October ushers a return to nature for scores of hunters who live in South Dakota or arrive in the state for pheasant season. A Game Fish and Parks official has a pheasant forecast.
Regional supervisor Emmet Keyser has worked all the numbers from the surveys he has seen. The conclusion for Keyser is that the count is down from normal but is still optimistic.
Dry weather in May, June and July were especially harmful to the brood counts and Keyser breaks down why the young were affected so dramatically.
Keyser says that hunters will probably find good success in Davison, Aurora, Hutchinson, and Hanson Counties this year.
Long term prognosis according to Keyser would improve if more farmers utilized acres for CRP to improve habitat. Over six hundred thousand acres have been taken out of the program since 2007.