Photo By Ron Sinfelt

By now, the Great Plains' pheasant-hunting faithful are in high gear, getting ready for the fast-approaching season that lies just ahead. Opening day is just around the corner, and this season, like others before, will surely greet hunters with many unexpected twists and turns.

A welcome reprieve from Mother Nature in the form of timely rains last year helped ease dry conditions across much of the southern tier of the Great Plains, while a helping hand from Old Man Winter, who kept his icy fingers at bay across the entire region, provided one of the best carryover of birds the region has seen in years.

Much of our resulting ringneck resurgence is attributed to the quality of the nesting and brooding cover fostered by the effects of favorable spring weather, state and local efforts, and the Conservation Reserve Program. While winter weather garners the lion's share of the attention when it comes to predicting the upcoming season, this year's cool-and-wet conditions during the peak hatching period in the Dakotas gave light to just how important early-summer weather can be in the equation.

Significant gains in private habitat and access projects are also paying valuable dividends in increased ringneck numbers, as well as providing hunters with productive areas in which to chase fall pheasants. Each state in the Great Plains currently has a successful program that leases quality private acres and then opens them up to hunters.

Here is a look at what each state has to offer its pheasant hunters, along with our analysis of what Great Plains shotgunners can expect when they hit the fields this fall.

NORTH DAKOTA
Known for its wide-open spaces and solitude, North Dakota stands on the northern fringe of what is considered optimal pheasant habitat. The major factors dictating pheasant numbers have traditionally been the nature of the preceding winter's weather and the availability of undisturbed high-quality nesting habitat. But early-summer weather during peak hatch played an important role in shaping last season's population, and it plays an important role in the overall pheasant picture.

"We went into the 2004 nesting season with an increased number of carryover birds and were very optimistic about the season," said Stan Kohn, upland game biologist with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. "But during our peak hatch in the second and third weeks of June, we were hit with very cool, wet conditions that took a toll on pheasant clutches. Those losses were noted in our fall surveys, and we went into the season with a reduced number of birds."

But while the 2004 pheasant season played out as predicted, it was still a banner year compared to what was typical just a few years ago. "You have to keep in mind that we based that decline on 2003 numbers, which was one of the best seasons we have seen in 40 years," explained Kohn. "So even with the reduced numbers we still had a good season last fall.

"We also had another good winter for pheasants this past season. We actually came through better than you could hope for and experienced no winter losses throughout the state. The winter was problem-free, and we saw a good number of birds enter into the breeding season. All of the ingredients are there to have a great fall -- the cards just need to fall into place."

A smooth winter is essential for pheasants in a state that can experience tremendously extreme weather conditions that can burst the bird population overnight, and it bodes well for a ringneck population that has been on the rise since 1997. Although that trend dipped slightly last year from the 40-year record harvest of nearly 600,000 roosters in 2003, pheasant hunting hasn't been this good in a long time.