WI 2026 Spring Ring-Necked Pheasant Survey Drops 9.6% From 2025

 

Results
Trend analysis – In 2026, all 83 (100%) pheasant survey routes throughout the state were
completed during the spring survey period. The average number of pheasants recorded
during each 6-minute survey stop in 2026 was 0.73 pheasants/stop (SE = 0.05) and was 9.6%
lower than results from 2025 (0.81 pheasants/stop, SE = 0.05; Table 1). However, the statewide
average number of pheasants per stop in 2026 remained 31.5% higher than the 5-year
average of 0.56 pheasants/stop from 2021–2025 (95% CI = 0.53–0.59; Figure 2).

Discussion
The average number of pheasants detected per stop in 2026 was slightly less than survey results in 2025 (Table 1); however, the year-over-year decrease was statistically insignificant (P = 0.235) since there was less than a 10% change. While annual trend observations from survey data may be inferred, caution is advised against using such an approach given the potential for large annual fluctuations in pheasant populations. Making comparisons against the 5-year average does, however, provide a better gauge of the overall pheasant population
trend in Wisconsin. In 2026, the average number of pheasants per stop (0.73 ± 0.05 [SE]) was 31.5% higher than the 5-year average from 2021–2025 (0.56 pheasants/stop; Figure 2). Survey results in the 3 years (2021–2023) immediately following the COVID-19 pandemic were lower than the 5-year average; however, survey results since 2024 have indicated a substantial increase in the number of pheasants per stop in relation to the 5-year average. Good brood-rearing conditions during the fall of 2023 and 2024, coupled with generally dry and mild
winter weather conditions throughout the 2023–2024 (Mason and Vavrus 2024) and 2024–2025 season (Mason et al. 2025), likely contributed to statewide increases in the spring pheasant abundance in 2024 and 2025. Though the 2025–2026 winter season started out cold, warmer conditions returned in February, coupled with near-normal precipitation throughout the season resulting in a close to average winter throughout much of Wisconsin (Mason et al. 2026). Outside of below normal temperatures at the start of the winter season, winter-related
stress likely had minimal impact on pheasant populations. However, record-setting rains during the month of April (Mason et al. 2026), particularly in east-central and southeast Wisconsin, not only inhibited the abilities for surveyors to conduct surveys, but also likely influenced the presence (or lack thereof) of pheasants along impacted routes within those respective regions. 

Read the full Wi DNR Report 

ND 2026 Pheasant Crowing Counts Up Statewide 9 %

The number of roosters heard during the North Dakota Game and Fish
Department’s 2026 spring pheasant crowing count survey was 23.2 crows per stop, up 9% statewide from last year.

“Overwinter survival of adult pheasants has been outstanding. Typically, we lose up to 75% of our pheasant population each winter, but that has not been the case as of late,” said RJ Gross, Department upland game management biologist.

By region, observers heard 32.7 crows per stop in the southwest, up 5% from 2025; 22.2 crows per stop in the northwest, up 4%; and 23.1 crows per stop in the southeast, up 24% from last year. The count in the northeast, which is not a primary region for pheasants, was 9.3 crows per stop, up 43% from 2025.

Crowing counts are just one part of the picture, providing a glimpse of the population going into the breeding season. But Gross expects more good news as the peak of the pheasant hatch approaches.

“Entering the nesting season, residual grass cover looked good,” Gross said. “We have received ample precipitation that has led to increased growth in nesting and brood rearing cover across the state. Combined with high overwinter survival over the past three years and near ideal nesting habitat conditions, things are looking great for pheasants in North Dakota.”

 

Pheasant crowing counts are conducted each spring throughout North Dakota. Observers drive specified routes, stopping at predetermined intervals, and counting the number of roosters heard crowing. The number of pheasant crows heard is compared to previous years’ data, providing a trend summary.

As always, the late summer roadside counts conducted in July and August will give a better idea of brood production and the hunting outlook for fall. 

