BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s spring pheasant count is up by 15% over last year, according to the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.
The state’s hunters saw the worst pheasant season in decades last fall, the Bismarck Tribune reported. But the population looks ready to make a comeback, with the largest increase in the southwest region of the state, which is generally considered the main pheasant hunting region.
R.J. Gross, a game management biologist with the Game and Fish Department, says pheasant chicks will still need to survive the summer in order to see a bountiful population in the fall. Some parts of the state are seeing a moderate drought this year, which may hurt their chances of surviving into the fall.
This year’s regular pheasant hunting season begins Oct 10. Pheasant hunters inject millions of dollars into the state’s economy.