Outdoor News Daily

A survey of hunters revealed 32 percent of the total Nebraska pheasant harvest during the 2008-09 season took place on Conservation Reserve Program-Management Access Program (CRP-MAP) lands.

The recent survey by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission shows the impact CRP-MAP has on hunting opportunities. CRP-MAP gives the public access to private walk-in hunting sites, focusing on grassland and upland game habitats.

CRP-MAP also accounted for 25 percent of the quail harvest and 13 percent of the grouse harvest.

The survey randomly chose 8,000 residents and 2,000 nonresidents who purchased either a Nebraska hunt permit often referred to as a “small game” permit or a Nebraska combination hunt/fish permit. There were 2,367 respondents.

Another finding from the survey is the increase in success for dove hunters. Those hunters harvested 4.3 doves per each day spent hunting. That figure has been trending upward since the mid-1990s.

The following are other facts from the survey:

– In 2008, 98,308 people purchased Nebraska hunt permits, a 0.43-percent decrease from 2007. The decrease was fueled by reductions in nonresident permit sales. Resident sales rose 1.5 percent.

– The online purchase of hunt permits rose 6.1 in 2008.

– Nonresidents who purchased hunt permits came from 49 states, the District of Columbia and five Canadian provinces.

– Coloradoans made up the largest group of nonresident permit buyers at 27.5 percent, followed by Iowans (7.5) and Missourians (5.3).

– Estimated small game harvest during the 2008-09 season was: 322,798 pheasants, 320,139 doves, 93,251 quail, 38,144 grouse, 43,970 cottontail rabbits, and 17,996 squirrels.

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