Show Pheasant Season Opens Saturday for fog d 16 day y Hunt By Grant K Jense Dense Conservation Officer Of Utah D Division of Wildlife Re Resources sources This Saturday gunners will be going to the field to hunt Utah's n number one one game bird the pheasant HUNTERS WILL fiD find most of the birds are bunched due to early snows VS snows and cold weather Thus hunting success success will range range from fair to good depending on the area hunted Shooting hours will begin Saturday morning at 8 am a.m. and will be daylight hours thereafter for a day 16 general season and 30 days on most state and federal lands The daily bag limit willbe willbe will willbe be three roosters and a possession limit of six SINCE SNOWS have fallen and most crops have been harvested pheasants have been showing up in fair numbers Most upland game bird numbers are down somewhat due to four consecutive years of only fair hatches in the western states CONTRARY TO popular belief last falls fall's harvest nor the previous years year's harvest har hard vest has no bearing on pheasant numbers numbers num num- bers available for this falls fall's harvest Each years year's pheasant population level levelis is largely determined from the carryover from the previous winter and the current years year's hatching success Both of these factors hinge on the amount of g good od pheasant habitat available and weather conditions The Uintah Basin as most most of the nations nation's nations nation's na tion's pheasant range has been experiencing exper a steady decline in pheasant habitat hab due to land use changes mainly conversion of small grains and other related re reo farm uses to hay and pasture and loss of farm farmland and to houses roads etc ANOTHER LOSS LOSS' of habitat posting of private privat property can partially b be prevented pre pro vented by sportsmen The bad manners of a few reduces the amount of land open to hunting each year I The The future of ph pheasant a ant hunting in Utah will be determined by sportsmen land owner relationships A good sportsman always asks a a l landowners landowner's permission to hunt whether the land is posted or not Farmers like year year round round friends not not opening morning friends friends' NEW TRESPASS laws are being en end forced try to weed out the poor sportsman sportsman sports sports- man by taking away their hunting privileges for one year and a minimum fine of 50 Hunters are reminded a day 30 quail season opens Saturday In the past there has been very light hunting pressure on quail in the Vernal area A fair population pop of quail exists in the areas around Vernal Quail make a very sporty target a and d a tasty meal COTTONTAILS ARE fairly abundant this year and the season runs until March h 1 with a bag limit of 10 and poss pos's possession limit of 20 rabbits |