MARSHALL — For the past three years, Paul LeBlanc has traveled from his home south of Green Bay, Wisconsin, with his adult son and daughter to hunt pheasants in southwest Minnesota.

“It’s a nice area,” LeBlanc said. “We don’t have the land,” he said of Wisconsin. And there’s a lot more hunting pressure on the pheasant population, he said.

“We saw a lot of birds, and the dogs got a good workout,” he said of their first trip three years ago.

LeBlanc also said southwest Minnesota is a hunter-friendly place, from the people willing to help visitors get set up with licenses and information, to hotels that allow hunting dogs. He also appreciated the Walk-In Access program that allows hunters access to sites on private land.

“That’s a really nice setup,” he said.

As this weekend’s pheasant hunting season opener approaches, an area merchant reported people are getting ready.

“It usually starts about the middle of September, once small game and archery (season) opens up,” Borch’s Sporting Goods employee Rick Konold said.

Customers have been interested in purchasing hunting licenses, as well as ammunition or guns, he said.

“There’s some good pheasant hunting out here in southwest Minnesota. Pheasant numbers are up from last year,” Konold said. “Now that the crops are coming out of the fields, people are seeing more pheasants.”

The Minnesota pheasant opener is Saturday. The annual Governor’s Pheasant Opener event will be held in Worthington this weekend, with events like a food truck gathering on Friday evening before the hunt.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said hunting prospects in the region are looking good. Based on a roadside count conducted in August, pheasant numbers statewide are up 18% from last year, the DNR said in a September report. Pheasant hunting prospects in much of southwest Minnesota are fair, with a density of 25 to 49 birds per square mile, or good, with more than 49 birds per square mile.

However, the DNR cautions that there can still be places with “good” pheasant density in “poor” areas, and vice versa.

Konold said pheasant hunters should remember to check that they have a license and pheasant stamp before heading out into the field. They should also purchase a walk-in access permit in order to hunt on Walk-In Access sites. He said maps of hunting sites in the area are available at Borch’s.

“Use hunter courtesy. Always ask permission if you’re going into private property,” Konold said.

Hunters shouldn’t leave a mess behind, either, he said.