Focus of Pheasants enrolls acres for habitat.

LINCOLN, Neb. – Through the statewide Focus on Pheasants program, the Southwest Focus on Pheasants program enrolled 5,350 acres for habitat in 2010. There were $83,338 in incentive payments in portions of northwest Hitchcock, southeast Hayes and northwest Red Willow counties – known as the Southwest Focus Area. The Focus on Pheasants program strives to enhance pheasant hunting by offering landowners incentives to produce quality habitat that will increase bird populations and to provide public hunting access. In the southwest focus area, there were 3,168 acres of tall wheat stubble and 2,028 acres of milo stubble enrolled. There were 154 acres of range deferment and 154 acres of prescribed fire. Of those habitat acres, 1,211 were under contract for allowing walk-in hunting access, including 425 acres of tall wheat stubble and 663 of milo stubble. Focus on Pheasants is a joint effort of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Pheasants Forever and resource and conservation partners to increase the pheasant population by creating and enhancing habitat in the focus areas.