For the full story, watch this week’s North Dakota Outdoors Webcast with R.J. Gross.

Chasing Late Season Roosters | With Tony Peterson | MeatEater | Video

 

Tony Peterson and his bird dog, Sadie, hit the cattail sloughs of Minnesota in search of pheasants. These public-land birds have been pressured for weeks, so Tony ventures deep into the thick wetlands bordering nearby farms, where the birds have found refuge. With the whitetail rut winding down, it’s time for Tony and Sadie to scratch that public-land rooster itch. Presented by ‪@scheels‬ #fueledbynature #meateater  

 

The Pheasant Hunt I've Been Dreaming About (8 Years in the Making) Video

 

 

New Program Added 100,000 Acres (and Counting) of Walk-In Access in Nebraska and South Dakota

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Dac Collins

We’d already pushed through a big, grassy swale that looked birdy enough, but only produced a lone rooster. After huddling over an onX map, our small orange army decided to head for the shelter belt on the far north edge of the field. With two hunters set as blockers, the dogs worked the trees while the rest of us walked the edges.

Midway through three roosters flushed wild, rocketing up and out of shotgun range to the other side of the property. A dog whined, begging to go after them, but we resisted the faraway temptation. It was late December and those cagey birds weren’t likely to hold for long. 

Besides, we had other places to go — more than 44,000 acres of private yet huntable land on the prairies of western Nebraska. And we’d get plenty more shots on wild birds, both pheasants and prairie chickens. All this acreage had recently been enrolled in the Nebraska Community Access Partnership, which is part of a new public-access initiative led by Pheasants Forever, with support from onX, Nebraska Environmental Trust, and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

The NCAP builds on the state’s successful Open Fields and Water program, which pays willing landowners to allow public walk-in hunting access. At $25 per acre for high-quality CRP, and $10 per acre for rangelands and grasslands, PF’s new program offers these landowners an even bigger incentive to enroll their lands in OFW under a five-year contract. (These one-time incentives are on top of the annual OFW payments of 50 cents to $15 per acre that private landowners receive from the state.) As part of that contract, and to maintain high-quality habitat, participating landowners can’t graze or hay the acreage during those five years. The only exception to the rule is limited management of grasslands.

Off to a Roaring Start

Since it was established in 2024, the NCAP has focused mainly on properties in a six-county region around Ogallala. The area is already a tourist hub in the summer months, and PF’s Nebraska state coordinator Kelsi Wehrman says the local community has welcomed the prospect of bringing in more hunters during the fall and winter months. 

The NCAP is also part of a much larger initiative that PF calls the Public Access to Habitat Program. It started in South Dakota, where it’s helped open nearly 70,000 acres of private land to public hunters. PF is also adding acreage in North Dakota, Michigan, and Oklahoma.

At a time when federal funding for walk-in hunting programs is limited to non-existent, new programs like these are even more important for hunters and local landowners. They’re also a major benefit for the surrounding communities and small businesses that benefit from the economic boost hunters bring.

“It definitely brings a lot to an area where we have more landowners who are interested in enrolling [in walk-in access] than we have federal funding available,” says Wehrman. “And just in these first two years, the landowner response has been incredible.”

Wehrman explains that so far, they’ve enrolled roughly 57,000 acres in Keith, Arthur, Garden, Deuel, and Perkins counties. More than 20,000 of those acres have been added since January.

“Initially, the effort has been around getting as many acres available to hunters as possible, and I feel like we’ve met that … Our original goal was 25,000 acres over three years, so it’s even more than we expected,” says Wehrman, noting that last year’s enrollment included some large tracts of grassland that’s home to prairie chickens and sharpies.. “This year, we focused more on smaller properties where you’d find pheasants, like pivot corners and traditional CRP.”

Different Habitats and Hunting Opportunities - Read the rest of the Outdoor Life article

 

 

 

 

 

Montana 2025 pheasant season to begin with major bird release

 by NBC Montana Staff

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) is gearing up for the opening of pheasant season on Saturday, Oct. 11, with a significant release of pheasants across the state.

