Mitchell said Utah pheasant hunters should concentrate on areas of decent habitat. Where habitat is lacking, birds will be scarce to non-existent. In Utah, "cultivated lands" and those posted "No Trespassing" require written permission to hunt.

"Perhaps the best thing hunters can do is to establish and nurture good relationships (well before hunting season opens) with landowners willing to work with our agency to improve and maintain good pheasant habitat," Mitchell said. "By the way, funds are available through the Utah DWR Habitat Fund for habitat cost-sharing projects to landowners willing to participate."

This season, the agency is also implementing a new three-year pilot program for access to private lands in northern Utah. Under the new Walk-In-Access Program, the Utah DWR pays private landowners to allow public hunting of pheasants.

For a list of participating landowners and maps, go online to http://wildlife.utah.gov/walkinaccess.

A non-resident small-game license costs $45. Generally, the season runs Nov. 1-30 -- but there are exceptions, so be sure to check the current regs.

NEVADA
Nevada's pheasants are pretty much restricted to the state's Western Region. The latest harvest figures (2004) show 357 hunters bagged 635 birds, 54 percent of them shot in Humboldt County. This represented the lowest kill since 1994, down from 2003, and about 30 percent off the 10-year average.

When staff biologists are queried about the Silver State's pheasant hunting, they're quick to change the conversation to chukars and quail. That says it all.

NEW MEXICO
New Mexico holds a four-day general pheasant-hunting season and several single-day permit-only hunts --

Which about says it all too. But I wanted to hear from the horse's mouth, so the biologist on the phone quickly put things in perspective.

"Pheasants in New Mexico? You gotta be kiddin'. Quail we got, pheasants we don't got. That answer your question?"

Right on.

ARIZONA
Despite numerous attempts to establish wild-pheasant populations in Arizona, these gaudy aliens remain a specialty game bird in the Grand Canyon State.

However, pheasant hunting is allowed with falcons on a limited-permit basis, and with bow and arrow.

With the cessation of the experimental pheasant program in 1973, hunter numbers have never exceeded 100 in any given year and the annual harvest has been less than 50 birds. And no, that "50" is not a typo.

For more information about pheasant hunting in the Rocky Mountain states, visit the wildlife agency websites for each state.

Arizona: www.gf.state.az.us
Colorado: http://wildlife.state.co.us
Idaho: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov
Montana: http://fwp.mt.gov
Nevada: http://www.ndow.org
New Mexico: http://www.wildlife.utah.gov
Utah: http://www.wildlife.utah.gov
Wyoming: http://gf.state.wy.us

Find more about Rocky Mountain fishing and hunting at: RMgameandfish.com