Jerry,

The problems started with the weather, we have had three killer winters in a row now, but the weather impact has been worsen by all the habitat that has been ripped out, plowed under, bulldozed over or drained. Do not confuse the bird numbers on the pay to play operations where the state requires the operators to release minimum numbers, with what is happening to the pheasant numbers in SD or the SW corner of ND.

When the habitat goes, so do the birds. CRP coming out of the contracts last year and this and ethanol has done more harm to the bird numbers than the weather.

bc