MiURAL Hisrm mn\ 
AUG 8 J979 
LIBRARY 
MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Illinois Federal Aid Project W-66-R 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Eva Steger, Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
July, 1979 
Vol. 22, No. 7 
Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat R. E. Warner 
News reporters and public agencies frequently request an estimate of the 
amount of pheasant habitat in Illinois that has been destroyed or reduced in 
value for pheasant reproduction and survival over the last 15 years. 
Two obvious changes in land use that have influenced the abundance of 
pheasants are the loss of farmland to urbanization and the increased planting of 
row crops. Using Cooperative Crop Reporting Service data, such changes were 
recently considered for 7 crop reporting districts that encompass the range of 
self-maintaining populations of pheasants in Illinois. 
Farmland cover of primary importance for pheasants is compared in Table 1. 
These data indicate that over the 15-year period approximately 2.4 million acres 
of hay and small grains and 1.8 million acres of uncultivated farmland in the 
Illinois pheasant range were converted to other uses. The loss of habitat for 
pheasants has been proportional to increased production of corn and soybeans. 
During this same period, over 2 million acres of agricultural land were lost to 
encroaching metropolitan areas, particularly in the northeastern counties. 
Table 1. Farmland (reported in thousands of acres) and the percent of total 
farmland devoted to hay and small grains and uncultivated areas in Illinois' 
pheasant range, 1962 and 1977 . 
Year 
Hay & Smal1 Grains— 
L 
Uncultivated Farmland^ 
Total 
Farmland 
Acres 
Percent 
Acres 
Percent 
1962 
4,366 
17-3 
4,015 
15.9 
25,196 
1977 
1,999 
8.6 
2,227 
9*6 
23,178 
Change; 1962-1977 
-2,367 
-54.2 
-1,788 
-44.5 
- 2,018 
—Includes hay. 
hay pasture. 
wheat, oats, barley, and rye. 
Includes set-aside acres, wood lots, and idle farmland. 
