Cove Mountain Kennels » Private Land http://www.covemountainkennels.com Bird Dog Training in Idaho Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:50:58 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Changes in CRP lands and the impact on upland game http://www.covemountainkennels.com/changes-in-crp-lands-and-the-impact-on-upland-game/ http://www.covemountainkennels.com/changes-in-crp-lands-and-the-impact-on-upland-game/#comments Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:31:36 +0000 admin http://www.covemountainkennels.com/?p=874

Hunting a Brittany in a CRP field in Southeastern Idaho

Folks in the Midwest know what a boon the Conservation Reserve Program has been to upland game populations, especially pheasants.  However, I don’t think many of us here in the Intermountain West really understand what it has done for our upland game populations and subsequent hunting opportunities. CRP is authorized by the Farm Bill and pays rent to farmers who leave acreage fallow for conservation benefit. The original intent was primarily the protection of soil from erosion, with secondary benefits to wildlife.
In northern Utah and southern Idaho over the last ten years CRP has been a major factor in sharp-tailed grouse and pheasant populations.  With recent changes to the Federal Farm Bill program and many of the enrolled parcels 10-year contract expiring this year, there will be some major changes on the landscape.
I heard the alarming news that something like 30,000 acres will come out of the CRP program in Oneida County (SE Idaho) alone. These lands will go back into either crop production or cattle grazing lands. I don’t have a problem with either land use on private land, but neither is as productive for sharp-tailed grouse or pheasants. This past February, the Secretary of Agriculture (Tom Vilsack) announced that a re-enrollment for CRP lands expiring in September would take place this year. This is a first since 2006. The enrollment would cover 4-million acres. It is unclear how many farms in southeastern Idaho will be eligible and will re-enroll property.  I think bird hunters will be alarmed over the next few years with what happens to upland game populations as land comes out of the CRP program and goes back into ag production.
Pheasants Forever has been at the forefront of the political lobbying effort to help wildlife populations through government farm programs. It will be important to watch how political changes to broad Federal programs impact our favorite bird hunting spot and local and regional bird numbers. Watch and see, we are in for some changes.
]]> http://www.covemountainkennels.com/changes-in-crp-lands-and-the-impact-on-upland-game/feed/ 0 The Value of Wildlife on Private Land http://www.covemountainkennels.com/the-value-of-wildlife-on-private-land/ http://www.covemountainkennels.com/the-value-of-wildlife-on-private-land/#comments Sun, 23 Nov 2008 16:14:29 +0000 admin http://www.covemountainkennels.com/the-value-of-wildlife-on-private-land/ Pheasant Hunting on Private Land

I have been thinking of how we can get the idea across to land owners that wildlife is important and that there is a value for wildlife. Part of the problem is that too many of these landowners, they see no value to wildlife, or maybe even perceive a negative value to them. They only see animals (mainly deer and pronghorn) eating their crops and the hassle of having to deal with hunters and trespassing.  I spoke at the last Division of Wildlife upland game public meeting (Regional Advisory Council) about extending the pheasant season from its current 10 day season to a 30 day season; the response I got from landowners at the meeting was that they didn’t want a longer season because they don’t want to have to put up with hunters and trespassing any longer than they already do. It’s hard to convince someone like this that leaving any possible cover for wildlife is important.

I have been thinking of how to change private landowner perception of the value of leaving wildlife cover, because the other day I saw the owner of a beautiful 10 acre field of tall grass out mowing the field with his tractor and PTO mower. I had been watching this field all season and had seen several pheasants fly into this thick cover. The grass cover was waist high, thick and fairly uniform and provided excellent hiding and overwinter cover for pheasants. Best of all, the field was adjacent to a corn field, now corn stubble, which provided an abundance of waste corn feed.  The proximity of the feed to the cover was excellent, because minimizing exposure to predators is critical for a pheasant.

Unfortunately, the owner mowed the field to look about like a putting green. I believe he did so for several reasons, first, he didn’t see the value it provided to wildlife. Second, around here a clean manicured field says something about your self-perception as a farmer, and third, let’s face it, it’s fun to drive a tractor around and hack stuff down. The tragedy is that in our rural valley this provided some great pheasant habitat, that’s now gone. On a small scale it is a minor loss of habitat for a few pheasants, but cumulatively on a county-wide scale it is a significant loss.

Somehow we need to find ways to make wildlife more valuable to private land owners.

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