OutdoorNebraska

9 The cultural tradi ons surrounding pheasant hun ng were forged during the peak of pheasant abundance in the state. Following their introduc on into the state in the early 1900s, pheasant numbers apparently reached their zenith in the late 1940s, and have generally declined since. Pheasants harvested and hunter numbers have followed this same trend, and the benefits to rural communi es generated by pheasant hun ng have also been greatly reduced. Although weather events and fluctua ons in the distribu on and abundance of predators have no doubt influenced this downward trend in pheasant numbers, there is li le doubt that changes in land use prac ces have had more impact on pheasant popula ons than any other set of factors. During the period of peak pheasant abundance in the 1940s and 1950s, diverse agricultural opera ons were the norm, with each opera on o en consis ng of small fields of grain and hay crops interspersed with pasture and idle ground (Taylor et al. 1978). This produc on system generated, by happy accident, nearly perfect condi ons for sustaining high pheasant densi es, providing good nes ng, brood-rearing, escape, and winter habitats within close proximity. Currently, only parts of southwest and south-central Nebraska, as well as parts of the Panhandle, approximate these habitat configura ons. However, as agricultural technology advanced and markets became more globalized over me, land uses within the pheasant range became more efficient and less diverse. Field sizes grew, idle land became scarce, and weed control became more effec ve. Wheat, which once provided important pheasant nes ng habitat throughout Nebraska's farmlands, has become much less common. As a result, pheasants are no longer a reliable by-product of cropland agriculture, and their numbers have predictably declined (Taylor et al.1978). Clearly, the circumstances that once supported high pheasant densi es have all but disappeared in today's agricultural landscapes. If pheasants are to become abundant again, ac ve management will be necessary. In most cases, direct economic gain derived from acres devoted to providing pheasant habitat will be reduced, so the ability to offer a rac ve incen ves (financial or otherwise) to landowners in exchange for crea ng and managing habitat is cri cal. The most abundant and well-known sources of incen ves are the U.S Department of Agriculture's (USDA) conserva on programs, which provide wildlife benefits on hundreds of thousands of privately owned acres in Nebraska each year. It has long been recognized that these programs (most notably, the current Conserva on Reserve Program [CRP]) are the only government-derived incen ves funded currently at a sufficient level to improve habitat (and thus pheasant popula ons) at regional and statewide scales for a rela vely long-term period. The NGPC's tradi onal role in these programs has been to provide technical assistance to congressional and USDA staff during program development and implementa on, and to help promote desirable program op ons to landowners. More recently, in partnership with organiza ons such as Pheasants Forever and NRCS, NGPC has been providing direct technical assistance to landowners interested in habitat management for pheasants and other game species. Pheasant habitat is also a management goal on many of the NGPC's own public and private lands ac vi es. Pheasant management remains a high priority on a number of Wildlife Management Areas across the state. However, while clearly vital to the agency's mission, these management ac vi es have historically only affected a small percentage of the total landscape. Therefore, they have generally provided benefits at only a local level. Despite these collec ve state and federal efforts (many of which are also shared and supported by private conserva on organiza ons, most prominently Pheasants Forever, Inc.), statewide habitat condi ons con nue to slowly deteriorate, and pheasant numbers con nue to decline. Given present agricultural landscapes, it is unclear if and when numbers will stabilize without some fundamental change in commodity produc on systems. With li le margin for error remaining, those interested in maintaining the pheasant hun ng tradi on must use their limited resources in the most efficient manner possible and look for new ways to keep exis ng habitats intact and produc ve. Literature Cited Mathison, J. and A. Mathison. 1960. History and status of introduced game birds in Nebraska. Nebraska Bird Review 28:19-22. Shafer, L. 2011. Nebraska Pheasant Hun ng Almanac. Infusionmedia, Lincoln, NE. Taylor, M. W., C. W. Wolfe, and W. L. Baxter. 1978. Land-use change and ring-necked pheasants in Nebraska. Wildlife Society Bulle n 6:226-230.

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