ID Expanded Pheasant Stocking

[westbranch]

I have mixed feeling on stocked birds. But I want to check out a couple of the Panhandle and Clearwater locations this fall. Should be good for getting the dog out and scaring some birds with my missed shots.

F&G Commission expands access to pheasant hunting with new stocking locations

Pheasant hunters will have more birds and more places to hunt them in 2020, thanks to the Fish and Game Commission expanding the department’s pheasant stocking and more than doubling the number of locations to 22 areas around the state.

idfg.idaho.gov

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I've always been told their mortality rates are so high it doesn't really make sense. The flip side of the coin has always been that the Yotes eat the easy meal and leave the native birds. Not the greatest logic, but look forward to hearing if you think it made a difference!

 

[westbranch]

I've always been told their mortality rates are so high it doesn't really make sense. The flip side of the coin has always been that the Yotes eat the easy meal and leave the native birds. Not the greatest logic, but look forward to hearing if you think it made a difference!

I have heard similar things in the past regarding stocking. I haven't pheasant hunted here yet and when I was in the Midwest I only hunted a handful of times in ND and MN. No idea what native bird populations are like normally on the ID part of Palouse, the prior year surveys don't have a lot of detail but there are some around.

 

[Foxtrot1]

Unfortunately the best answer I have ever heard concerning stocked pheasants in many locations is:

"would you rather hunt released birds, or not hunt pheasants"

Stocked birds will not reproduce or "help" an existing population of wild birds. They are useful for put and take type hunting allowing for additional access for hunters and opportunities to run bird dogs.

Ultimately the key to upland bird populations is maintaining suitable quality habitat. In areas where modern agriculture or land management practices limit habitat, hunting released birds may be the only option to keep upland hunting alive as part of the local culture.

Wild quail hunting is a thing of the past in 90% of the South. Since the 70's and 80's its been a steady decline. Now its so rare, no one owns dogs except those that travel.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I have heard similar things in the past regarding stocking. I haven't pheasant hunted here yet and when I was in the Midwest I only hunted a handful of times in ND and MN. No idea what native bird populations are like normally on the ID part of Palouse, the prior year surveys don't have a lot of detail but there are some around.

Interesting tidbit from the Montana Fish and Game: