Photo by Chuck Robbins

Some public lands, such as national wildlife refuges, waterfowl production areas and wildlife management areas comprise outstanding habitat and excellent pheasant populations, though, by and large, the bulk of prime pheasant habitat is privately owned. Therefore, quality wild pheasant hunting and access to private lands are joined inextricably at the hip. No matter how many longtails there are in a given season, or a given locale, if you can't get at them, numbers become a moot point.

Of course, there are plenty of primo hotspots and landowners more than happy to let you hunt -- for a fee. That may be okay for some but it sure isn't my style. Thanks to various programs for free access to private lands, there is a better way.

While the concept is similar among the various states, each program operates under a different label and the amount of acreage involved varies greatly. Montana's Block Management Program leads the pack with a whopping 8.5 million acres enrolled last year. Wyoming's Walk-In-Hunting program, a distant second with less than 500,000 acres enrolled in 2004, has been growing steadily since its inception in 1999. Colorado's Walk-In-Access, enrolled about 160,000 acres last year and continues to grow. And while Idaho's Access Yes! enrolled just 90,000 acres last year, officials hope the program will grow to 1 million acres. Not all of the acreage enrolled constitutes pheasant habitat, but enough of it is to allow hunters across the region decent free access to private land pheasant hunting.

Not ironically, the above four states top the regional rankings for 2005 pheasant hunting prospects.

Among the also-rans, Utah pheasant hunting prospects outdistances the hunting in Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico but that isn't saying much. Utah's pheasant habitat is in sharp decline, and the outlook for its future is grim and getting grimmer with each new subdivision. Arizona pheasants are limited to just six scattered remnant populations, with hunting by falconry or archery only. During the 1980s, perhaps the last time anyone checked, the average annual statewide kill was 21.5 birds, and that's not a typo! That New Mexico holds a four-day season, much of it permit only, about says it all. An inquiry to NDOW on Nevada's upcoming prospects brought this vague response: "You might try the country east of Carson City, but if I were you quail and chukar are looking much better."

Indeed.

MONTANA
Montana in the opinion of many, including this reporter, ranks right up there with the best. That is, assuming you and your dog work at it and that you hunt in good pheasant habitat, any fair to middling shot can reasonably expect a bird or three in the bag any day of the season. Even in an off-year the Treasure State boasts plenty of wild birds and unparalleled free access to private lands in addition to scads of primo covers on public lands.

Montana is a big place, the fourth largest state by landmass, and of course pheasants do not live within a day trip of virtually anywhere you might start a day here. Nearly 65 percent of Montana is in private ownership. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, hunters and landowners, a lot of private land is now open to hunting. Block Management Access leads the way, but a number of other reimbursement programs, such as Access Montana, the Upland Game Bird Release Program, Livestock Loss Reimbursement Program, Game Damage Program and Special Landowner licensing, have helped the access situation immensely.