One thing you are missing, during the height is the pheasant population, prior to changing farmong practices and the emphasis on corn and beans, almost all farms had fallow land, that is how they rested it between crops, planted something that would put nitrogen back into the soil and leave it alone or they just didn't need to spend the money on seed and fuel and fertilizer because the price of grain wasn't worth it. Contiguious habitat, food cover and winter shelter, not a patchwork of habitat. That is the key. Some biologists believe that the population of pheasant nation wide were plunging because of loss of habitat and more intensive notill farming when the avian flue came along and really put a hurt on them. With low numbers and loss of habitat, they have not bounced back except in a few areas and if we ever lose the CREP program, they will be doomed as well. One thing we haven't thrown into the mix yet is the loss of habit because of intensive developement. Almost all the places I hunted pheasants at their height that were perfect habitat, mixtures of corn, fallow fields woodlots fencerows tree lines, all gone to homes. That is also part of the mix. If we can ever develope a pheasant that can thrive on bare ground and macadam and doesn't have to eat all winter, we may have a chance. I cut my teeth on pheasants, I love it more than any other wing shooting I applaud those fighting the tide to try to bring back a huntable population of wild birds sush as PF, however were I a betting man, I would bet aganst it. We have goner to far down the mountain to get back to the top. If there was one reason for the pheasant problem, we could probably solve it, however, there is not one reason, there are several things working together that brought them down, just like it was several circumstances working together just right that gave us the embassasment of birds we used to have.