Good news for Phesant hunters. The PGC will be back to releasing 200,000 birds this year. Up from a bit over 100,000.
RB-HPA said:Yep...good news for sure as my labs are aging faster than any budgets fix themselves, I want them to have one more "good old day" in front of my now hunting kids, before all I got is a collar, bell, and some great memories...Hunt em up Eddy , go gettum buddy!!
Even the youth releases last couple years seemed off.
Now to find the days available to take in all the opportunites this state is throwing at us. LOL...OK let's not turn down there.
I don't understand the division here. Well I should say I do but I don't. I'm not much of a bird hunter, but I do know that when I pursued Grouse in the past, the places where I targeted and found them were where no respectable pheasant hunter would be found. How will 50 guys converging on a Gameland sorghum field ruin somebody's Grouse covert ?Lyco Setter said:Should clear out a few coverts.
They won't ruin it, now. The fact they are chasing pheasants closer to home will improve grouse coverts. Grouse habitat is more specialized and increasingly scarce in alot of areas in this state. They aren't found in alot of areas that they were 20 years ago. They aren't found even close to those areas as has been my experience and possibly never will be again. Their range in this state has drastically shrunk and outside of a mass timbering of the 1900's scale, it will likely continue to shrink. And I doubt we will see that amount of early successional habitat created in my lifetime.Fleroo said:How will 50 guys converging on a Gameland sorghum field ruin somebody's Grouse covert ?Lyco Setter said:Should clear out a few coverts.
Greene County, and certain parts of Washington County is the posterchild for that statement. In the 70's/80's, it would be nothing to put up 20-25 flushes a day in those parts. But here's what gets me. As the logging increaded in those areas, in the 80's and 90's, the birds disappeared. That's what baffles me. We don't have the mature canopy forests here, yet, the Grouse are gone in what should be very good habitat. A mystery to me.They aren't found in alot of areas that they were 20 years ago.
X2. . . Clean out, meaning less blaze orange.HighCountry66 said:They won't ruin it, now. The fact they are chasing pheasants closer to home will improve grouse coverts. Grouse habitat is more specialized and increasingly scarce in alot of areas in this state. They aren't found in alot of areas that they were 20 years ago. They aren't found even close to those areas as has been my experience and possibly never will be again. Their range in this state has drastically shrunk and outside of a mass timbering of the 1900's scale, it will likely continue to shrink. And I doubt we will see that amount of early successional habitat created in my lifetime.Fleroo said:How will 50 guys converging on a Gameland sorghum field ruin somebody's Grouse covert ?Lyco Setter said:Should clear out a few coverts.
Around here that means straw hats.Lyco Setter said:X2. . . Clean out, meaning less blaze orange.HighCountry66 said:Fleroo said:How will 50 guys converging on a Gameland sorghum field ruin somebody's Grouse covert ?Lyco Setter said:Should clear out a few coverts.
They won't ruin it, now. The fact they are chasing pheasants closer to home will improve grouse coverts. Grouse habitat is more specialized and increasingly scarce in alot of areas in this state. They aren't found in alot of areas that they were 20 years ago. They aren't found even close to those areas as has been my experience and possibly never will be again. Their range in this state has drastically shrunk and outside of a mass timbering of the 1900's scale, it will likely continue to shrink. And I doubt we will see that amount of early successional habitat created in my lifetime.
Fleroo said:I would venture a guess that it was not the right type of early successional habitat. The Ruffed Grouse Management Plan 2011-2020 (pg 19-26) has a great detailed description of the preferred grouse habitat.But here's what gets me. As the logging increaded in those areas, in the 80's and 90's, the birds disappeared. That's what baffles me. We don't have the mature canopy forests here, yet, the Grouse are gone in what should be very good habitat. A mystery to me.
just my barely informed 2¢ worth of musings.
X2. . . Clean out, meaning less blaze orange.
LostintheUplands said:We used to put them up in marginal habitat. There were quite a few at that. That woods may have changed, but there are others nearby that would be perfect.Fleroo said:I would venture a guess that it was not the right type of early successional habitat. The Ruffed Grouse Management Plan 2011-2020 (pg 19-26) has a great detailed description of the preferred grouse habitat.But here's what gets me. As the logging increaded in those areas, in the 80's and 90's, the birds disappeared. That's what baffles me. We don't have the mature canopy forests here, yet, the Grouse are gone in what should be very good habitat. A mystery to me.
just my barely informed 2¢ worth of musings.
They don't exist around there anymore. For whatever reason, but I don't think habitat is it.
To get back on topic, even this grouse hunter is glad that the will be stocking farms again.
Sometimes my dog will need a break and we can go near home for easy pickens. LOL.