Cami Koons Iowa Capital Dispatch

Pheasant populations are at a 20-year high, according to an annual roadside survey conducted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in August.

That means Iowa’s 100th year of pheasant hunting could have harvest figures between 600,000 and 700,000, said Todd Bogenschutz, DNR upland wildlife research biologist.

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

He noted 2023 and 2024 were two of the best pheasant harvest seasons in the past two decades. Hunters bagged an estimated 460,000 roosters in 2024 and 590,000 roosters in 2023. The figures were consistent with DNR’s observed population decline from 2023 to 2024.

This year DNR staf

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