Pheasant Population Explodes in Southwestern Minnesota

UNDATED (WJON News) -- Good news for pheasant hunters who are planning to go for the ringnecks in southwestern or west-central Minnesota this fall.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has released the results from its annual roadside survey and it showed a huge jump in those areas.

The DNR says there was a triple-digit increase in pheasant numbers in southwestern Minnesota with the population increasing 101%. In west-central Minnesota, the number went up by 38%.

Declines were reported everywhere else in Minnesota. Central Minnesota saw numbers decline by 39%. In east-central Minnesota, the numbers dropped by 63%, 11% in south-central Minnesota, and by 50% in the southeast region.

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Weather and habitat are the main influencers on the pheasant population with weather causing annual fluctuations and habitat driving long-term population trends.

Minnesota's pheasant hunting season opens on Saturday, October 14th.

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