spectr17
09-05-2003, 08:17 PM
Nebraska Game and Parks predicts Best Pheasant Hunting in "Last Several Years"
9/02/2003
SW Nebraska News
SWNEBR.NET - If predictions prove to be accurate, this year Nebraskas hunters may have the best pheasant hunting they have had for a while.
Scott Taylor, the Game and Parks Commissions upland game program manager, says “overall, it appears that hunters can look forward to the best pheasant numbers and hunting conditions we have had during the last several years.”
Taylor said the 2003 brood counts conducted in August showed that statewide pheasant numbers are up 65 percent from last year. The highest average counts in the state were recorded in the Southwest, indicating a strong recovery from the drought of 2002. The Northeast, Southeast, and Central regions also showed significant gains, and the only area which showed a decline was the Sandhills. Brood counts in all regions except the Panhandle and the Sandhills are at or above their respective 1998-2002 averages.
Additional surveys will be conducted in mid-October and may provide more information about what hunters can expect for the up-coming season, Taylor said.
Quail hunters can also look forward to improved bird numbers this year. Taylor said that, like pheasants, bobwhite numbers have risen substantially from last year and continue to recover from the losses suffered during the severe winter of 2000-2001.
“The spring whistle count and the July rural mail carrier survey both showed significant gains over most of the quail range,” he said. “Southeast Nebraska, along with the eastern Platte and Republican River drainages, remain the general areas with the highest quail densities.”
9/02/2003
SW Nebraska News
SWNEBR.NET - If predictions prove to be accurate, this year Nebraskas hunters may have the best pheasant hunting they have had for a while.
Scott Taylor, the Game and Parks Commissions upland game program manager, says “overall, it appears that hunters can look forward to the best pheasant numbers and hunting conditions we have had during the last several years.”
Taylor said the 2003 brood counts conducted in August showed that statewide pheasant numbers are up 65 percent from last year. The highest average counts in the state were recorded in the Southwest, indicating a strong recovery from the drought of 2002. The Northeast, Southeast, and Central regions also showed significant gains, and the only area which showed a decline was the Sandhills. Brood counts in all regions except the Panhandle and the Sandhills are at or above their respective 1998-2002 averages.
Additional surveys will be conducted in mid-October and may provide more information about what hunters can expect for the up-coming season, Taylor said.
Quail hunters can also look forward to improved bird numbers this year. Taylor said that, like pheasants, bobwhite numbers have risen substantially from last year and continue to recover from the losses suffered during the severe winter of 2000-2001.
“The spring whistle count and the July rural mail carrier survey both showed significant gains over most of the quail range,” he said. “Southeast Nebraska, along with the eastern Platte and Republican River drainages, remain the general areas with the highest quail densities.”