This fall, FWP plans to release nearly 18,000 birds on wildlife management areas, fishing access sites, and some school trust lands.

This week alone, almost 2,000 pheasants will be released at various sites.

The initiative is part of the fourth year of the annual pheasant release program, which was approved by the Fish and Wildlife Commission in 2022 to release up to 50,000 pheasants annually through 2026.

The program, authorized by the Legislature in 2021, allows for spending up to $1 million each year.

The following was sent out by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks:

The purpose of the pheasant release program is to give new hunters an opportunity to experience hunting success, encouraging their future participation in conservation around the state. In Montana, like other states, fish and wildlife conservation is fundedprimarily through license dollars. Hunting and fishing are an active way to support wildlife management, habitat protection and conservation efforts.

To see a map of the release sites, go to fwp.mt.gov/hunt/roosters-for-recruitment. For more information on hunting pheasants and other upland game birds, go to fwp.mt.gov/hunt/regulations/upland-game-bird. To read the upland game bird forecast, click here. As hunters head into the field, they should keepbear safetyin mind and remember the potential forfire danger.

Read the full NBC Montana article 

 

 

Scouting for Pheasant - onX Hunt Masterclass | Video

Join Pheasants Forever's Tom Carpenter and onX's Ben Brettingen to learn how to scout and hunt pheasants more effectively.

 

Nebraska Spring 2025 Pheasant Counts UP 89% August Counts Down 12%

Positive surveys and field reports point toward an optimistic outlook for Nebraska upland bird hunting seasons this fall.

“Surveys conducted this spring looked promising entering the breeding season, and with good habitat conditions, good production is expected,” said Bryan O’Connor, upland game program manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

Pheasant

Statewide pheasant counts during this year’s April rural mail carrier survey increased 83% compared to 2024 and saw increases in all six pheasant management regions. However, statewide during our July rural mail carrier survey we calculated a 12% drop in comparison to 2024, and mixed results were observed at the management region scale.

According to surveys, the Panhandle and Southwest pheasant management regions should support some of the higher pheasant densities this fall. The Central, Northeast, and Sandhills management regions all saw increases this year compared to 2024. The Central management region also exceeded the 5-year and 10-year averages, while the Northeast exceeded the 10-year average. Pheasant habitat within these regions are relatively isolated, but where quality cover exists, hunters should find good pheasant hunting opportunities.

Read the full Nebraska’s Upland Game Bird Hunting Outlook 

Kansas 2025 spring Pheasant crowing counts increase 49 percent

Kansas 2025 spring Pheasant crowing count RESULTS

Range-wide
The 2024 PCSI was 10.61 crows per stop across all 64 surveyed routes. Among the 57 comparable routes (sampled both years by same observer), there was a significant increase (P < 0.001) in the statewide meanfrom 2024 (49%). The PCSI decreased on 15 of the comparable routes and increased or remained the same on the remaining 42 comparable routes relative to 2024 (Table 1).
 

Flint Hills: All 7 of the established routes were completed. The regional PCSI was 3.95, indicating no significant change from 2024 (P = 0.328). Glaciated Plains: All 6 of the established routes were completed. The regional PCSI was 1.45, indicating no significant change from 2024 (P = 0.220).

Northern High Plains: All 12 established routes were completed. The regional PCSI was 18.62, indicating a significant increase from 2024 (P = 0.079). Smoky Hills: All 21 of the established routes were completed, the regional PCSI was 9.93, indicating a significant increase from 2024 (P = 0.005).

Southern High Plains: All 7 of the established survey routes were completed in this region. The regional PCSI was 19.65, indicating a significant increase from 2024 (P = 0.0). South-

Central Prairies: Of the 12 established routes 11 were completed this year. The regional PCSI was 8.52, indicating no significant change from 2024 (P = 0.201)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read the full KS Outdoors Report