blake
Life Member
NEWS!
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From the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
Iowa</ST1</st1:State> DNR:
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Now is the Time to be Planning for Food Plots, Winter Habitat for Next Year
Posted: January 8, 2010
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DES MOINES - The optimum time to think about helping pheasants survive brutal winter conditions is now, but for next year.
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Perhaps the best advice is to contact your local DNR biologist or Pheasants Forever chapter and plan a food plot or other winter habitat for the birds for next year.
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"A little advanced planning is the best defense the birds have against Mother Nature come next winter," said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist for the DNR.
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December 2009 will rank among the snowiest months on record, with the southeast portion of the state avoiding the extremes. <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1Iowa</st1:State>'s December ended up three times snowier than normal, and will be ranked as the second snowiest month on record, according the state climatologist.
Bogenschutz said he is most concerned about the snow covering the entire state.
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"No county is void of snow in <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1Iowa</st1:State> right now. It is upwards of two feet thick in northwestern portions of the state and impossible for game birds to scratch through," he said. In a normal winter, <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1Iowa</ST1</st1:State> receives an average of 25 inches of snow and has seven weeks of snow cover. Winter has just started and <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1Iowa</st1:State> is already near the total average accumulation for the season.
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"Our research on wild hens shows we lose about three percent of our hen population for each week of snow cover," said Bogenschutz. "With historic snow events in December already, and with three months of winter remaining we could experience high bird mortality if the conditions persist another eight to twelve weeks."
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</OFrom the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
</st1:State> DNR:<O
</ONow is the Time to be Planning for Food Plots, Winter Habitat for Next Year
Posted: January 8, 2010
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</O DES MOINES - The optimum time to think about helping pheasants survive brutal winter conditions is now, but for next year.
<O
</O Perhaps the best advice is to contact your local DNR biologist or Pheasants Forever chapter and plan a food plot or other winter habitat for the birds for next year.
<O
</O "A little advanced planning is the best defense the birds have against Mother Nature come next winter," said Todd Bogenschutz, upland wildlife biologist for the DNR.
<O
</O December 2009 will rank among the snowiest months on record, with the southeast portion of the state avoiding the extremes. <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1
Iowa</st1:State>'s December ended up three times snowier than normal, and will be ranked as the second snowiest month on record, according the state climatologist. Bogenschutz said he is most concerned about the snow covering the entire state.
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</O "No county is void of snow in <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1
Iowa</st1:State> right now. It is upwards of two feet thick in northwestern portions of the state and impossible for game birds to scratch through," he said. In a normal winter, <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1Iowa</ST1</st1:State> receives an average of 25 inches of snow and has seven weeks of snow cover. Winter has just started and <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1Iowa</st1:State> is already near the total average accumulation for the season. <O
</O "Our research on wild hens shows we lose about three percent of our hen population for each week of snow cover," said Bogenschutz. "With historic snow events in December already, and with three months of winter remaining we could experience high bird mortality if the conditions persist another eight to twelve weeks."
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