Catching Falling Pheasants in the NW

Definately exceptional; a good dog, equally good shooting, and a great deal of homework can pocket an occasional limit of North-West wild roosters.

So, I have this question put to me by several folks each year, “Where do you hunt upland birds (pheasants)?” Whether the source was a new (bird dog) client or one of the handful of messaging platforms - new to upland game hunting or to the region - my answer is pretty much the same, “Well, mostly somewhere else.”

Why so, one might justifiably ask? I can offer the observation that both Idaho and nearby Washington state have been “planting” roosters to be harvested in specified areas for some time now. Washington has been planting pheasants on the west side of the Cascades for decades because pheasants cannot reproduce in sufficient numbers in that environment. Did you get the hidden insinuation at the end of the last sentence?

Putting it another way, transplanting only male pheasants into reletively small pockets of cover to be harvested by hunters - and wild predators - implies, to me, that wild pheasant reproduction efforts have been stalled or, in some cases, bascially abandoned. Am I correct in that assumption?

The north-western states of Washington and Idaho have received an elevated reputation for their upland game opportunities; pheasants being predominate. Historically, this reputation has been well-deserved. More recently, though there remains a few bright spots on an otherwise dark canvas, this phrase comes to mind, “What have they done lately?”

Living in this region for the entirety of my sixty-plus years, I have developed a storehouse of anecdotal evidence. Ignoring the catch-all “climate change” voodoo - to some extent - I have taken the time to research the situation from the Idaho and eastern Washington perspectives and have developed this - rather lengthy - document and conclusion.

WASHINGTON: I started with Washington state, for no other reason than it is furthest west and closest to where it all began. The honor of the first successful transplant of pheasants into the United States has been awarded to the Willamette River valley in Oregon. It is there that, in 1881, consulate Owen Denny introduced the first successful transplant of wild pheasants into America. By the early 1900’s a portion of the growing population found their way north into the rich agricultural regions of eastern Washington.

Due to subsequent introductions of multiple variations of the species, the American version of phasianus ornis is likely a unique mix and became the most popular game bird in Washington. (That statement is incredibly redundant among states where the ringneck has flourished.)

According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), the pheasant harvest averaged 250,000 - often exceeded 500,000 - in the two decades prior to the mid-1980’s. Apparently caught off-guard, revised farming practices in the late 1960’s – early 70’s has sent regional wildlife managers reeling ever since. Subsequent efforts have failed to halt the tumbling (wild) pheasant population until, hopefully, bottoming out with a dismal estimated harvest of 23,259 recorded in 2022. (Prior to 2022, WDF&W combined wild and planted pheasant harvest. The worst wild pheasant harvest on record likely occuring in 2013.)

There are several high-priority wildlife concerns in the northwest, dominate among them has been the anadromous and coastal fishing issues along with big game herds and increased predation. Mindful of that, I contacted the WDF&W to see what is being done to address the, by the measurement of some, four-decade old issue of pheasant decline. Though not offered its source, the very friendly WDF&W representatives vowed to trace-down the answers for me.

“We report to the legislature on our activities for the Eastern Washington Pheasant Program (EWPEP) yearly”, replied Katie Allowatt, Administrative Assistant/Customer Service Supervisor - Wildlife Program(s).

Katie’s response continued, “Pheasant harvest has declined in Eastern Washington over the past two decades. To address hunting success rates and pheasant habitat loss, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) created the Eastern Washington Pheasant Enhancement Program (EWPEP). The EWPEP completed habitat enhancement to benefit wild pheasant populations and targeted the harvest decline by releasing adult rooster pheasants on public lands.

The Washington State Legislature funded the EWPEP in 1997 with a dedicated account called the Eastern Washington Pheasant Enhancement account. The funding is derived from a portion of small game hunting licenses, based on the proportion of purchasers who hunt pheasants in eastern Washington. WDFW receives this information through a survey”.

So, Washington’s direct response to its spiraling decline of pheasants – and the numbers of folks that pay to hunt them - is the Eastern Washington Pheasant Enhancement Program. (https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/locations/pheasant-enhancement)

To increase hunting opportunity, this program provided that at least 80% of the total funding be used to purchase and release pen-reared rooster pheasants onto publicly accessible areas. The scant remanence of the funding is used to enhance habitat for sustaining a wild population. With the continued drop in harvest numbers, and prompting by wildlife managers, the legislature revised their thinking and habitat improvement got a slight increase beginning in 2009. With the increased emphasis on habitat enhancement in 2020/21, there may be a promising future for pheasant hunting in select eastern Washington counties.

