New pheasant plan calls for better survey to monitor statewide bird population
Mar. 25—PIERRE — A new report
from the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department emphasizes the need to better survey pheasant populations and create an annual fall hunting forecast with scientific-based research.
That's a dramatic shift in tone from current policies of GF&P, which discontinued the annual roadside brood survey count in 2020. That survey, which was conducted for 70 straight years, shared a statewide snapshot of the bird population through data and presented hunters what to expect for the upcoming season.
It was discontinued at the suggestion of former GF&P Secretary Kelly Hepler when the department
chose to focus on marketing
in hopes to drive up license sales. At the time, GF&P commissioners voiced support to kill the survey and did so without public commentary since decreased bird number reports regularly correlated with fewer hunters.
The marketing push switched to what's now the
"upland outlook,"
generalizing the pheasant hunting forecast rather than using hard-and-fast data. Now, in addition to a major push to improve the state's habitat conditions, the new pheasant report encourages the state to better track populations again.
"While South Dakota historically and currently supports high pheasant populations, there could be significant issues and challenges ahead for South Dakota's state bird," the report reads.
GF&P Secretary Kevin Robling, who succeeded Hepler for GF&P's top position in 2021, during National Pheasant Fest on March 1 said the department is focused heavily on habitat conditions. He was in attendance to witness Gov. Kristi Noem sign a bill into law creating funding for habitat through the sale of special conservation license plates.
When asked about whether the state would reintroduce the annual brood survey, Robling did not directly answer and chose to discuss the importance of habitat.
"If we have more habitat, we have more pheasants. And if we have more pheasants, we need more access to those pheasants, so that's what we're super focused on," he said.
On Friday, March 22, GF&P issued the drafted plan for public review. It is a document used by the state to guide management of the state bird and is reissued every five years. Officials are accepting commentary until Monday, April 1.
The new action plan, coordinated by Senior Upland Game Biologist Alex Solem, has four objectives.
They include:
* No. 1: Provide hunting access to quality pheasant habitat on public and private lands.
* No. 2: Promote the establishment, restoration, and enhancement of high-quality habitats critical for pheasants on state-owned Game Production Areas (GPAs).
* No. 3: Protect and enhance pheasant habitat on private lands.
* No. 4: Use and improve current population, harvest and public opinion surveys to monitor population trends, economic impact, harvest levels and hunter satisfaction.
The Mitchell Republic on Monday asked GF&P about its objective to monitor pheasant populations through science-based surveys. GF&P Communications Manager Nick Harrington said the intent of the proposed changes is to ensure the state continues to be a world-class destination for pheasant hunters.
"The potential new web-based tool and population monitoring programs work hand in hand," he said in an email response to the Mitchell Republic. "The web-based tool is an idea we are evaluating internally that would act as a hunt planner for individuals looking to visit South Dakota or are new to pheasant hunting. It would utilize relative density of hunter/harvest and the amount of public land in a specific location. Ideally, it could also work in conjunction with sources of survey data to allow hunters to pick an area on the map they would be interested in hunting and then be informed of all of these variables."
"These population models, and the intent of Objective 4.2, is to either improve upon existing monitoring programs or use historic data to develop new methods. This includes, but is not limited to; our previously developed weather model and new sources of survey data in combination with habitat analyses for approximate relative density of pheasants in a certain geographic area. Ultimately, we want to ensure we are doing our due diligence in deciding what information we would obtain, and utilize, from these surveys as well as how they can be improved upon and what information they would provide to both staff and hunters."
Written comments on the plan can be sent to 523 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, S.D. 57501, or emailed to WildInfo@state.sd.us. Comments must be received by the deadline and include your full name and city of residence.
