Dr. Chapman and Harold Buri distributed most of them. Despite the drought and some miserable winters in the Thirties, the birds flourished. In the fall of 1946, Hazen played host to 27 military staff delegates from the United Nations for a two-day pheasant hunt, generating massive publicity in the process. In the fall of 1951, governors from five states as well as other members of the Missouri River Basin Interagency Committee were invited to a pheasant hunt in the Hazen community. Suddenly, in 1953 there was no season on pheasants for the first time in 23 years, precipitating a major crisis among North Dakota sports factions as to where the blame lay for the pheasant population decline.
Hungarian partridge are still around in sufficient numbers to call for an open season.
Ruffed grouse, sometimes called chickens , also are around, but in diminished numbers. Garrison Dam had a surprising impact on both hunting and fishing in the area. Lake Sakakawea apparently altered the flyways followed by the duck and goose migrations. While the numbers of ducks seen each fall has declined, the number of geese has increased dramatically. Geese now have breeding grounds in the Lake Audubon area northeast of Hazen, and their numbers are increasing annually as some migrate and others winter here.