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Show South Dakota Acts To Provide Winter Protection For Pheasant Population The planting of shelterbelts and food plants to provide winter win-ter protection for pheasants is South Dakota's most promising project under the Pittman-Rob-ertsorf Federal Aid to Wildlife program, according to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife service. South Dakota presents certain cer-tain unique problems of pheasant pheas-ant manageme n't. Its 50,000 square miles of land suitable for pheasant nesting and rearing of young do not provide enough winter' range to protect the state's huge crop of birds during dur-ing winter storms. In extreme winter weather, pheasants are forced to concentrate in cover areas which constitute well under un-der one per cent of their summer sum-mer ranee in the state. In South Dakota, unusually hard winters severe enough to cause heavy mortality among pheasants, reducing breeding' populations and limiting hunting possibilities occur about every four to six years. Existing shelterbelts, while well-used by wildlife in many parts of the state, and inadequate inade-quate in other sections. Not only are there many areas where there are no shelterbelts or other cover, but some existing1 exist-ing1 tree belts do not have sufficient suf-ficient brushy undergrowth to keep the snow from drifting in and covering the ground. The tree-planting project is designed to correct some of these inadequacies. inade-quacies. ' By studying movements of pheasants for many years, biologists bi-ologists in South Dakota have determined that the birds will travel a maximum of 10 miles from their summer range to seek winter shelter. Therefore, the state conservationists hope eventually to plant four cover areas in each township. If the shelterbelts are properly spaced, the ringnecks won't have to travel more than1' a mile and a half to good winter cover. Unless it is possible for pheas ants to find food nearby weed seeds or waste grain on crop lands the shelterbelts are of limited value. Pheasants seldom go more than a quarter of a mile from their shelter to seek food during severe winter weather. weath-er. By planting asparagus and white clover between the last few rows of trees in the belt, some of this food is provided. The trees planted include such species as Russian olive, wild plum, sandcherry, Chinese elm, green ash, and boxelder: i The latter two trees are desirable desir-able from the pheasants' point of view because of the good perehes they offer above the ground. |