how those lands are managed. Federal farm programs determine what that management will be.”

by Lowell Washburn
Iowa Department of Natural Resources

For Iowa’s 56,000 archery deer hunters, there is no mystery to why November is called the Hunter’s Moon. With the annual rut in full swing, the best days of the entire season are currently at hand.

It’s a time like no other. Restless and itching for a scrap, mature monster whitetails are on the prowl 24/7. Wide beamed nocturnal stags that have remained invisible all summer have suddenly changed their ways. Brazen and full of attitude, these bruisers now swagger through mid-day stubble. Locked into perpetual search mode, bucks of all shapes and sizes relentlessly cruise ridge tops, river bottoms, and brushy fence lines in search of does. Sometimes, these wandering bucks find rival males instead. When that happens, the Iowa timbers resound with the sharp clash of dueling antlers.

With the scales suddenly tipped in their favor, archery deer hunters employ every trick in the book in hopes of arousing the curiosity [or anger] of mature bucks. Vigorously rattling a set of antlers to create the sound of mock battle is the bow hunter’s staple. Other tactics include doe [bleat] calls, grunt tube calls, and decoys.

There’s good reason for all the fuss. Whether you judge them in terms of body weight or in total inches of antlers, there is no disputing that Iowa bucks achieve heart stopping proportions. Legends of the Fall, Iowa’s behemoth stags have gained global notoriety. There are, in fact, few places on the entire continent where deer grow bigger or better than they do right here at home. To date, Iowa has produced 19 of the all time top bucks ever recorded. That’s more top deer than is currently listed by any other state or any Canadian province.

But even in November, Iowa’s big bucks do not come easy. Tagging one still requires ample amounts stealth, woodsman-ship, and above all — patience. Putting a monster in the freezer usually means passing on numerous six or eight pointers. That can be tough. For many hunters the temptation of seeing those lesser bucks becomes just too great.

When [if?] the Big Buck finally does arrive, many archers simply crack under the strain. After the drilling the bulls-eye on backyard deer targets all summer, a hunter may easily miss the entire animal when the moment of truth arrives. It’s called Buck Fever, and is the best explanation as to why so many new broadheads end up imbedded in tree stumps rather than deer.

Of course, not all shots at monster bucks result in misses. Who knows? When it finally comes time to capture that photo of a lifetime, it might even be your face that grins from behind the massive antlers of Iowa’s newest state record white-tail.

DES MOINES – As the fall deer hunting season gets in full swing, hunters are being urged to exercise extra caution when using tree stands.
Corwin Gingerich, 37, of Kalona, survived a fall from approximately 40 feet while bow hunting deer Saturday evening in southern Washington County.
Gingerich had started down from his tree stand at approximately 7 p.m. Saturday to take look at a buck he had shot when he lost his footing on screw-in pegs. He fell down the side of a cottonwood, hitting a split in the tree, before falling to the ground and landing on his back.
Gingerich was transported to the Washington County Hospital and Clinics in Washington then transferred to the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City where he was treated and released.
“We want to stress the use of full body harnesses, using haul lines when getting gear in and out of the stand, and maintaining the three points of contact at all times when climbing in and out of a tree stand,” said Megan Wisecup, recreational safety supervisor for the DNR. “Another huge safety tip we want to stress is to make sure to leave your hunting plan with family or a friend before you head out. And carry a cell phone in case of emergencies.”
The hunting plan includes where the hunt will take place, who will be in the hunting party, where each person in the hunt will be at all times and their role in the hunt and when they will return.

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