BROKEN BOW, NEBRASKA
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Habitat Projects
Our habitat project started March 20, 2003 when we shredded 20 acres of CRP ground to prepare it for disking. All the other CRP ground
w as harvested for hay in 2002 so this operation was not necessary.
We started disking operations on March 24th and double disked 179 acres of CRP. Planting started a few days later when we interplanted a legume mix into the disked CRP ground. We used a 6' Great Plains drill with three different seed hoppers so we could address a lot of different applications. This was a fairly slow process because of the size of the
 drill and getting fuel and seed to the machine required a lot of effort. We also planted 78.5 acres of nesting habitat with a mix of cool season grasses and legumes. These were in many small plots of about 5 acres. We also provided 30 acres of the same seed to a farmer who planted pivot corners to nesting habitat. Most of our planting was completed by mid April and recent rains in the area have given us a excellent chance to get a good stand. We also planted food plots in about 5 locations when the farmer requested us to do the operation when we were at his place doing other planting operations.
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Partnership goal is more pheasants
By John Schoenrock
Custer County Chief
Pheasant populations in Nebraska have sagged and declined over the years to the point where less than half are now harvested than in 1960.
In the last 10 years, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, around 580,000 ring-necked pheasants are harvested in any given year, down from 1.15 and 1.67 million birds between 1958-1966.
In a partnership between Pheasants Forever, the Nebraska Game and Park Commission and the Nebraska One Box Habitat Association, the three entities share a common goal on jump starting Nebraska’s pheasant population.
“It’s unique partnership with two private and one state organization trying to obtain the same goal. And that’s to increase upland game population” said Pete Berthelsen, Director of Conservation Programs for Nebraska’s Pheasants Forever chapter.
The partnership is referred to as the Focus on Pheasants programs.
The purpose of the program is to set aside acreage that can be used for revamping, making the terrain suitable for pheasants to nest and procreate.
Carl Norden of the One Box Habitat Foundation and T.J. Walker of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, both representing their respective organizations, donated $5,000 matching funds each to Pheasants Forever. This will begin a Focus on Pheasants in Custer County and adjacent areas. The Game and Parks Commission reserved the right to donate up to $10,000 if the program’s interest from the public is high.
The money will be sent to the Pheasants Forever, where it will be set aside for lands in Custer County region until landowners apply for part of the grant money to refurbish part of their Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands or lands the owners wish to set aside for the program.
“There’s a lack of diversity of grasses and wildlife. This program potentially is no cost to land owners that participate,” said Walker.
“It’s a natural succession and lack of management that has led to decline in productiveness”
Walker and the Game and Parks Commission will provide technological assistance and Pheasants Forever will provide a seed mixture for the lands in the program.
Berthelsen noted that pheasants aren’t the only goal of the program, other forms of wildlife will benefit from this program.
“It will help everything from song bird to deer, with pheasants right in the middle. Another objective is the education aspect. To show how to increase pheasant populations on your land.”
Focus on Pheasants will only use one half of a land owner’s CRP land, or the land can be from scratch, provided it is at least five acres in coverage.
The seeds being used are a mixture of legumes. It will include mixtures of alfalfa, sweet clover, red clover and others.
After years of being untouched, the native prairie grasses have become crushed and entangle towards the ground. When this occurs, the area becomes uninhabitable for pheasants and other upland birds, because nests will be to hard to fashion and to difficult for broods to move around in.
“Another problem you get is that you will have lack of diversity of insects. Those insects will be what the broods need to eat and to survive.” Walker said.
By disking or mowing the area, the land can be replanted with the right seed mixture, allowing the legumes to grow and create a better habitat for pheasants and other animals.
The results however do not appear overnight.
“It may take up to two to five years before any significant results can be see,” said Bob Allen, treasurer of Nebraska One Box Habitat Foundation.
One of the reasons Allen points to as possible delay is the impending drought that the area has been in the past couple of season. With little rainfall, the growth of the legumes will be short and will take a little longer for the seeds to firmly entrench themselves into the area.
“This is a multi-year project-not overnight. Hopefully, it will still be a joint effort with all involved,” Norden said.
Walker says the Game and Parks is more than patient with the results.
Berthelsen agrees.
“It’s the same for Pheasants Forever. Its Safe to say this can last as long as people stay interested. This is very unique, we’re the only state to do this.”
Nebraska is the only state in the Midwest so far to do this and pay for it. Even a little at a time.
The program calls for using only 10-20 percent of the acreage set aside in any given year. The following year, another section will be processed so the field will be in different stages at different times.
This will also allow more areas around the region to begin the program and the organization to stay within their current funding, even if the drought persists for a longer period of time.
The program started with a phone call to Rex Amack, Director of Game and Parks from Allen.
Allen had seen a similar program started By Game and Parks for private land owners in Dixon, Stanton and Johnson Counties of Nebraska in the Omaha World Herald.
Allen’s interest drew him to contact Amack and from there, the program took the form it is in today.
Nebraska has roughly 1.4 million acres of CRP land today. Even just 10 years ago, the pheasant was a lot higher.
With this program, there can be a sizable amount of grassland set aside to provide cover for pheasant, quail and other upland game birds that residents and others can hunt during the season.
“Hunting brings friends and families together,” Walker said.
“There is cultural history of pheasant hunting in the state. We want to make sure those ahead of us can enjoy it as well,” Berthelsen added.
But the program will encompass more than just hunters’ interests.
Norden and Allen both said the program will benefit the One Box foundation as well, providing an economy for the foundation and the business in the area.
The one Box Foundation also has its eyes set on the scholarship and fund-raising aspects having more pheasants in the area, bringing in more people to Custer County.
The ultimate benefit, Norden and Allen said, was it just nice to have wildlife in the area, regardless of hunting.
These community-based groups have about 110 acres invested so far and can handle another 330 acres on its current status with more land a possibility with another $5,000 the Game and Parks is willing to donate, based on enrollment.
The organization is seeking land owners to contract a section of land for the program. The One Box Foundation will handle all administrative duties before turning it over to Pheasants Forever so seeding plans can be made.
If interested, contact Bob Allen 872-2497 for more information or visit the Nebraska Pheasants Forever web site at
www.nebraskapf.com.
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Donations--$10,000 in recent donations will help rejuvenate lands that have passed their most productive breeding ground
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Money available for participating landowners in the Custer County region
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Technological assistant available from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
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Unique partnership created between two community-based organizations and a state agency, striving for the same goal
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