| So if you're like me, you grew up on saving for shells, | | | | content which is supposedly good for nesting and |
| license fees and gas to get you to your favorite | | | | hatching brood. |
| pheasant hunting "spot". That "spot" may have been | | | | - Habitat Cashflow - South Dakota dominates the |
| a road ditch, public ground, railroad track, bridge | | | | commercial fee hunting business and than means |
| overpass or any other place that you might think a | | | | farmers can afford to "leave a little" for the |
| pheasant would hide. If you were lucky you might | | | | pheasants. Heck, they can afford to leave a lot! |
| have met and developed a relationship with a farmer | | | | Habitat is everything. |
| and he was nice enough to let you hunt on his | | | | - CRP acres - Any state that has high CRP acres is |
| private land. | | | | where you will find the birds plain and simple. South |
| Once you've done that for 20 years and you go | | | | Dakota has them. North Dakota has them too and |
| through a few years when the pheasant shooting | | | | that is no surprise why North Dakota is a sister state |
| ain't real good it doesn't take the mind long to start | | | | to South Dakota when it comes to being the king of |
| to wonder if there are any better places to hunt | | | | pheasant destinations. |
| pheasants than your usual local haunts. | | | | - Land prices, rents and dirty farming - Thank God |
| UGUIDE receives many calls and guests from the | | | | that some land in South Dakota just ain't real good |
| Midwest. States like Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, | | | | for farming. When farm ground is not as productive |
| Minnesota and Indiana are probably the most | | | | and rents are lower then of course land prices are |
| common origination points for a South Dakota | | | | lower and the farmers aren't as bent on farming up |
| pheasant hunting vacation. I suspect that the sad but | | | | to the fence lines or trying to plow under wetlands |
| true driver to the reason behind that growth is that | | | | and slough or weedy areas to get them to pay. |
| what one day used to be great pheasant hunting has | | | | South Dakotan's have long enjoyed to tourism |
| dwindled to a below average pheasant hunting | | | | business associated with their remote destination. For |
| experience in those states. The price of farmland has | | | | the most part they really enjoy pheasant hunters |
| gone up dramatically in those states in recent years | | | | and pheasant hunting but the majority of resident |
| and one can only speculate that farmers who were | | | | farmers are not avid pheasant hunters. Now deer |
| once able to "leave a little for the pheasants", now | | | | hunting, that is a whole different story. |
| can no longer afford to do that. Seems that there is | | | | I think it makes a big difference that pheasant |
| a relationship between skyrocketing land prices and | | | | hunting and the business of hunting pheasants has |
| farmland cash rents - the result: plummeting pheasant | | | | been in the culture of the state for so many years. |
| populations. | | | | Bottom line is that if you love to pheasant hunt, and |
| I'm not sure what the magic is behind South Dakota's | | | | that look in your dogs eye is making you feel guilty |
| seasonally high pheasant populations but a few | | | | about not getting him on more real wild birds, then |
| factors separate this state from the rest: | | | | you should look into making your next wild pheasant |
| - Soil types - South Dakota's soil has high lime | | | | hunting vacation destination... South Dakota. |