| OCR Text |
Show Pheasant And Quail Hunts Open Nov. 3 SALT LAKE CITY Securing Secur-ing written permission to hunt private property that has good pheasant habitat, and hunting on less-crowded weekdays, are keys to finding success during Utah's upcoming pheasant hunt; Utah's 2001 pheasant hunt, and the state's 2001 quail hunt, begin Nov. 3. "Despite the fact that pheasant pheas-ant populations have declined drastically over the past 35 years, Utah's most popular game bird hunt is still for. the wily ringneck," says Dean Mitchell, Upland Game Coordinator Coor-dinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. About 30,000 to 35,000 hunters are expected afield for pheasants in Utah this season. Mitchell says hunters will probably prob-ably see fewer birds this year, compared to 2000. "A mild winter meant good over-winter-survival of pheasants, but spring reproductive efforts and chick survival were less than average for pheasants throughout much of their remaining habitat in Utah," he said. Hunters should concentrate their efforts in those- areas with remain-ing .suitable habitat. "Most of Utah's pheasant hunters participate during the opening weekend only," Mitchell says. "Those with persistence, per-sistence, and who hunt during weekdays, are usually successful success-ful in harvesting birds." Predictions for hunter success in each of the Division of Wildlife Resources' five regions are as follows: Northern Region: Hunting this year should produce fewer birds than last year. Hunting will be poor to fair in Box Elder and Cache counties. Central Region: Habitat conditions con-ditions in agricultural areas where pheasants are found are fair. In unirrigated field and road shoulders, the effects of scarce summer show-ers resulted result-ed in poorer quality habitat this year. Hunting is expected to be fair. Northeastern Region: Poor to fair hunting is expected. Southeastern Region: Poor to fair hunting is expected. Southern Region: Poor to fair hunting is expected. "Do not expect the 2001 pheasant hunt to compare with the hey-day of pheasant hunting in Utah," Mitchell says. "Too much habitat has been lost or degraded. Division of Wildlife Resources biologists are anxious anx-ious to work with landowners desiring to improve and enhance pheasant habitat on their property" proper-ty" Funds for habitat and public access payments are available to land-owners through the Utah Wildlife Habitat Conservation program. Those who are interested inter-ested should contact DWR Regional Habitat Manager in their area for more details. A brochure describing the program pro-gram is also available through all DWR offices. "Pheasant hunting strategies in Utah are somewhat different than in the past," Mitchell says. "Most of the best habitat for pheasants is still found on private pri-vate lands throughout the state. Hunters can no longer expect to go afield and have access to private pri-vate lands on opening morning, without talking with the landowner before the opener. Hunters need to invest some time ahead of the pheasant season sea-son opener to secure permission on private lands they desire to hunt." Hunters on lands that are "cultivated." or that have been properly posted as "No Trespassing," are required to have written permission from the landowner or person in charge to be there. This also applies to family members who are not the actual landowner, or person in charge. "Most landowners are more than happy to allow pheasant hunters onto their land. They simply want to know who's out there," Mitchell says. "A simple telephone call or personal introduction intro-duction goes a very long way in (See HUNTS on page 3-A) HUNTS From Front Page securing permission to hunt on private land. "Please take the time do so," he said. "One trespasser is all it takes to close private property to hunt-ers." While in the field, pheasant hunters are encouraged to pay close attention to their shot zones. Every year, DWR conservation con-servation officers re-spond to complaints from landown-ers concerned about buildings, live- stock and farm equipment being "peppered" by shotgun pellets. "All it takes is one event like this to close private property to hunting for good," Mitchell says. "As more and more of Utah's pheasant habitat is replaced by ur-ban and industrial industri-al development, it's essential to pay attention to your shot zone." ; Although not required by law, Mitchell says it's an excellent excel-lent idea to wear hunter orange clothing and caps while hunting pheasants. |
