Iowa’s recent pheasant harvest was the second highest in nearly two decades, according to recent figures released by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. In 2024’s fall season, pheasant hunters bagged more than 460,000 roosters. The DNR states that is only surpassed by the 2023 harvest of 590,000.

Last August’s pheasant survey showed a 14-percent population decline from the year before. The decline is attributed to ill-timed spring flooding in northwestern Iowa. This year’s roadside pheasant survey will take place between August 1st and 15th. Iowa DNR staff will drive 225 30-mile routes on gravel roads at dawn for the count.

This year marks 100 years of pheasant hunting in Iowa. The first season was held in 13 counties in north central Iowa over a span of three days where hunters had a three-rooster limit for a half-day of hunting.