Annual August Roadside Pheasant Survey Shows Drastic Decline in Southwest Iowa

(Lewis) The Annual August Roadside Pheasant Survey count is in, resulting in a 72-percent decline in pheasant numbers in Iowa’s southwest region. John Lorenzen of the DNR Office in Lewis says it is not all doom and gloom.

Lorenzen says western Iowa is divided into three regions: northwest, west-central, and Southwest. The southwest areas include Pottawattamie, Cass, and Adair counties, as well as the south. Audubon and Shelby Counties and the North are in West Central. The west-central Iowa region is down 4 percent, essentially unchanged.

Statewide, pheasant numbers are lower than one year ago. Based on the numbers from this survey, the Iowa DNR expects a pheasant harvest of between 350,000 and 400,000 roosters. This compares to the 2023 season, with a harvest of close to 600,000 roosters.

The quail numbers in southwest Iowa are unchanged and 70 percent higher in the west-central Iowa region.