IDAHO: Moving to the east, we come to my home state of Idaho. Idaho remains a “big game” state; meaning, the major emphasis on access, funding, and related effort is firmly in the management of larger game species. Proof for this statement lies in the fact that there are no current efforts to track pheasant populations nor official annual harvest estimates. That is understandable and, indeed, preferable since the state’s fish and game management is maintained mostly from revenue received from the purchase of various game-related products and services. Non-resident big game hunting being the greatest income producer.

Idaho’s prowess as a destination for upland hunters is enhanced by the variety of species and opportunities available to hunt them. That much, I can vouch, is true. Of the nine, ten if you include the relatively rare bobwhite quail, species of upland opportunities, five are introduced. In the estimate of most knowledgeable uplanders, the state’s current leading game bird species - in population and popularity - is the rugged chukar partridge.

Historically, the first pheasant-rearing facility in Idaho was built in Ada County in 1907 with the first season open ten years later. However, the real leap in pheasant production began in the tail-end of the 1930’s. Throughout the forties and fifties, thousands of roosters and hens, mostly of Chinese ancestry, were released across the state. As with any program of this nature, there came the time where it was believed that all suitable habitat had received an introduction and the reduction of release programs began in the mid-sixties – cut by fifty percent by 1977. For good reason, the annual harvest had reached levels of 500,000 – the largest of 757,000 in 1963 - during this same period. There was no end in sight - there never is.

Again, to remain profitable, ag practices began to change in the late 1960’s and early 70’s; the 1974 harvest of 326,200 pheasants reflecting the over-all loss of habitat. Recognized by Idaho Fish and Game (IDF&G) upland game bird managers, the end of limited hen harvest and other efforts in methodology provided a brief recovery period during 1979-81. Since that up-tick, harvest numbers of Idaho’s most sought-after upland game bird have fluttered down-ward like a wounded rooster.

How bad was it? Well, IDF&G data shows that more hen pheasants were collected in 1964 than the number of roosters in 1988!

In an effort to stop the bleeding, the 1987 legislature provided that a game bird stamp be created that would provide funding for habitat improvement projects. By that time the numbers were so poor that the numbers of those that hunt pheasants had dropped significantly. The use of upland bird stamps to fund habitat was relatively short-lived and, by most accounts, a complete failure.

This is where the chukar and friends became part of a stop-gap pheasant solution. In addition to habitat enhancement projects, the relatively untapped populations and annual recruitment of various partridge, grouse, and quail species were utilized. The IDF&G supplemented the loss of pheasant opportunity by increasing the seasons for all other upland game species. The chukar season, for example, was revised from its traditional late October start to early August. All of this seemed to stem the tide until a few bad rearing seasons took most of those populations to their knees.

Much like Washington, the short-term response has been to increase (rooster) pheasant release programs. When asked if it was fair to say that Idaho currently does not have a program aimed specifically at pheasant habitat enhancement, Jeff Knetter, the state’s leading Upland Game Biologist for IDF&G, replied, “True. Currently, there is no single program to specifically develop pheasant habitat. However, as you mentioned, HIP (Habitat Improvement Program - https://idfg.idaho.gov/conservation/habitat/hip ) is the Department’s primary vehicle for upland game bird habitat delivery, (2023).

Okay, as a residential Idaho consumer, the use of funding from federal and other resources makes good sense. However, it may take some time (read: never) to notice specific improvement on field game bird (pheasant, quail, and Hungarian partridge) populations using general habitat enhancement programs that are primarily aimed at big game.

Summary: So, it must be habitat that consistently produces more pheasants - who knew? In the case of these two states I’ve covered, the earlier abundance of pheasants were more likely due to less efficient farming methods than effective pheasant management. It should be noted that, in states where pheasant production is consistently on the upper end of the scale, their success lies on habitat that is specifically designed for that purpose.

Recently, (eastern) Washington has witnessed a slight up-tick in (wild) pheasant production. That may be due to the efforts of EWPEP but it is too soon to attribute this success to that specific program. As can be expected, years of general habitat improvement in Idaho has not produced any noticeable progress in pheasant production.

Solution(?): Not one to merely point out a problem, I generally like to offer a solution; well, in this case, not genuinely my own but that of regions that have proven successful.

Due to several factors including agricultural practices, federal/state funding emphasis, disasters, or other changes in environmental conditions; suitable upland bird rearing habitat may have experienced a shift. I dare say that Idaho, even if only for a decade, needs a state-wide re-evaluation effort toward promoting sensible habitat revision specifically aimed at upland (field) birds.

Areas that demonstrate new (or re-newed) possibilities may require upland bird (re)introduction for the purpose of long-term wild propagation. All the while, this effort would enhance - almost certainly not detract from - these region’s cherished big game populations.

It’s that, or continue paying for and dumping destined-to-die roosters onto the landscape. As for Idaho, I’m going to do what I have been doing - paying other states for the privilage of hunting their wild game birds.