“Drought has reared its ugly head across the entire pheasant belt and many places in South Dakota are no exception. That being said, pheasant hunting here should still be a "can't miss" opportunity.
South Dakota's pheasant population had a great winter, leading to high spring populations. These adult birds should be available for hunters this fall. These are smart and wary birds and successful hunters will need to adjust their hunting tactics.
Similar to pheasants, the prairie grouse outlook is mixed. This spring brought record lek counts for adults, but drought conditions deteriorated grassland habitats in the grouse range and hampered grouse production.”
…Looks like the GFP is hedging its bets as to hunter upland success.
