April 2022 • Nebraskaland 49
tailgate. As we gathered in to have
a look at the 23-inch tail feathers,
someone else said, "Wow, look at those
spurs! That bird has triple spurs!"
Pheasant hunters perhaps aren't
as religious in their communications
as duck hunters with morning fl ight
reports, but news spreads quickly,
nonetheless.
"Three spurs? Not likely possible.
In 50 years, I've never seen it," was at
least one of the replies from long-time
pheasant hunter friends.
We hunted one more fi eld that day
and put two more birds in the bag. As
we lined up birds, people and dogs for
the end-of-the-day photo, my dad said,
"You know, I spent three days in South
Dakota earlier this month, but the
hunting was nothing like this. Who'd
have thought one of my best hunts of
the year would be right here in eastern
Nebraska?"
I've spent a lot of time over the last
12 years talking to pheasant hunters,
fi rst with Pheasants Forever and
now as a Nebraska Game and Parks
biologist. That comment, right there,
has been a long time coming. I'll bet
it has to be rarer than a three-spurred
rooster.
N
Nebraska Game and Parks Commissioners recently
approved the Berggren Pheasant Plan 2.0, which
gives biologists and landowners another five years
to partner toward efforts of habitat management
and creation. Lower CRP rental rates will make it
tougher for farmers to dedicate additional acres
to habitat, but in a new research effort with the
University of Nebraska, Game and Parks will gain
an even better understanding of creating functional
habitat complexes for sustainable pheasant hunting
in eastern Nebraska. If we can learn to identify those
places better, there could be a lot of complexes just
waiting to be created. But it's important that this
knowledge is shared beyond just biologists. Just like
the sportsmen who advocated for the conservation
actions that made a difference for waterfowl
decades ago, we upland hunters also have a job
to do.
The CRP fields we walked for our last hunt of the
season were intentionally built and intentionally
managed with assistance from the Farm Service
Agency's CRP program, Game and Park's Berggren
Pheasant Plan, the Natural Resources Conservation
Service, Pheasants Forever and neighboring
landowners who had common conservation interests.
How many more places like this can we create? Not
just for pheasants and pheasant hunters, but for all
wildlife — grassland birds, butterflies, mammals and
reptiles — that also need these places to exist.
Learn more about Berggren Pheasant Plan 2.0 or
check out public access pheasant hunting locations
at OutdoorNebraska.org/PheasantPlan/.
Berggren Pheasant Plan 2.0
When lining up pheasants on the truck tailgate after the last hunt of the 2021-2022
season, the hunters noticed a rooster with three spurs on one of its feet.
COURTESY TOM GOC
