Hunting & Heritage  |  07/24/2018

Summer Pheasant Report: Wisconsin


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By Tom Carpenter, Editor - Pheasants Forever
 

Weather

“Wisconsin had some unexpected weather in spring, with most of the state covered in snow in mid-April and then record high temperatures in May,” reports Jaqi Christopher, Wildlife Biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “This weather could have had an impact on pheasants as well as other upland birds. With fairly normal summer weather for the rest of summer, I think the pheasants can rebound from any setback that may have happened due to the spring weather.”
   

Habitat

“Wisconsin’s strongest pheasant population is in the west-central part of the state, as well as in the Southwest, mainly where we do extensive grassland management,” says Christopher. “With the pheasant stamp and the Farm Bill Biologist program, we are able to create and maintain grasslands on both DNR managed land and private land, which is great for the wild pheasant population.”
 

Programs

“The DNR has been working hard to manage and maintain grasslands needed for a variety of species including pheasant,” SAYS Christopher. “With the revenue from the annual Pheasant Stamp, the DNR is funding 28 projects this year, including the Farm Bill Biologist partnership with Pheasants Forever.”
 

Prospects

“Despite the spring weather, I think this could be a great year for pheasant hunting in Wisconsin,” says Christopher. “The DNR spring pheasant crow counts show an upward trend in the abundance of wild pheasant over the last 5 years. There is meaningful habitat on the ground. With a good end of summer and successful broods pulled off, there should be birds to hunt.”