BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A state wildlife official says healthy pheasant numbers should allow hunters to bag more birds when they take to the fields this fall.
The state's pheasant season opens Saturday and continues through Jan. 4.
Upland game biologist Stan Kohn says a recent survey indicates the number of pheasants in North Dakota has risen 30 percent from last year, due to good spring weather.
Last year 76,500 hunters killed 450,000 roosters in North Dakota. Kohn says this year's season should be similar to 2010 when 92,000 hunters bagged 550,000 birds.
Kohn says the number of hunters is directly related to the number of birds, and the number of birds is tied to habitat.