Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/258061
South Dakota Governor Appoints Pheasant Task Force The pheasant population in South Dakota has been in steep decline in recent years. Since 2007, when the statewide estimate totaled about 12 million birds, numbers have decreased to less than 3 million – that's a 64 percent decrease in only five years. Gov. Dennis Daugaard addressed concerns about pheasant numbers and wildlife habitat by hosting a one-day summit December 6, 2013. More than 500 people – a collection of biologists, landowners, sportsmen, university professors and h i s ' N T h a t By The Editors T S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 1 0 tourism officials – gathered to discuss concerns raised by South Dakota residents and pheasant hunters over the past several years. The summit resulted in a plan to create a task force to help identify the reasons that have contributed to the collapse and find solutions to the problems. According to Outdoor News, all the summit speakers pointed to the loss of habitat due to cutbacks in the amount of land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), through which the federal government pays landowners to remove property from crop production and instead sow it with plants that will provide cover for wildlife and decrease soil erosion. As CRP acres decrease, much of that land is converted back to row- cropping, which leaves less habitat for pheasants and other wildlife. Rising grain prices since 2007 are one reason landowners have opted out of the program, but prices have recently dropped. In his opening remarks, Governor Daugaard said pheasant hunting S outh Dakota has more pheasants than any other state, but numbers have dropped significantly in recent years. courTEsy rogEr hill