A Brief History of the Illinois Pheasant Habitat Areas

Opening day of the Illinois pheasant hunting season (November 4, 2023) is rapidly approaching and I’m eager to begin my 57th season in the field. During the 2021-22 season, 10,990 hunters spent 52,520 days afield and harvested 43,381 birds. Of those totals, 937 days were spent on Illinois Pheasant Habitat Areas (PHA) where 532 wild pheasants were harvested on lands purchased with funds generated through sales of the Illinois Pheasant Stamp and later the Illinois Habitat Stamp.

The first pheasant stamps were issued in 1990. Subsequently, 21 habitat areas totaling 3,985 acres have been established in 14 counties in central and northern Illinois. Though the areas provide a limited, high quality hunting opportunity, that has always been a secondary objective. The primary objective is to provide a permanent, secure block of grassland habitat in agricultural landscapes for pheasants and other prairie wildlife. These areas provide secure production areas of adequate size to also serve as wintering areas for protection from blizzard conditions.

The late 1970s and early 1980s were difficult times for ring-necked pheasants in Illinois. Through the 1950s and 1960s, farmers produced large surpluses of corn, soybeans and wheat resulting low prices and declining farm income. The United States Department of Agriculture endeavored to reduce grain production by paying farmers to remove land from production. These fallow acres were planted to grasses and legumes, vastly increasing nesting cover and pheasant populations soared.

In the early 1970s, dry conditions in many nations increased the demand for feed grains once again. In response, USDA incentives encouraged farmers to increase grain production for export around the world. Grain prices were high and farmers prospered. Agricultural policy encouraged full production and the Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz, exhorted farmers to “get big or get out.” From 1974 to 1984, full production farming was profitable and farmers expanded operations.

Eventually, production eclipsed demand and prices began to fall. This time, USDA continued to incentivize production using “deficiency” payments. In simple terms, USDA paid farmers the difference between the market price and a “target price” instead of paying farmers to idle cropland. The result was that nesting areas for pheasants and other grassland species remained at a low ebb.

In the early 1980s, grain prices fell as costs of land, equipment, seed and fertilizer increased, along with the cost of borrowing money.

In addition to the loss of habitat on idle farmland, a series of severe winters in 1977-1978, 1978-1979 and 1983-1984 resulted in significant winter losses of pheasants. In east-central Illinois, winter losses of 44 to 82 percent were documented on five study areas. Previously, winter losses were considered inconsequential in Illinois due to the abundance of waste grain and relatively mild winters.

Pheasant enthusiasts in Illinois and around the Midwest expressed increasing concern to state governments and resource agencies. In 1985, sportsmen banded together and formed the first Pheasants Forever organization in St. Paul, Minnesota. Rapidly, new chapters were formed in many midwestern states with the goal of raising funds for habitat restoration and establishing contacts with state legislatures, resource agencies and USDA agencies.

Also in 1985, with a depressed farm economy and declining pheasant numbers, USDA embarked on a new program to reduce soil erosion and improve water quality by paying farmers to retire marginal cropland by planting soil enhancing grasses and legumes, the Conservation Reserve Program. Illinois pheasant hunters began organizing local chapters of Pheasants Forever, the first in Illinois was the Pioneer Chapter formed in Ford County in 1985. These groups held local funding raising events and contacted legislators to request a statewide effort to raise funds dedicated to pheasant habitat restoration. Legislators established the Illinois Pheasant Stamp, a $5 stamp required of all hunters pursuing wild pheasants in Illinois. Briefly, funds could be allocated for projects on private or public land within the Illinois pheasant range.

The law allowed funds to be used to acquire land suitable for pheasant habitat restoration. This was important because many existing state properties are sited in stream corridors with the potential for developing small reservoirs for fishing, boating, camping and day use. Few state properties are well situated on the landscape for management of grassland wildlife.

The farm economy was such that a considerable amount of marginal farmland was becoming available at reasonably low prices. These circumstances provided an opportunity to utilize some of the pheasant stamp funds for land acquisition. The first pheasant stamp was issued in 1990 when about 100,000 hunters pursued wild pheasants, generating $500,000 for habitat restoration. Pheasant fund revenue was divided equally between projects on private land and public land, primarily focusing on land acquisitions. Legislation establishing the Pheasant Fund also authorized a committee to review and select projects to be funded. The committee includes representatives from Pheasants Forever, Department of Natural Resources (Offices of Land Management and Realty and Environmental Planning and Divisions of Grant Administration and Wildlife Resources). The Illinois Natural History Survey was also represented.

In addition to numerous habitat restoration projects on private land, in 1992, two tracts were purchased, the Herschel Workman PHA in Vermilion County (88 acres) and the Saybrook PHA in McLean County (86 acres). These formerly cropped areas were planted to native grass mixes and legumes to provide firebreaks and brood habitat.

Access to the pheasant habitat areas is by a free random drawing conducted the by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Permit Office. Successful applicants may bring three to five hunting partners, depending on the size of the site. Areas range in size from 80 to 646 acres. Hunting is permitted from opening day to December 24, two days per week (one week day and one weekend day). Daily hunting pressure would likely force birds to abandon the areas. PHA’s close on December 24 so there is no disturbance during the worst winter months. Consult the Illinois Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations for additional information.

Finally, management is essential to maintain high quality habitat. Key management elements are to control invasion of woody plants and maintain diverse native grass forb mixtures for nesting and brood foraging. Important activities include prescribed burning, use of herbicides, mowing and disking. Pheasant Habitat Areas quickly degrade without regular periodic disturbance.

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John Cole grew up in Bradley (Kankakee County). He graduated from SIU Carbondale with BA in 1968 then served two years in the U.S. Army as medical technologist at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. After graduating from SIU Carbondale with an MS in 1973 he began to work for the then Illinois Department of Conservation as District Wildlife Biologist, headquartered in Gibson City in east-central Illinois. In 1993, Cole became the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Ag and Grassland program manager in Springfield, working there until his retirement in 2008.