Pheasant populations at 20-year high ahead of Iowa's 100th year of pheasant hunting. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources conducts a roadside survey of pheasant each August and this year’s survey shows pheasant populations are at a 20-year high.

That means Iowa’s 100th year of pheasant hunting could have harvest figures between 600,000 and 700,000, according to DNR Upland Wildlife Research Biologist Todd Bogenschutz.

“Last year was a decent year for pheasant hunting,” Bogenschutz said in a press release from DNR. “2023 was a good year for pheasant hunting. This year could be excellent.”

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2023 and 2024 were two of the best pheasant harvest seasons in the past two decades. Hun

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