some simple mathematics and a little history lesson regarding mother nature puts it all in perspective boys.
The floods of 2008 destroyed most of the state, add in the 2009 winter and the floods of 2010 and you reach your current "lack of" population.
1 rooster can breed multiple hens...each hen lays a clutch of 6-12 eggs...add in a some habitat and some consecutive years of easy winters and good springs and the population can rebound.
Don't forget, pheasants are NOT native to Iowa...are there any "introduced" species in this state that have went extinct? answer is no, so be patient. If you want to see pheasants, plant some habitat. Lord knows it's a curse to have a brushy fence-line in these days of $5corn
Great photo...I see my daily bag limit :grin: