Forecast: When it comes to pheasants, South Dakota sets the bar high. So even though numbers are lower than last year, hunters will still find plenty of birds.
The annual pheasant brood survey showed a 20 percent decrease in the statewide pheasants-per-mile index—3.05 PPM, compared with 3.83 last year. Even so, the index for 2016 is twice as high as the 2013 index and significantly higher than the 2.7 PPM in 2014, when hunters shot 1.2 million roosters. “Good pheasant hunting opportunities will exist in 2016,” says Kelly Hepler, South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks secretary.
The decline in pheasant numbers was greatest in some of the state’s best pheasant areas, including Chamberlain (-18 percent), Winner (-18 percent), Aberdeen (-43 percent), Huron (-23 percent), Mitchell (-17 percent), Yankton (-33 percent), and Sioux Falls (-28 percent).
The 2016 PPM is far lower than the PPM during the period 2003–2010. The recent statewide peak was 8.6 PPM in 2008.
“Habitat continues to be at the forefront of the conversation and still remains a crucial factor in pheasant numbers,” says Hepler. “Bird numbers are higher in parts of the state where quality habitat conditions still exist, primarily on grasslands including those enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, as well as fields of cereal crops such as winter wheat.”
Season Dates: October 15, 2016 through January 1, 2017
Daily Bag Limit: 3
Possession Limit: 15 roosters taken according to the daily limit – 15 birds may not be possessed until after the fifth day of hunting
Field Notes: Season dates true for all of South Dakota except the following—Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Brown County, Renziehausen Game Production Area and Game Bird Refuge in Brown and Marshall Counties, Gerken Game Bird Refuge in Faulk County and White Lake Game Bird Refuge in Marshall County—which are open December 12, 2016 through January 1, 2017
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