Pleasant fall weather is expected to greet hunters for the upcoming traditional opening week of the state’s pheasant season. The Game Fish & Parks Department has a rosy assessment of hunting conditions on the ground. The department notes that the region saw a mild winter, along with spring and summer rains that promoted grass growth for nesting and brood rearing.

“Pheasant populations have traditionally responded positively after a mild winter accompanied by normal spring and summer temperatures and precipitation,” the department notes. “We can check those boxes across most of the primary pheasant range.”

The number of both resident and nonresident hunters has trended downward over the past decade, according to GF&P data, as has the number of birds. In 2011, there were 95,077 nonresident pheasant hunters and 69,120 resident hunters. Last year saw 75,606 nonresidents and 54,411 residents. More than 1.5 million birds were harvested in 2011, while just over a million were taken last year. That number actually represented an increase over previous years. In 2019, the season’s harvest didn’t reach 830,000.