Ringnecks

A week ago A buddy and I arose promptly at 5 AM and by 5:30 were "wheels-up" and driving home following another successful pheasant hunt.  It was a white knuckle drive for the first couple of hours as South Dakota and Minnesota got clobbered with 2.5 inches of rain.  Trust me, Steve and I drove thru the worst of it.

Our early and carefully choreographed departure was largely on account of reaching our limit of birds on Sunday by 1 PM or thereabouts.  We would have finished earlier but were inconvenienced by yanking a vehicle out of the mud.  In any event, the early finish allowed ample time for a leisurely happy hour, dinner, decompress and orderly packing for the return trip.  Consequently, I have a vision of pheasant recipes (old and new) this autumn/winter.  Pheasant pot pie is right up there on the list.

Did I mention that this was our twentieth anniversary chasing ringnecks?  Yep, two decades of chasing South Dakota birds.  We missed a year due to COVID and I skipped a year or two between dogs; nevertheless, some of the same guys I hang with to fish or hunt deer are part of the pheasant crew.

On the almost ten hour drive we got to talking about the history of pheasants and their arrival on the Dakota landscape; they're from Asia after-all which makes them an invasive species.  But in a good way.  The story goes something like this.

The introduction of the ring-necked pheasant near Doland and Redfield, South Dakota (Spink County) in 1908 is considered the first successful release that eventually established the species in the state

The the latter 1800s multiple attempts were made by private individuals to breed these birds in the wild.  They all failed largely as a consequence of less-hardy pen-raised birdss failing to thrive in harsh winter conditions, natural predation and illegal shooting.

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By 1908 agriculture and natural cover in Spink County provided sufficient food and habitat resources convincing neighboring farmers A.E. Cooper and E.L. Ebbert to acquire wild breeding pairs of birds for release.  It worked and over the next several years 2-4 pairs of breeding birds were released on neighboring farms with the agreement that participating families in the same general area would provide cover and food resources particularly over the winter.  Hunting was not allowed and the birds quickly adapted to the local habitat.

Recognizing the success in Spink County the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks purchased 250 breeding pairs of pheasants releasing more in nearby Redfield and additional locations across Spink and Beadle counties.

By the time 1919 rolled-around South Dakota held its first official hunt on October 30 in Spink County.  The season extended over one day and hunters killed 200 birds.  The pheasant population exploded over the next couple of decades as a consequence of wild fence row habitat combined with grain farming.  By 1935 the bird population was estimated to have reached 12 million birds. On February 13, 1943 the ring-necked pheasant was designated the South Dakota State Bird.  

During WWII the rationing of gasoline, rubber tires and ammunition restricted hunting opportunities leading to an estimated population of 16 million birds; an all-time high. The post-war era of the 50s and 60s brought a boom in out-of-state hunting tourism throughout the state.

Nowadays, pheasant hunting remains one of the principle economic engines of the South Dakota economy.  Out-of-state hunters (primarily from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Texas) account for roughly $250 million to $300 million in direct spending on pheasant hunting alone.  As part of the broader hunting/fishing sector wild-life related recreation is responsible for an estimated $700 million of direct spending with an overall $970 million economic impact across the state.   This supports 11,00 local jobs in hospitality, guiding and retail sales yielding an additional $60 million in state and local taxes.

It's sorta a big deal.