Pheasants Forever biologist Dave Van Waus expects pheasant populations to have rebounded from last winter's harsh weather at a number of Iowa's public sites. . Photo by Windigo Images.

The good news is that ringneck hunting in the Hawkeye State has been exceptional over the last several years. The bad news is that last winter's snow and ice have thrown a monkey wrench into the works. The pheasant population in a large part of the state took a hit, and it'll be a couple of years before things return to normal.

"The area below a line drawn from the southwestern corner of the state to the northeastern corner had severe winter weather from Dec. 1 through March 15," said Dave Van Waus, a regional biologist with Pheasants Forever in Iowa and himself an avid bird hunter. "The snow and ice conditions covered the area nonstop and a lot of birds disappeared due to exposure, predation, suffocation and a lack of food. During an average winter about 40 percent of the population is lost, but due to the severity of this past winter, the percentages were a lot higher."

The same thing happened during the winter of 1999, said Van Waus. It took a while, but the pheasants bounced back, and that's what Van Waus expects to happen again. If a property is specifically managed for upland birds, there will still be a huntable population, even below the line in the hardest hit parts of the state. The habitat was developed and provided a degree of protection, but there's no guarantee.

Upland birds northwest of the imaginary line escaped with milder winter conditions and good survival rates.

It's not all doom and gloom. Here's a look at public lands at which you should be able to bag your limit and enjoy good hunting in 2008.

CHICHAQUA RIVER BOTTOMS WMA
The winter had no adverse affect on Chichaqua River Bottoms birds, said Van Waus. As a matter of fact, the area now ranks right up near the top of the list of good public hunting spots statewide.

The habitat and access here are excellent. Des Moines-area hunters will find large tracts of habitat and a lot of room to roam. Switch grass provides excellent cover and a dog can be a real asset in rough country like this. Any hunter who has targeted pheasants in high grass knows how easy it is to miss birds that hunker down or just run an endplay around you. Food plots pull in birds looking for a meal, and the thicker stuff is where they'll rest and recuperate.

A rule of thumb is to look for great bedding areas located close to sources of food. Thick grass and brush provide places for ringnecks to hunker down, where roosters can huddle up against dropping temperatures. They'll still be moving around a lot this month when the weather is good, so don't overlook any likely spots, no matter how thin the cover.

The Chichaqua River Bottoms Wildlife Management Area covers 6,431 acres on the Skunk River in Polk and Jasper counties. Contact the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' Red Rock Management unit at (515) 961-0716 or the Polk County Conservation Board at (515) 323-5300.

DUNBAR SLOUGH COMPLEX
Dunbar Slough is another top spot where the pheasants emerged from winter relatively unscathed. The number of birds available is normal, and the hunting should be very good.

The complex is an interwoven group of county, state and federal lands in west-central Iowa. Agriculture and grasslands combine into large tracts of good pheasant habitat, and the birds love it.