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Pheasant hunters won’t get much help from the state this fall.
Because of COVID-19 budget cuts, no Department of Natural Resources Pheasant Hunting Initiative pheasant releases will take place during the upcoming hunting season.
Budget reductions over the past several months have also limited the DNR’s ability to collect information to project what hunting conditions will be.
They do note that the growing season in the Upper Peninsula was productive this year. That means there’s been plenty of food available for all animals.
There will be some birds released in the southern part of the U.P., thanks to the ongoing relationship between the DNR and the Menominee County Pheasant Club. Hunting opportunities will be available at the Berg Farm, and the club’s 80-acre property near Stephenson, although the number of available birds will be less than usual.
The pheasant season opens Saturday in the southern U.P. – basically south of a line from Iron River to Rock. Hunting in the rest of the U.P. opens October 20th.
