The August survey also provides an index to annual production of each species by comparing the difference of the spring and summer indices. Two rural mail carrier survey veterans, who collectively cover more than 100 miles of rural roads in Erie County in northwest Ohio daily, commented on their 10 years of wildlife observation experiences. Mike Feuerstein of Monroeville participates in the surveys simply because he enjoys seeing wildlife along his route. He still remembers his first wildlife encounter on his very first day on the job. Rabbits are seen most often, but pheasants are the major highlight for survey observers.
Pheasants are nearly oblivious to cars and seem to cross the road without a care .
The two rural mail carriers agree that many different species of wildlife are observed near overgrown farm fields, not just game animals. When left unmowed, these grasslands provide safe nesting cover for grassland-dependent wildlife, especially birds. In particular, the CRP has benefited the state's population of ring-necked pheasants. Ohio's pheasant population peaked in the late 1930s and early 1940s and remained high into the 1950s. By the 1960s, however, pheasants and other grassland species had declined as a result of habitat loss brought on by changes in agricultural practices and urbanization.