From here:
https://www.pheasantsforever.org/Bl...ants-Forever/Spring-2018-Pheasant-Report.aspx
Only 10% of Wyoming's pheasant harvest is from wild birds....
That means 90% of them are farm raised. Are the turkeys raiding the farms? No. It's a put-and-take program. And the state blames the loss of natural pheasant reproduction on the reduction of CRP lands.
Read on. It's very interesting, and no mention of turkey competition for habitat.
WYOMING
“Wild bird harvest was down in 2017 compared to the 2016 season in Wyoming,” reports Martin Hicks, Wildlife Biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. “Wild birds comprise about 10 perc of Wyoming’s pheasant harvest.”
“Poor brood rearing conditions as a result of a hot, dry summer, along with a major hail event that occurred in early June, most likely had a negative on wild bird production and survival in 2017,” says Hicks.
“Winter throughout southeastern Wyoming was very mild, with below average snowfall,” says Hicks. “This helped increase survival rates for overwintering pheasants.”
“But winter is never over in Wyoming until May,’ adds Hicks. “Typically, southeastern Wyoming experiences a heavy, wet snow event in April or early May.”
“Until there is a rejuvenation of CRP in southeastern Wyoming, habitat conditions will remain poor,” says Hicks. “Even when the area received above average precipitation in recent years, production was still well below levels observed in the mid to late 1990’s.”