Two weeks ago I suggested that crop herbicides and pesticides might have something to do with our struggling pheasant population. I received a well written letter from a Fulton area farmer with regard to my intimation. He made some excellent points.

He referred to coyotes as a “major” problem, as well as saying that hawks play a “devastating role.” He felt that pheasants and jackrabbits don’t have a chance anymore. Can these predators have that great an impact? I just don’t know.

He also told me that “Roundup has become a victim of internet mania” while going on to say that Roundup is a contact herbicide that is effective only when it hits a weed. Bare ground neutralizes Roundup. He concluded by telling me that Roundup is twenty-five times less toxic than caffeine. I’m not a coffee guy, and Betsy drinks caffeine-free coffee while I drink caffeine-free Coke. Regardless, I much appreciate reader input.

A long-time Corsica area farmer thinks that poor genetics introduced by pen-raised birds is a key factor. In his defense, I question whether today’s birds are as big, strong, and robust as the birds of thirty-five years ago.

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Hunting partner Mike Hall and I failed in our 1st and 2nd choice West River Deer draws, but successfully drew leftover “any whitetail” tags for Lyman County’s unit 45A11. We hunted east of Highway 49 along Bull Creek which is northeast of Winner. Mike took a very heavy-bodied five-pointer Tuesday morning. My only shot opportunities were at does and I passed as our freezer is full of elk meat.

Neither Mike nor I ever saw or heard a sharptail grouse, but the crowing or cackling of pheasants was common. Mule deer and whitetail deer were equally distributed, and the weekend hunters who preceded us took two mule deer bucks and three whitetail bucks.

Monday afternoon I learned that I’m not as tough as I used to be when my fingers became so cold that I lost use of them. After much struggling, I was barely able to unlock the truck and turn the ignition key. Not being able to unzip my bib coveralls was also stressful. I’ve dealt with cold before, and I can’t help but wonder if my finger problems related to the neuropathy in my hands. Because of my problems the previous day, getting out of bed and waking Mike on Tuesday morning was as demanding as anything I’ve done for a long time.

While in the area, we took a look at the Hamill and Ideal communities. Pheasant lodges dominate the area, and everywhere we saw strips of corn, milo, and CRP tailored for pheasant hunting. Along the Ideal Road from Hwy 49 to Ideal, roosters in the ditch were plentiful making it a road hunter’s paradise. The landscape with its stark buttes, tree belts, and sculptured hills was enthralling.

Wednesday morning we were treated to quite show as we watched a mule deer buck chase a doe. She was so much more nimble than he with his bulk and heavy shoulders. At first he managed to keep up with her, and he would run up alongside her and try to bump her over as a vehicle might if it was trying to force another vehicle off of the road. When he eventually tired and stopped, she too stopped which led us to believe that she was receptive and just playing games.

In spite of the area’s beauty, Ideal was depressing. As a former educator, curiosity led me into the old school where the floors were littered with thousands of CD discs. A set of 1977 encyclopedias lay on the old library floor, and 1977 magazines still graced the dusty shelves.

Ideal is a prime example of our government’s reservation system just not working. Ideal’s Main Street was once endowed with concrete curb and gutter and attractive ranch-style homes that lay in shambles with broken windows and junk-littered yards. I thought about the young people who live there and the courage it would take for them to rise above the squalor and realize that life doesn’t have to be this way. The Winner school is their ticket to escape and such institutions as Mitchell Tech and South Dakota State University. It’s a door that stands wide open!

See you next week.