The Wheel Initiative couldn't work without the help and cooperation from many different organizations.

"We are very pleased with the partnership that continues to grow as we develop the habitat Wheel Initiative," Schwartz said. "This program is successful because of the cooperation among the PF chapter volunteers, landowners, state agencies such as the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and federal agencies such as the Farm Service Agency and Natural Resource Conservation Service."

The areas around the hub are being encouraged to enroll in the CRP program and others. IDNR Upland Wildlife Program manager John Cole said that currently, "Pheasants in Illinois are almost totally dependent on CRP grasslands for nesting cover." Getting more people to want to join the land conservation movement is imperative, he added.

"It is possible for pheasant numbers to improve if CRP programs change to improve the targeting of enrollments to focus on erodable soils and water-quality issues. There is movement in this direction in the new farm bill," Cole pointed out. "Also, changes in cropping systems, such as growing biomass crops (or native grasses), could eventually provide more habitat." Grasses are harvested during the fall or winter, so nesting could occur in fields of grasses grown for biomass.

Cole said the IDNR is doing everything possible to sustain and improve pheasant hunting in the state.

"The main thing the IDNR can do is to try to influence the direction of the CRP program to get more erodable land planted to grasses in Illinois," he said.

Generally, CRP pays landowners to plant permanent vegetative cover on parts or all of an agricultural field that is considered highly erodable. The length of the contract is typically 10 or 15 years. Participants are paid annual rental money according to the productivity of the soils. Land eligibility for the program is based on an Environmental Benefits Index, or EBI. There is also a 50 percent cost-sharing component to the program.

Another important program is the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). The CREP focuses on some of the most environmentally sensitive farmlands, which include highly erodable lands.

PF's Tom Schwartz pointed out that CREP benefits a variety of wildlife species in Illinois, including pheasants and quail. He told Illinois Game & Fish magazine the Illinois CREP targets the Illinois River Basin, which covers some 52 counties throughout the state. Willing landowners may enroll eligible agricultural land in this 15-year contract and receive annual payments and other incentives in exchange for retiring the land from farming and development. There are options for extending the contract by entering into an additional 15-year, 35-year or permanent state conservation easement. More than 90 percent of Illinois' current CREP acres are enrolled in permanent easements, which ensure long-term protection.

Landowners, hunters, wildlife and conservationists can all benefit from enrolling lands into the CREP.

"CREP participants retain ownership of their land, and CREP does not place restrictions on recreational activities, including hunting," stated Pheasants Forever. "As a result, CREP acres provide extremely high natural resource benefits, including improvements to water quality, prevention of soil erosion and the creation of wildlife habitat. It is a partnership between the U.S. Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Association of Illinois Soil, Water and Conservation Districts."

'Birdy' Land in the Prairie State
Although things may not be as great as they once were for pheasant hunting in Illinois, bird numbers still support hunters' exploits, which can produce many good days afield.

The trick to successful pheasant hunting in the Prairie State, of course, is finding the locations that hold birds. Most of the best pheasant hunting occurs on private ground, but some public-access lands hold fair numbers of birds, too.

The best pheasant hunting opportunities lie in the counties in Illinois' traditional pheasant range -- the north-central and east-central portions of the state.

"Huntable numbers of pheasants are found in the north half of the state east of the Illinois River," Cole pointed out, "and on over to the Mississippi River, when you get as far north as Rock Island."