More pheasant in S Dakota.

[Lee Borgersen]

More pheasants in South Dakota.

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The number of pheasants counted in the annual South Dakota summertime roadside survey was up 47 percent this year over 2017.

The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department on Monday said the statewide pheasants-per-mile index hit 2.47 this year, up from the 2017 index of 1.68.


The number of chicks in each brood was up 22 percent over last year, with favorable June weather credited.

Statewide, 85 of the 110 survey routes had a higher pheasant count than 2017, which was one of the worst years in recent history.

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“We are pleased to see pheasant numbers improve across the state; particularly in the far-eastern part of the state where hunters will have more opportunities to harvest birds than in recent years,” said Kelly Hepler, secretary of Game, Fish and Parks.

This years marks the 100th anniversary of South Dakota’s first pheasant hunting season.

Hepler said the loss of habitat — namely unplowed and undeveloped grassland — continues to be a concern. Hepler said hunters should notice far fewer disturbed Conservation Reserve Program fields compared to last year, when emergency haying and grazing was authorized in response to severe drought conditions.

  South Dakota’s statewide pheasant hunting season runs from Oct. 20 to Jan. 6.

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