OutdoorNebraska

13 Assess the feasibility of pursuing legisla ve ac ons that would promote pheasant habitat and hun ng (e.g., a property tax reduc on, freeze, or similar incen ve on cropland converted to grassland or stream buffers, later dates for required roadside mowing, promo on of prescribed fire, etc.) in collabora on with our conserva on partners B. MANAGEABLE FACTORS AFFECTING PHEASANT ABUNDANCE: At a basic level, the factors that determine the dynamics of many game species, including pheasants, are weather and climate (not manageable), and habitat availability and suitability. Although weather events might determine a given year's pheasant produc on, no produc on can occur where no suitable habitat is readily available. Here, suitable habitat includes all habitat types necessary to complete the annual cycle of the pheasant. Much research has been conducted in Nebraska that has helped refine, not only what such suitable habitat consists of, but also the scale at which habitat components can influence pheasant abundance. Ma hews (2009) inves gated whether pheasants showed similar responses to disking and interseeding as those observed for other grassland nes ng species. He found that pheasant hens preferen ally nested and brooded in disked and interseeded CRP fields compared to unmanaged CRP and other grasslands. Nest survival was highest in managed CRP fields, and brood survival increased with the amount of me spent in managed CRP fields, and produc on of roosters was twice as high in managed CRP as in unmanaged CRP and other grasslands. Jorgensen et al. (2014) observed that local management ac vi es, although beneficial, do not always have the desired effect. The pheasant habitat suitability model predicts pheasant abundance based on land cover values of CRP, grass, trees, small grain, row crops, and wetlands. This model indicated that landscape level variables did influence the outcomes of management ac vi es undertaken at a local, site-specific level, with some factors constraining and others facilita ng the posi ve effects of local land management (Jorgensen et al. 2014). The model of Jorgensen et al. (2014) predicted areas of the state where management ac vi es could be undertaken most effec vely, and is a component of the current plan, in keeping with the guiding principle above. Based on the model of Jorgensen et al. (2014), we chose 8 regions that include 17 WMAs to focus our habitat and hunter access efforts (See Fig. 2). Within these areas, the habitat goals for private lands include impac ng over 800,000 acres at a cost of $25.5 million over five years, and providing 122,000 acres of upland game hun ng access at a cost $700,000 per year. The habitat goals for public lands include over 4,000 acres of addi onal habitat work above baseline management levels at a cost of $706,440 over five years. See Appendix A and Appendix B for area-by-area goals for private lands and public lands, respec vely. Land acquisi on is one tool u lized to provide access opportuni es to hunters in Nebraska. Land acquired by fee tle provides hun ng land that will be available to the public in perpetuity. The Commission currently has a land acquisi on program which considers land offered to the Commission on a willing seller basis. Land is evaluated based on Commission acquisi on priori es. The Commission will develop a new acquisi on plan to re-examine priori es with considera on given to acquiring land having or with the poten al to have, upland gamebird habitat in selected areas. New funding sources will be inves gated, including the enhancement of exis ng funds to acquire land for pheasant management and public hun ng, consistent with agencies priori es. Future efforts will include assessing the feasibility of acquiring conserva on easements and access agreements to conserve habitat and increase hun ng opportuni es. Research will be needed to determine the es mated number and spa al distribu on of pheasant hun ng acres needed to sa sfy a target level of hunter demand and determine the most cost efficient blend of acquisi on, easements and access agreements necessary to meet that demand. The plan will also address be er ways to use pheasant releases to increase hun ng opportuni es for families in areas of the state where management ac vi es for wild pheasants are less likely to be effec ve. We will also inves gate regula on changes that would minimize the regulatory burden on private individuals and groups that wish to raise and release pheasants, as well as whether such regulatory changes will affect pheasant popula ons. There is s ll much more to learn about the manageable components affec ng pheasants and pheasant hun ng. For example, the contribu on of pheasant gene cs to produc on and behavior is unknown, as is the possible dilu on of this

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