Listen to this week’s radio segment here or read the transcript below. This week’s segment discusses the effects of extreme weather on Iowa’s pheasant population.

Year after year of extreme weather has caused a severe decline in Iowa’s pheasant population.

This is the Iowa Environmental Focus.

In recent years Iowa’s pheasant population has declined drastically. A statewide survey found a 40 percent decrease in pheasants over the past year, making this year’s count the lowest of all-time.

Iowa’s changing weather is largely responsible for the population drop. Over the past five years Iowa has experienced high snow and rainfall. Both of these factors lower the survival rate of pheasant chicks.

The Iowa DNR suggests that Iowa’s pheasant population should not have trouble rebounding if our seasonal precipitation decreases. The DNR is also working to add more pheasant habitat around the state to slow losses.

For more information on Iowa’s pheasants, visit IowaEnvironmentalFocus.org.

I’m Jerry Schnoor from the UI Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research.

Thank You.