ST. PAUL — Lifelong pheasant hunter Gov. Mark Dayton plans to convene Minnesota’s first-ever Pheasant Summit later this year to discuss ways to grow the state’s pheasant population.

Dayton made the announcement at a Pheasants Forever banquet Thursday night, the governor’s office said Friday.

The date hasn’t been set, but he plans to convene hunters, farmers, policymakers, conservationists, other stakeholders, and key members of his administration. The event will focus on strategies to reverse the decline of Minnesota’s pheasant population and improving habitat statewide.

“For almost 60 years, I have enjoyed pheasant hunting in Minnesota,” Dayton said in a statement. “But the decisions we make today will determine whether future generations of Minnesotans will have those same opportunities.”

Although the Department of Natural Resources’ annual roadside survey found a slight increase in Minnesota’s pheasant population this year, it’s still 58 percent below the 10-year average and 71 percent below the long-term average.

Loss of grassland is considered the main reason. In welcoming the summit, Pheasants Forever said Minnesota’s lost nearly 8,000 acres of pheasant range in the last year, and bigger losses are coming as farmers pull fallow acres out of the Conservation Reserve Program and put them back into production.

“The inaugural Minnesota Pheasant Summit will be a major step in the right direction for pheasant habitat conservation efforts in Minnesota,” Joe Duggan, the group’s vice president of corporate sales, said in a statement. “Wildlife habitat protection and creation takes collaboration, so we’re thrilled to see Governor Dayton bringing partners together from the state’s conservation and agricultural communities to find sustainable, long-term upland habitat solutions.”

The DNR expects Minnesota hunters will bag an estimated 200,000 pheasants this fall. Dayton will host his fourth annual Governor’s Pheasant Opener in Worthington Oct. 10-11.