mthusker

State of Montana says population for pheasants up 42% in NE Montana, just confirms what most farmers up here have been saying. Lots of old crp fields have come out of program last couple of years so this is good news. Obviously the better habitat will be loaded with birds come October, and will be even better when the weekend warriors come out first couple of weekends and chase all the birds to places that have only limited pressure. August rains and cooler weather have arrived and area is looking outstanding. I was in the pheasant capital of Montana last weekend and couldn't have been happier on the number of birds and the habitat conditions!

Oldtimr

Since it was the enrollment of thousands of acres in CRP that was responsible for the good population of pheasants that Montana, and the Dakotas have, how is the loss of some of that CRP land a good thing for pheasants?

mthusker

I was saying that despite crp coming out of program numbers are up 42%. The loss of crp acres can be bad, don't get me wrong, but a lot of those acres go into crop production, Pheasants use wheat to nest in quite a bit, you would be surprised the amount of nest one finds in stubble fields. Some of the best years ever for birds in NE Montana came before the crp program ever existed. CRP provides excellent habitat for pheasants , along with foxes, coyotes, coons and weasels.

Topgun 3006

Glad you explained yourself because the first post also had me scratching my head!

JW

So the land is out of CRP - how much of it is huntable if the land is now viable agreticulture crops?

I am willing to bet there is a gun fee too.

Like to know
Thnaks
JW

mthusker

Gun Fee? Nope. I take it you are not too familiar with NE Montana. Stubble fields hold birds, upland and waterfowl. Still lots of coulees and draws along with sloughs. My comment earlier if read properly merely stated that the pheasant population was up even though crp acres had come out of the program.

Topgun 3006

No, your comment when read the way you wrote it makes it sound to others more like the people are happy that the fields came out of the CRP program, rather than the pheasant population is up.

mthusker

[QUOTE=Topgun 3006;4155407]No, your comment when read the way you wrote it makes it sound to others more like the people are happy that the fields came out of the CRP program, rather than the pheasant population is up. [/QUOTE

Definition of: So, as conjunction: "and for this reason, therefore".

Oldtimr

No sense getting in an argument over an understanding of what you said husker, I took it the same way as topgun did. We now understand. I grew up in the heart of pheasant country in PA and what I saw was incredible and if I never shoot another pheasaqnt, they don't owe me a thing. Now our pheasant hunting is shot. PF is doing some work of reintroduction of wild birds on CREP land but we do not have the thousands and thousands of acres enrolled like you folks do and while I applaud their effort, I am not hopeful I will ever see wild birds like I did in the 60s and 70s, actually I am sure I won,t. I must now be content to hunt stocked birds so my setter will have some fun. I envy your good pheasant hunting out there. A couple of friends went to Plentywood Montana several years ago and had a ball.

Topgun 3006

Whatever, but the last part of your sentence (so...) refers to the first half of the sentence, not the previous one like you're trying to say. I got straight As in English all the way through school and if two of us that have replied thinking that's what you meant, just maybe you're wrong. Anyway, now that it's settled and we know what you meant after the clarification, it's nice the birds are doing well out there even without as much CRP as before.