Sorry to hear it was slow. The ND count this year was up 25% from 2014. But the other guys told me that the overall numbers were still way down from 8-10 yrs ago. They pretty much blame loss of CRP to higher corn prices.
Also, changing farming practices have had an effect. Many of the farms bulldozed tree rows & brush rows.
Getting permission in south-central ND to hunt pheasants is getting harder. If you hit PLOTS land early, you can scratch out a few limits. Ask cattle producers about coyotes, and they'll make you breakfast.