Dear Dead Shot Readers: Thank you for all the phone calls I receive and emails I get. I try to answer and return all calls regarding the outdoors from my law office. If you would like to contact me, please call 515-283-2330. I never get tired of talking about pheasants, quail, doves, deer and other outdoor activities regarding the hunting scene.
I have decided that we need a survey form the readers of the Iowa Sportsman Magazine regarding why we don’t have any pheasants and/or quail in the state of Iowa. It appears to me at this time that all the national and local organizations are afraid to face this problem. They blame everything on habitat, which may be a partial reason we don’t have any pheasants or quail however I believe that is not the only problem. As I look around the state, I observe many areas of habitat that should hold birds but find absolutely nothing.
If you readers would make a list of some reasons why you feel there aren’t many pheasants / quail in Iowa, I ask that you respond directly to me by writing to my address of 206 – 6th Avenue, Suite 510, Des Moines, Iowa 50309, emailing me at dmlaw@qwestoffice.net or simply calling as to what your position is and we will take this into consideration for future magazines.
The following is a list of things I’ve come up with which I think contribute to why we don’t have any pheasants. Fell free to cast votes on my list or make up your own list and forwarded your votes to me.
1. Habitat; There is a lack of habitat in certain areas because land prices have increased substantially, anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000.00 per acre north of highway 30 to $2,500.00 an acre south of highway 30. It’s a fact that a farmer pays that much for an acre of land, he can’t afford to have any pheasants as pheasants or worth zero to a farmer.
a. There are no longer any 40 acre fields hence; have no fence rows which indicates the fields are too big. Most fields are in square sections and in order to pay for the bigger equipment, the farmers must have larger fields to make a living.
2. Predators; Many readers complain there are too many predators in the area. This may be true however, we need more trappers and have the Iowa Trappers Association come forth and help with balancing the predators. We have always had some type of predators here in Iowa as with South Dakota.
3. Insecticides / Pesticides; As I talk to farmers, they indicate their main problem with pheasants / quail is because of the insecticides and pesticides used to reduce the amount of weeds, seeds and insects that would be available for young birds to start on.
4. Weather; A lot of people claim the weather has been bad but if we look at South Dakota, their weather is always bad and perhaps worse than Iowa so I don’t think the weather is a contributing factor.
5. Value; Pheasants produced here in Iowa are of no income to a farmer however in South Dakota, pheasants are of value due to the fact the land prices up there are much cheaper than here in Iowa so the farmers can afford to have pheasants and bring in hunters.
6. Farmers are not allowed to interject any ideas into why don’t have any pheasant and quail. We were able to get a bill through the Iowa Legislature allowing farmers to release birds and it’s been my investigation of this matter, showing that farmers are not releasing birds to hunt but merely to ensure that there are birds to observe.
7. You must know the problems; In order to have an answer, you must know what the problem is and this point, it would appear that nobody in the state of Iowa knows what the problem is as to why we don’t have pheasants. What are your ideas?
8. Too long of hunting seasons; Some people think we should shut down the hunting season. What are your thoughts?
9. Release birds by the farmer; Most of the farmers I’ve talked to are very excited about the fact that we are releasing birds at $10 per bird in order to maintain bird in Iowa rather than hunt them.
10. Gene problems with birds; It would appear that the DNR should go to South Dakota and net some wild birds and release in Iowa to help improve the gene quality of the birds here and provide new birds in the area.
If any of you have any other ideas on this, again, please contact me and give your vote as to why you feel we don’t have birds in Iowa and we will discuss this in the next journal. You can cast multiple votes or single votes.
Have A Good Hunt And Keep On Fishing!
DEAD SHOT
a/k/a Ron Kuntz
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me calling at (515) 283-2330, emailing me at dmlaw@qwestoffice.net or by writing to 206 – 6th Avenue, Suite 510, Des Moines, Iowa 50309.
I have decided that we need a survey form the readers of the Iowa Sportsman Magazine regarding why we don’t have any pheasants and/or quail in the state of Iowa. It appears to me at this time that all the national and local organizations are afraid to face this problem. They blame everything on habitat, which may be a partial reason we don’t have any pheasants or quail however I believe that is not the only problem. As I look around the state, I observe many areas of habitat that should hold birds but find absolutely nothing.
If you readers would make a list of some reasons why you feel there aren’t many pheasants / quail in Iowa, I ask that you respond directly to me by writing to my address of 206 – 6th Avenue, Suite 510, Des Moines, Iowa 50309, emailing me at dmlaw@qwestoffice.net or simply calling as to what your position is and we will take this into consideration for future magazines.
The following is a list of things I’ve come up with which I think contribute to why we don’t have any pheasants. Fell free to cast votes on my list or make up your own list and forwarded your votes to me.
1. Habitat; There is a lack of habitat in certain areas because land prices have increased substantially, anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000.00 per acre north of highway 30 to $2,500.00 an acre south of highway 30. It’s a fact that a farmer pays that much for an acre of land, he can’t afford to have any pheasants as pheasants or worth zero to a farmer.
a. There are no longer any 40 acre fields hence; have no fence rows which indicates the fields are too big. Most fields are in square sections and in order to pay for the bigger equipment, the farmers must have larger fields to make a living.
2. Predators; Many readers complain there are too many predators in the area. This may be true however, we need more trappers and have the Iowa Trappers Association come forth and help with balancing the predators. We have always had some type of predators here in Iowa as with South Dakota.
3. Insecticides / Pesticides; As I talk to farmers, they indicate their main problem with pheasants / quail is because of the insecticides and pesticides used to reduce the amount of weeds, seeds and insects that would be available for young birds to start on.
4. Weather; A lot of people claim the weather has been bad but if we look at South Dakota, their weather is always bad and perhaps worse than Iowa so I don’t think the weather is a contributing factor.
5. Value; Pheasants produced here in Iowa are of no income to a farmer however in South Dakota, pheasants are of value due to the fact the land prices up there are much cheaper than here in Iowa so the farmers can afford to have pheasants and bring in hunters.
6. Farmers are not allowed to interject any ideas into why don’t have any pheasant and quail. We were able to get a bill through the Iowa Legislature allowing farmers to release birds and it’s been my investigation of this matter, showing that farmers are not releasing birds to hunt but merely to ensure that there are birds to observe.
7. You must know the problems; In order to have an answer, you must know what the problem is and this point, it would appear that nobody in the state of Iowa knows what the problem is as to why we don’t have pheasants. What are your ideas?
8. Too long of hunting seasons; Some people think we should shut down the hunting season. What are your thoughts?
9. Release birds by the farmer; Most of the farmers I’ve talked to are very excited about the fact that we are releasing birds at $10 per bird in order to maintain bird in Iowa rather than hunt them.
10. Gene problems with birds; It would appear that the DNR should go to South Dakota and net some wild birds and release in Iowa to help improve the gene quality of the birds here and provide new birds in the area.
If any of you have any other ideas on this, again, please contact me and give your vote as to why you feel we don’t have birds in Iowa and we will discuss this in the next journal. You can cast multiple votes or single votes.
Have A Good Hunt And Keep On Fishing!
DEAD SHOT
a/k/a Ron Kuntz
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me calling at (515) 283-2330, emailing me at dmlaw@qwestoffice.net or by writing to 206 – 6th Avenue, Suite 510, Des Moines, Iowa 50309.
