The proposal also looks to reduce stress on the released birds by banning pheasant hunting and dog training on the release areas and removing protection on certain avian predators. The Game Commission has been wrestling with the state's pheasant decline for some time. As recently as the early 1970s, the state's wild pheasant population topped a million birds. Today, it's a fraction of that. Most wildlife managers agree the decline was caused by land-use and agricultural technology changes, habitat loss and increased use of herbicides and pesticides.
Some people attribute the decline to increasing numbers of predators.
The Game Commission has experimented with pheasant recovery projects on several study areas over the last decade. Commissioner Shaffer's plan aims to determine if there's something more the Game Commission can or should be doing for pheasants. It could serve as another chapter in the agency's running history with the ring-necked pheasant. It's a relationship that began in 1915 and seems likely to continue for some time. The Game Commission is also interested in extending dove season shooting hours for the season's first segment from the current noon to sunset arrangement to a half-hour before sunrise to sunset.