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Show 24 Hilltop Times OUTDOORS Nov. 2, 1990. IPIh(S(oiirDii" 'tow' by seoire bwd D3inrD8"?(dl by Lt. Col. Rocky Raab .'V-V- ' staff writer Tomorrow is the day of my annual pheasant hour. Where I hunt, in Box Elder County, the pheasant population is called "fair"' by the state's fur and feather counters. But my experience is that hunters there tend to walk the fields for an hour or so after the opener, and then give up. Hence: pheasant hour. As a guest at this community fest, I joyously follow other people's dogs, bust through Russian thistle piles and otherwise participate to the best of my abilities. But that doesn't make any .5 1 v H 1- Hilltop Times - birds appear. The facts are that there are darn few pheasants out there, or anywhere else in Utah, for that matter. The game biologists I've spoken to are a bit perplexed at this. They all agree that the drought, loss of habitat to development and predation are all partly responsible for the pheasant decline. But they aren't at all sure why the decline is so severe, and why a comeback seems to be so difficult. I don 't have any answers there, either, preferring to let the professionals use their educations rather than depend on outright guesses on my part. But I do wonder if the pheasant is such a good .bird for North America af- ter all. The gaudy bird, you may remember, was a transplant to the U.S. A native of the Orient, he was once known as the Chinese ringneck. When originally brought to America, the pheasant population exploded in the grain fields of the Dakotas, Iowa and the rest of the plains. Anywhere the bird could find abundant feed, dense cover and water, it seemed to thrive. But something over the past 10 years or so has changed, and no one seems to know what. Modern farming practices certainly provide enough feed for the birds, but at the expense of cover. There are no more ditch banks full of briars, no more windbreak timber lots, no more fallow in fields. Grain is grown thousand-acr- e fields. But that's not the whole answer to the decline. In areas where more traditional farming practices still rule, the pheasants are also declining. Is the problem too many predators, tod lit- tie water or some other condition? Nobody seems to know for sure. Ranchers I know still shoot hawks, believing that they kill a lot of game birds. No fox, skunk, coyote or feral house cat is safe, under the same warbirds rant. But other ground-nestinseem to be holding their own, despite these predators. Or is that an illusion? Are the pheasants just the first to go, with our other game bird populations to follow shortly? Certainly our waterfowl are also in trouble. Will our grouse, partridge, quail and other upland species be next? I just don't know. wire-to-wi- re . g are declining. It's not a case of there being very few cock birds, there are very few pheasants of either gender. Something is causing the birds to disappear before hunters ever get a chance at them. If there are ho birds there when the season opens, hunting can't be the cause of the decline. So go ahead and enjoy the pheasant I am convinced, however, that hunting pressure is not a major factor. Pheasant hunting is limited to male birds only, with hens strictly off limits. Despite this profection, even the hens hour tomorrow. As with all hunting, it'll be a wonderful day afield even if you don't see any pheasants. And if you do manage to bag a bird or two, don't feel guilty. As a hunter, your license fees, organization dues, conservation projects and outright donations have done much to help all wildlife. f 0 1 Welcome To WELCOME TO First Southern Baptist Church Clearfield 546 S. 800 E. Pastor 825-027- Our Savior's Lutheran Church 7 5560 So. 2300 W. Bill M. Lacy Sunday School Morning Worship Church Training Evening Worship 825-65-52 .....10:55 A.M. 5:30 P.M. 6:30 P.M. c H I w iA 25 YEARS Church School 8:45 am Worship 10:15 am Nursery Available Westminster Presbyterian Church 550 N. 600 W. (550 N. ICaysvillo Main St.) Roy, Utah 84067 479-743- 0 or 776-281- 0 We Invite you 8:45..... 9:30 G4037 546-021- 2 U.S. SAVINGS DOND5 to Join our Church Family Early Worship . Sunday School (Ages 11:00... .......Worship Coffee Fellowship afterwards Child Albert Bodatkl, Jr. Care available for all activities Mrst Assembly of God j Pastor Myke Crowdsr 2352 E. Hwy. 193 CkuxJi 4800 South (Laker Way) West of Bonneville Hiah Srhftol 'Ogden, Utah 84405 Telephone YOUTH AND SCOUT NURSERY PROVIDED FOR CHILDREN UNDER 3 United Mtlkodut iw west 8:30 & 11:00 A.M. Sunday Worship 9:45 A.M. Sunday School (for the entire family) NURSERY AVAILABLE DURING WORSHIP ..9:45 A.M. SERVING MILITARY FAMILIES FOR OVER Community Layton SUNDAY SCHOOL SUNDAY WORSHIP EVENING WORSHIP WEDNESDAY FAMILY NIGHT 771-71- 9:30 A.M. 10:30 A.M. 6:30 P.M. 7:00 P.M. Where everybody is somebody Jesus Christ is Lord 7 41 and i "X T EUM LUTHERAN CHURCH E.L.C.A. 575 23rd St., Ogden 394-554- 3 LM LUTMtRAM CHURCH i 9:45 - Karl W. Kruse, Pastor 8:30 - Worship Service Sunday School & Coffee Hour 11:00 Worship Service - (Nursery Provided) THE GREAT AMERICAN INVESTMENT , |