Southwest Focus onPheasant Initiative started
in July of 2010. The kick off of the initiative was during a habitat tour
of the Southwest focus area. The Southwest Focus area is part of the larger
state wide Focus on pheasants Program that started in 2002.
More info on the South Central initiative coming soon!
In response to continued declines in statewide pheasant numbers, the Nebraska
Game and Parks Commission’s Board of Commissioners directed staff to assess
and develop projects and activities to address this problem. The activities
and projects identified were designed to serve the specific goal of delivering
tangible benefits to the greatest possible number of pheasant hunters over
the next ten years, while maximizing educational opportunities for landowners
and other stakeholders regarding the habitat needs of pheasants.
Although
these recommendations are designed to meet the above goal, it is recognized
that NGPC actions alone will not be sufficient to reverse regional or statewide
pheasant declines.
Although weather events and fluctuations in the distribution and abundance
of predators have no doubt influenced this downward trend in pheasant numbers,
there is little doubt that changes in land use practices have had more impact
on pheasant populations than any other set of factors. During the period
of peak pheasant abundance in the 1940s and 1950s, diverse agricultural operations
were the norm, with each operation often consisting of small fields of grain
and hay crops interspersed with pasture and idle ground. This production
system generated, by happy accident, nearly perfect conditions for sustaining
high pheasant densities, providing good nesting, brood-rearing, escape, and
winter feeding habitats within close proximity.
