OutdoorNebraska

29 APPENDIX A. HABITAT AND HUNTER ACCESS GOALS FOR FOCUS AREAS AND PHEASANT OPPORTUNITY AREAS Eight regions in the state were picked to focus efforts for habitat management and hunter access, based on concentra ng work where it will be most effec ve based on sound science. Two areas will carry the designa on of Focus on Pheasant (FOP) areas and six will be designated as Pheasant Opportunity Areas (POA). The FOP areas are cornerstones of efforts and provide both excellent habitat and hunter access. The POAs were each picked with specific targets in mind. Each area was evaluated for future desired condi ons (long term goals) and realis c goals (shorter term goals) that could get the areas to the best condi on for pheasants or pheasant hun ng. Two of the opportunity areas carry the tle "Pheasant and Quail Opportunity Area" to reflect the favorability of their landscapes to manage simultaneously for the two species most popular with our upland game hunters. Future desired condi ons represent what it would take to the make the whole region the most suitable for pheasants and hunters if money, manpower, the Farm Bill, and Mother Nature were all coopera ng. The realis c goals represent a more scaled down or focused effort. These goals are based on what the research is telling us we need, our knowledge of the areas, and past experience with the acceptance of various prac ces and ini a ves within these areas. Acreage goals listed in Tables A1-A9 were formulated based on various sources of informa on available to us including land cover data (from 2010), priority areas for CRP, exis ng public access contracts, and habitat suitability models (Jorgensen et al. 2014). Acreage goals for the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Conserva on Reserve Program (CRP) reten on and mid-contract management were based on actual acres of CRP in each FOP or POA. New CRP acre goals were projected based on need, but will depend on Federal acreage caps and sign up opportuni es. The NGPC Five Year Cost was based on the acreage goals mul plied by an average cost per acre for each prac ce. Costs illustrate projected needs but do not represent agency budgetary commitments; funds will be commi ed based on resources available each annual budget cycle. The cost per acre is based on USDA County Average Cost Share rates or incen ve rates that have been u lized in the past. The average per year cost assumes that habitat and access will be spread evenly throughout the five year plan. It is more likely that some years will need more dollars than others, especially when a large amount of CRP acres will be expiring, or during a new CRP sign up (general or con nuous). Area Descriptions and Objectives The Southwest (Table A1) and South Central (Table A2) Focus on Pheasant areas will con nue to be the cornerstones of our pheasant habitat efforts. Both of these areas have the right combina on of small grains, grasslands, including CRP, and lack of tree cover to create suitable pheasant habitat (Jorgenson et al. 2014). In addi on to pheasant habitat, the South Central FOP area has provided op mal habitat for bobwhite quail. Our main objec ve in these two FOP areas is to maintain the high quality of habitat and con nue to provide more access opportuni es. The Northern (Table A3) and Southern Panhandle (Table A4) Pheasant Opportunity Areas also have very suitable habitat according to the Pheasant Suitability model (Jorgenson et al. 2014), but are lacking access opportuni es. Our main objec ve for these areas is to maintain good habitat and provide addi onal access opportuni es. The Commission has had limited success in the Northern Panhandle (north of Alliance) gaining access to small grain and CRP fields, we hope to develop a partnership with the local economic development group and look for ways to open up more land to hun ng. The Southern Panhandle has tradi onally provided access opportuni es, we will be focusing more energy on gaining access to CRP fields where we are providing financial assistance for upgrades and on small grain stubble fields. The Northeast Pheasant Opportunity Area (Table A5) was the loca on of the first private lands Focus on Pheasants effort in 2002 within Stanton and Dixon coun es. The rise in commodity prices in the 2010-2011 changed the landscape significantly, with many of the fields originally in the FOP program being turned back into produc on. We are star ng to hear and see more interest in CRP and shorter term set aside op ons. Our main objec ve in this area is to get as much CRP and grass back on the landscape as possible, and e the financial incen ves to providing access. The Realis c Goals

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