Rooster pheasant and several other small game hunting seasons last from now through the beginning of January, but those looking around Guthrie County aren’t expected to have much success.

Iowa Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer for Greene and Guthrie counties Jeremy King says the August roadside survey showed an average decrease across the state from 21 pheasants per 30 mile route last year down to 17, with more significant declines in south central Iowa. He says it’s unfortunate for avid pheasant hunters, but it shows a change in the ecological system, “Our pheasant numbers this year in Guthrie County were down dramatically. Last year I had really, really good numbers and I was pretty optimistic, but this last March really put a damper on our wildlife. If you remember we had a lot of snow and it was cold and wildlife struggled, it really, really made it difficult. So I didn’t know what kind of effect that would have and I can’t say it’s all contributed to that, but we also had a semi-wet spring which isn’t good for nesting.”

Though this year’s roadside index is nearly the same as 2008 with 400,000 roosters, the Iowa DNR states the harvest will likely only be half as much due to a lack of pheasant hunters, with an estimated 50,000 hunters compared to 86,000 in 2008.