continuing an outdoor tradition

Those of us who like to hunt might not let the word to get out, but pheasant hunting is shaping up to be better than it has been in several years.

Be on the lookout for out-of-state vehicles roaming the highways and back roads, and in the parking lots of motels and other local establishments.

Saturday is the big pheasant hunting opener in Nebraska, next week it's in Kansas, and bird hunters take to the field in Colorado in a couple of week.

Overall, "it appears that hunters can look forward to the best pheasant numbers and hunting conditions we have had during the last several years," according to Scott Taylor, game program manager for the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission.

He said the 2003 brood counts in August showed pheasant numbers are up 65 percent from last year. Southwest Nebraska showed the highest average counts in the state, showing a strong recovery from the drought of 2002, he said.

Overall, except for the Panhandle and Sandhills, counts are at or above the average for 1998-2000.

But while we're out enjoying the pursuit of birds in the beautiful fall landscape, it's good to remember just who make the sport possible.

After being introduced to the Great Plains in the early 1900s, pheasant numbers have peaked and ebbed in various areas.

Nebraska remains among the top four pheasant-producing states in the nation. But changes in agriculture has made pheasant survival more difficult.

Nebraska has lost about 1.2 million acres of wheat -- prime pheasant habitat -- or a 40 percent decline since the 1950s.

Lands enrolled in the conservation reserve program have helped since that program began in 1985, but the number of acres enrolled in that program has dropped 20 percent recently, to about 1 million acres, or 3 percent of the state's land.

State wildlife agencies, conservation organizations, government and hunters need to work together to make sure pheasants and other wildlife have the habitat they need to ensure the continuation of this great outdoor tradition. But farmers and landowners deserve a special pat on the back for making it possible.