blackliner

Today was maybe the most frustrated I' ve been with hunting since I moved out east. While working my dogs on a state release hunting area, I became acutely aware of just how little opportunity exists for upland hunting in the upper midwest. The only real opportunities for wild bird hunting are ruffies and woodcock, but they are soon thinned out.

Instead of the large prairies and wheat stubble fields I grew up on, I now wade shoulder to shoulder, playing a sort of demolition derby game, with all of the other hunters in the area. All of this to find a point on a weak bird that can hardly flee or fly.

I guess my bitching is leading up to this: Where is Pheasants Forever? Why aren' t there habitat improvement/impoundment signs up on every carner post? Isn' t there more to conservation than banquets?

Our state DNR' s are all facing budget cuts, and hunting clubs are incredibly expensive surrogates. It may already be too late, but we need to do something to save our hunting traditions. If hunting is to remain a noble pursuit of fair chase gamebirds, we must do something to protect and increase our wild birds.

uplandchessies

Blackliner,

I hear what you are saying, but there is still plenty of land available for pursuing wild birds -- one just needs to travel. Come to Kentucky and you will really start complaining.

I' ve hunted Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon and the Dakotas and the land -- along with the birds , are there. I' ve even seen Pheasants Forever' s work while hunting some of these states. The question isn' t " Where is Pheasants Forever" , but where are the hunters? I' ve never been to a PF banquet, but I have been to Quail Unlimited functions and attendence -- while supportive, just isn' t enough. There is a lot more to these organizations than land acquisitions and " putting signs up." CRP, WHIP' s and anti-hunting organizations are only a small part of where their efforts and resources go. Believe me, I' m with you, but these Org' s really have their hands full.

nmarro

Yeah i know what you are really talking about...i to am from illinois, and all i can say is it suxs..its more like a race to who can get the pen birds that dont want to fly...about 20 years ago i use to drive 30min and just hunt on some farm. i use to never have to worry about wild birds. every illinois hunter out there can probabely say the same. i keep asking myself that question every time i come back from conservation hunting...Will illinois every kick in on re establishing wild pheasants?? when i first started re-hunting just 3 years ago, i went to many farms twords Paxton illinois, and asked to hunt on there farms, i was supprised to hear the lack of pheasants in the area. one famrer told me he hasnt seen a rooster on his land for over 5 years. i just couldnt believe that, so i took it upon myself, and hunted a farm down there..after2 weeks of hunting that area i didnt see or flush 1 rooster. i was told that the coyote' s are eating up everything, including large number of roosters. after that i have been going to conservation parks, only to find hens that are just bigger than Chuckar, and roosters that can hardly fly..hunting isnt the best here in illinois, but something has to be done and fast.

blackliner

Don' t get me wrong when I am discussing the " sign on every post" theme. I am well aware what goes into habitat construction and preservation. As a PF member in Nebraska, I was involved with 4 different land mgmt. programs as well as yuouth hunt mentoring. The problem lies with the PF chapters in northern IL and southern WI. I attended a banquet last spring where absolutely no mention was made of programs that all the dollars were slated for. There is virtually no presence in the surrounding countryside.

The signs are important. They let a farmer' s neighbors know that there is an organization that will work with them on habitat issues.