It’s been a difficult year for pheasants. The drought that took over much of the country in the summer continued into the fall and wiped out much of the wildlife including the favorite upland bird of many hunters.

But there is good news out of South Dakota. The birds have been pretty good and on top of that the landowners in the area are investing time, money and their land in the future of pheasant hunting.

Landowners near Huron have been setting a good example. One uses 25 percent of his land for wildlife. He makes sure they have plenty of food and cover. The rest of the land is rented out for farming and while the temptation is there for some to give more to farming the benefit of the hunting habitat is proving worthwhile too.

Not only can the landowner enjoy the hunting themselves, but they can lease out the property to other hunters looking for some of the best pheasant habitat in the state. It’s a credit to these landowners that they are still investing in the future of pheasant hunting in South Dakota.

The state also continues to invest in the future of pheasant hunting. The pressure is there to invest fully in farm crops, but pheasant hunting remains big business as well and people recognize that.

The folks in the story talk about filling out their pheasant limit in just a few hours of stepping foot on the ground. There was plenty of grass and wheat fields for the pheasants to nest. The birds are protected from predators more than they would be if habitat was limited.

It’s a good trend to see more landowners investing in the future of pheasant hunting. The number of birds might be down somewhat this year from the drought, but the future looks bright for pheasant hunting in South Dakota.