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43 APPENDIX B. PHEASANT MANAGEMENT ON SELECTED NGPC LANDS Pheasant management will continue to be the primary focus on a number of Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) throughout the state� As part of this plan revision, NGPC staff identified ten "high-priority WMAs" that will be intensively managed for pheasants (Figure 6)� These areas were selected based on their relatively large size (more specifically the acreage of existing/potential suitable pheasant habitat), location within a favorable landscape with other supporting habitat, and potential in terms of enhancing local pheasant populations� BERGGREN PLAN 2.0 HIGH-PRIORITY WMAS * • Clear Creek WMA, Keith/Garden Co� (6,118 ac) • Davis Creek WMA, Valley/Greeley Co� (2,450 ac) • Elk Point Bend WMA, Dixon Co� (627 ac) • Grove Lake WMA, Antelope Co� (1,985 ac) • Medicine Creek WMA, Frontier Co� (7,487 ac) • Oak Valley WMA, Madison Co� (640 ac) • Pressey WMA, Custer Co� (1,579 ac) • Sacramento-Wilcox WMA, Phelps Co� (2,320 ac) • Sherman Reservoir WMA, Sherman Co� (3,180 ac) • Wood Duck WMA, Stanton Co� (1,833 ac) *Habitat improvements will also occur on several additional WMAs and Conservation Partner lands (and adjacent private lands) in the Rainwater Basin and Eastern Saline Wetlands priority areas. NGPC public land managers have developed habitat management plans for each of these "high-priority WMAs" based on the best available research and information regarding pheasant-habitat relationships� Ring-necked pheasants utilize a variety of habitat types throughout the year to meet their annual life cycle needs (i�e�, nesting, brood-rearing, and winter cover) and these management plans are designed to create the optimum amounts and juxtaposition of habitat types to maximize both pheasant production and pheasant hunting opportunities� Although there are some regional differences, land managers from across the state share many of the same habitat management priorities, which are summarized below: HABITAT MANAGEMENT PRIORITIES Early-Successional Habitat Management When managing for pheasants, periodic disturbance is necessary to maintain productivity within grassland and wetland habitats� When left unmanaged, plant communities typically become more dense and stagnant over time through the process of plant succession� These "late-successional" stands often provide quality winter cover for pheasants but lack the appropriate habitat structure needed during other times of the year� For example, hens with recently hatched broods utilize weedy areas during late summer that provide an abundance of bare ground and insects (i�e�, "early-successional habitat)� To help address habitat needs throughout the annual cycle, land managers strive to create a mosaic of plant communities in different stages of succession via periodic disturbance� A wide variety of management techniques (e�g�, Rx fire, tillage, chemical) are used to create disturbance, which generally occurs once every 3-5 years� Controlling Invasive Trees Woody cover has increased substantially in Nebraska over the past several decades and represents an emerging threat to our remaining grasslands, wetlands, and woodlands� The value of trees to pheasant populations is often a point of contention� Woody cover (e�g�, shelterbelts) does provide an important form of winter cover for pheasants in many northern latitude states� However, severe winter weather events occur less frequently here and research has shown that pheasant abundance is negatively influenced by the presence of trees (Jorgensen et al� 2014)� The expansion of woody cover has created new challenges for land managers on both public and private lands� Eastern redcedar can be controlled effectively with prescribed fire but other techniques must be used (often in combination) to suppress other problematic woody species