All it takes is for a person to see a large property, where nature has been given the ability to self regulate. It blows a lot of theories to pieces and really shows just how bad humans are at "managing" animal numbers.

As a whole nature doesn't " regulate". It cycles from one one extreme to the other. You almost sound like guys that are against us hunters and trappers.

As a whole nature doesn't " regulate". It cycles from one one extreme to the other. You almost sound like guys that are against us hunters and trappers.

Ive been against the money spent on South Dakotas roadkill coontail program since it started (in an effort to buy rich landowner donors-this is my opinion of course:)). Went back to Iowa this weekend, in an area no one is trapping (maybe some on their own land but no ones ROW trapping like they used to). No one is coon hunting. Iowa did not shell out a bunch of money to buy roadkill tails. What this area of Iowa did do is add a TON of CRP the past few years. It’s noticeable while driving through the 3-4 county area I hunt.
I spent the weekend chasing roosters there. Ive hunted nearly every year there since I moved to SD in 2007. The bird population is the best Ive seen since around 03 or so. Numerous 10-20 bird flushes. Multiple properties (including public) with 100+ birds. We hunted probably 10 different pieces of ground several miles apart. ALL held a good number of birds, especially compared to the past.
Another thing these properties had in common was the enormous amount of coon sign. We saw 5 coyotes-shot 2. There is not a lack of “nest raiders” or animals that kill birds. Im sure a ton of birds have been killed by these predators.
I get the weather has been cooperative to have a good hatch/survival rate. But I truly believe the huge amount of habitat is as important, maybe more so than the weather.

The number one cause of animal population increase was the invention of the combine. Waste grain on the ground increased by leaps and bounds when combines came on the scene.

Nature does self regulate, theres a balance for everything. Humans have never done a great job. Red from Montana just proves my point, we already went down that road and killed almost game animal in the USA. The seasons were brought about to prevent extinction, not because some government entity wanted money. The propensity to support x number of species on a certain tract of land depends far more on the actual habitat than animals being trapped on it. Absolutely if you want to have a few years where those populations increase because you want to trap out the natural predators, it will work.

The main point is you have to identify what the natural number is that the tract of land can support, and work from there. Yes Sir, thats a sorry reply to somebody who you disagree with, what do you want for approval?

NSS, what else is new...?

You have whined about our bounty program multiple times here on tman by stating that more habitat produces more birds. That is a given so why keep bashing the program? I have said, and continue to say, it is a political program. Are the "rich landowners" you state about Hutterite colonies because those people are the ones that make the most coin off of the SD bounty program and Gov. Kristi doesn't have to buy their votes, if they vote at all. Noem got elected as an old fashioned conservative who supports traditional things, including hunting and trapping. If you don't like her or her policies, go vote for lame *** Jamie Smith. Good luck in him getting elected--because you didn't grow up here let me remind you of some SD political history. There hasn't been a Democrat elected as SD governor since Dick Kneip back in the 1970s and Smith isn't going to break that drought. We live in a small state and I suspect you can probably get an audience with the Sec of G.F.&P if you ask and then you can express your frustrations with the bounty program.

As I've said before, 500k doesn't go very far in renting land in say southeast SD. At $200 an acre (probably too cheap), the coin spent on the bounty program would get 2,500 additional acres put aside, and you would need to rent it for multiple years to get a "CRP like" parcel going. Nobody that already has good pheasant habitat established is going to rent to the state for $200 an acre, they can get that FOR 1PAY HUNTER FOR 1 DAY so if you want more habitat, the state would have to buy it out right. So, let's buy some land in se SD at $8000 an acre (again probably way too cheap) and that 500k will get you about 65 new acres to get up and running (if we're going from nearly bare cropland). In most years, farmers in SD plant about 4 MILLION acres of corn. Do you see the dilemma...?

This is the last time I'll post on your SD tail bounty whines because the subject bores me. But, hey, knock yourself out in your displeasure...

I like having the bounty as in my area I have seen an increase in turkeys and pheasants. I also like it because it has been one of the only things that has allowed me to expand the amount of gear I have. I know it has gotten many people in my school into trapping and I think that's the only thing that matters is that it's getting kids and others into trapping.

The key to pheasants is the right weather at the right time during nesting and when the chicks are hatched and being reared. I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone's shoulder would be sore shooting a limit of birds in Iowa unless they raised the limit to 50. SD has plenty of birds this year and plenty of coon, maybe they should pay bounty on fall coon, say $20 per tail. I'd be good for 500 coon.

As a land owner heavily involved in habitat management, also worked in the Nat Resource Management field for 34 with the Feds, and a degree in Wildlife Management - most habitat enhancement activities are expensive. We dont have a lot of crp projects down here in the south like they do in the midwest and north. Habitat enhancement is done as a direct activity. They are expensive, and generally take annual maintenance, and are usually not done at scale to make a lot of difference. $200 and some spring time labor can put you in the trapping business.