Pheasant numbers are down in South Dakota this year. According to a report from the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department, the population is low because months of persistent drought in 2012, a cold, wet spring in 2013 and a reduction of habitat have affected pheasant brood counts. The drought left the landscape sparse of vegetation and the late snowfall in spring delayed nesting. Thousands of hunters fly into South Dakota every season and boost the economies of counties in the central and eastern parts of the state. South Dakota Secretary of Tourism Jim Hagen discussed what low pheasant numbers mean for the tourism industry. Also, Sioux Falls hunter Jim Mathis talked about his experiences hunting near White Lake.