Good weather and plenty of birds made the first two weeks of the regular South Dakota pheasant season a success, a state wildlife official said Thursday.

But Tony Leif, wildlife division director for the state Game, Fish & Parks Department in Pierre, also said he's worried about future pheasant seasons if proposals for the new federal Farm Bill are enacted.

Leif said the early part of the pheasant season has benefited from good weather and one of the highest pheasant population estimates since the early 1960s. A storm front that hit South Dakota opening weekend turned out to be less of a problem than expected, Leif said.

"We were worried that the weather was going to put a damper on opening weekend, but the moisture we did receive didn't have much of an impact on the hunting," he said.

The weather isn't the only factor that affects pheasant hunting. Bird numbers are determined in large part by available winter and nesting habitat. And the specific provisions of the upcoming Farm Bill could drastically decrease the amount of acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program, which would affect bird numbers in the future, Leif said

"This will undoubtedly have an impact on the pheasant population in South Dakota," Leif said. "Without those acres enrolled in CRP, we will lose valuable habitat for pheasants and other wildlife in South Dakota."

It remains to be seen, however, how immediate this impact will be on the pheasant population in our state.

"The pheasant population will always bounce around," Leif said. "If the habitat does decline, we will see a lower pheasant population long-term. Of course, in addition to the loss of habitat, the weather will still play a large part in determining the pheasant population in South Dakota."

South Dakota is among the top 10 states in the nation in Conservation Reserve Program acreage, at just over 1.5 million acres enrolled in the program. Any loss of acreage will be detrimental to the state's wildlife population, but South Dakota will continue to work toward developing the best habitat around, Leif said.