South Dakota – Big Drop, But Still Tops

south dakota forecast

Forecast: South Dakota’s annual pheasant brood survey results revealed a 46 percent decrease in the pheasants-per-mile index from last year. Despite the drop, South Dakota still maintains the largest pheasant population in the country, and will again be the top destination for the traveling pheasant hunter.

The winter of 2010-2011 was one of the harshest and longest in recent South Dakota history, and the harsh winter conditions led to heavy pheasant mortality rates. Combine this with a 25 percent loss in CRP acreage in the state since 2007 – an amount equivalent to 600 square miles of grassland habitat! – and it’s easy to see why the hunting won’t live up to last year, when 172,000 hunters bagged more than 1.8 million birds.

Despite the lower numbers, South Dakota still maintains the right to be called “The Pheasant Capital.” “Even with extremely unfavorable weather conditions and loss of important habitat such as CRP lands, South Dakota’s pheasant abundance is still comparable to levels of the 1990s-early 2000s, when the pheasant harvest averaged a respectable 1.2 million birds annually,” said Travis Runia, Upland Game Biologist with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks. Runia notes traditional pheasant hotspot areas near Winner, Pierre and Mobridge have pheasant abundance comparable to where they’ve been the past decade. Areas surrounding Aberdeen, Mitchell and Huron are all down, but checked in similarly on the index with around 3 pheasants-per-mile and should provide ample opportunities. The Chamberlain area again tops South Dakota’s 2011 Pheasant Outlook.

While most hunters stay in east central South Dakota, Runia says western South Dakota can be a hidden gem. “Bennett and Perkins Counties traditionally provide quality pheasant hunting west of the primary contiguous pheasant range in South Dakota,” Runia said, “Locally good pheasant hunting can be found in many areas of western South Dakota.”

Season Dates: October 15 through January 1, 2012
Daily Bag Limit: 3
Possession Limit: 15
Field Notes: Approximately 60,000 acres of Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) lands will be available for public hunting in the James River Valley this fall. Pheasants Forever helped initiate the program, and Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologists have worked with landowners to sign up much of the acreage.
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