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Ring-necked pheasants are a culturally, recreationally and ecologically important game species throughout the Midwestern United States and Great Plains. Since the mid-twentieth century, pheasant populations have declined markedly, due largely to decreases in suitable habitat in agricultural landscapes. Biologists and land managers use conservation programs to increase habitat and boost pheasant populations, but the effectiveness of these actions varies, with different outcomes of the same practices in different locations. Digital tools that incorporate year-round pheasant habitat needs and the characteristics of surrounding landscapes are needed to help inform conservation decisions.
This project, a Nebraska Game and Parks Commission-funded collaboration between the University of Nebraska’s Applied Wildlife Ecology and Spatial Movement (AWESM) Lab and Center for Resilience in Agricultural Working Landscapes, is developing digital tools for prioritizing pheasant habitat management in two eastern Nebraska landscapes. The project is also developing new models of pheasant abundance and new landcover layers for detecting grassland management events that shape pheasant habitat.