Extended Pheasant season

[BDR]

Looks like there will be a proposal to extend the season. There were many other proposals in this article for other areas of hunting but I just wanted to pull this up.
From the DNR's news releases:

Public comments sought at hunting, trapping season input meetings (2004-02-24)
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will conduct a series of meetings around Minnesota in early March to take public comments and recommendations about hunting and trapping season regulations, according to Ed Boggess, assistant chief of the DNR Section of Wildlife.

Public comments will be taken on small game, big game, waterfowl and wild turkey hunting seasons, and on trapping seasons. In addition, the following DNR proposals for discussion or possible season changes will be addressed:

EXTEND THE PHEASANT SEASON

The proposal is to extend the pheasant season through Dec. 31. Based on available scientific studies on pheasant populations, a moderate season extension is expected to have no impact on pheasant populations.

MEETING DATES AND LOCATIONS All public input meetings will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The meeting in St. Paul will be "open house" style where participants can come at any time during the two hours to discuss issues and offer comments.

Dates and locations of the 2004 hunting and trapping season input meetings are:

March 8 Windom Windom Area DNR Office 175 County Road 26 (from stoplight at Hwy. 71 and Hwy. 62, go east on County Rd. 17 one-half mile to County Rd. 26, then south approximately one-quarter mile)

March 9 Wadena Northwest Technical College 405 Colfax Ave., SW

March 9 Cloquet High school cafeteria

March 9 Faribault River Bend Nature Center 1000 Rustad Rd. (3 miles east of I-35 on Hwy. 60 to Shumway Ave., then follow River Bend Nature Center signs south and east)

March 9 St. Paul DNR/PCA cafeteria 500 Lafayette Rd.

March 11 St. Cloud Stockinger Rm., St. Cloud Civic Center 10 Fourth Ave. S.

For those unable to attend a meeting, written comments may be submitted to: [email protected] or mailed to: Season Comments, DNR Section of Wildlife, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155-4007.

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If I only had more time!

Brian Rogers

[mistermom]

Well now I'm really in favor of an extended season!

mm

[shinde]

For those supporting this, let's get on board and send an email noting your support. Send to:

[email protected]

and your comment will become part of the official record.

[BLACKJACK]

I love to hunt pheasants but I'm NOT in favor of extending the season. By mid-December, the weather is getting nasty, its time to give them a break and let them bunch up and conserve their energy. Any pheasant hunter worth his salt knows that you hunt the nastiest cover you can find late in the season, even if you just drive the pheasants to another part of the slough, you're scattering them up, and their IS safty in numbers for pheasants, when one pheasant senses danger and flushes, they all flush.

When you're hunting marginal cover like I hunted for years in SE MN, you might be driving them out of the best cover for miles around, at 4 PM in the afternoon during a blizzard - is that good for pheasants? People will say 'well South Dakota does it'. Fact is, they have milder winters. When its 25 degrees here, it might be 35 in Redfield.

The pheasant season is long enough, give them a break in surviving our tough winters.

[WaveWacker]

BlackJack does have a point...However recent fall/early winter times aren't as brutal as they have been in the past. I wouldn't have a problem with the season being evaluated closely prior to the traditional ending for the feasibility of it being extended.

[BDR]

Blackjack- I've been think of your post all day. You made some good points.

Most years the last 2 weeks of season it is cold and windy. The hunter numbers are way down by then. With the season ending now mid Dec. I don't think 2 more weeks will add so much stress that it would hurt that much. I would be 100% with you if we were talking adding 2 weeks in Jan. and the birds were already stressed from winter.

As long as the decision is not based on economics and made by those who know and not politicians I support their choice.

Thanks for getting me thinkin!

When I expressed my vote I am for the extention.

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If I only had more time!

Brian Rogers

[This message has been edited by BDR (edited 03-08-2004).]

[BLACKJACK]

BDR, glad I got you thinking!