MONTHLY WILDLIFE RESEARCH LETTER 
Department of Conservation and Natural History Survey, Cooperating 
Glen C. Sanderson and Helen C. Schultz, Editors 
Urbana, Illinois 
June, 1972 
Vol. 15, No. 6 
Manipulation of Pheasant Habitat G. B. Joselyn 
One of the primary reasons for the establishment of the Ford County 
Management Unit (FCMU) was to determine to what extent farm operators would 
adhere to the verbal agreement to delay the mowing of their seeded roadsides 
until on or after July 31 each summer. In the spring after the seedings 
matured (1970) and in 1971* cooperating farmers on the FCMU were sent 
letters in May requesting them not to mow their roadsides, as agreed, until 
July 31• However, since a large-scale roadside management program would 
entail contacting hundreds of farmers each spring, an annual notice to 
request compliance with the nonmowing agreement would be impractical. 
Therefore, the cooperating farmers were notified in the 1971 letter that 
no follow-up letters would be sent in subsequent springs but that continued 
cooperation in delaying mowing would he appreciated. Whether the farmers 
would continue to delay mowing -as in the previous 2 years—without being 
reminded was unknown. 
A check of cooperator roadsides on June 16 this year revealed little 
change in the amount of seeded roadsides that had been mowed, as compared 
with the amount mowed by the same date last year. This year, as in 1970 
and 1971 ) approximately 7 percent of ccoperator roadsides had been mowed 
by mid-June. Data from the past 2 years indicate that most of the mowing 
that occurs on seeded roadsides prior to July 31 is done by mid-June. We 
are therefore hopeful that compliance with the nonmowing agreement will 
continue through July. 
Ecoloqy and Management of SquIrreis 
R. 
C. M. Nixon, 
E. Greenberg 
Our sample of 59 cooperating avid squirrel hunters in the Southern Zone 
went squirrel hunting a total cf 931 times during the hunting season of 1971* 
This total represents approximately 2,464.5 man-hours of recreation. Hunting 
pressure was highest during the first 2 weeks of the season (August 1-15)* 
when our cooperators spent 704.5 man-hours in the field. This figure 
represents 23.6 percent of their total hours afield for the entire 14-week 
season. During the second 2 weeks of August, hunting pressure dropped 
considerably (35-5 percent less than during the first 2 weeks), and it 
continued to decline slowly (from. 15 to 10 percent of the total hours 
afield) through the first 2 weeks of October. During the period October 16-31* 
there was a modest increase in hunting pressure (;5“9 percent greater than 
