End of pheasant co-op

bauerline

Well-known member
Just got a letter today from the PGC stating that they will no longer offer pheasant chicks to clubs for raising and releasing. I'm not sure what our particular club will do at this time.
 
Well, that's a darn shame. I have made it specifically clear to them how I feel about the whole situation. Time will tell what will be the results of all the changes. However, one thing is for sure and that is that they have the most to lose.
 
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They keep cutting from the one program that overwhelmingly gave them positive support! All the letter writing and petitions didn't mean a darn thing. I don't think the current Commissioners have our back any longer! And yes in the long run they have the most to lose!

Good luck with your club's decisions going forward!
 
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It's a shame I have a forester for a best fiend who is livid about all this including needing a stamp. He said his views are from most foresters the PGC needs one good Forester and one good lawyer and not a office of people to over see it and to get rid of the guy taking care of the gas rights for the PGC he's in bed with too many people he shouldn't be the PGC even changed some of there rules to side with him so he can be in bed with these people it's unbelievable. Maybe we need Trump to go into the PGC and clean house...lol
 
Just got a letter today from the PGC stating that they will no longer offer pheasant chicks to clubs for raising and releasing. I'm not sure what our particular club will do at this time.


Were they donating them or did your club have to purchase them?
 
They were donated but we had to pay for all the food and supplies needed to raise them. We also had to follow the guidelines for pen size along with some other rules.
 
Well that sucks. Guess your club needs to find a solution quickly.

I don't know the size of your club, but besides the purchase of chicks ($1-$5k for the year), is there other red tape you would have to deal with that your club will incur extra cost?

If you know a lot of small clubs like yours that have been receiving for the PCG, you may need to privatize the co-op. I am sure you could request the public records of who is receiving chick donations.

Better yet, start an llc, with a privatized co-op business model.
 
We got them as day old chicks that n the spring. I will be looking at options at getting chicks from a different supplier shortly. We have several options to consider.
 
It might not be too easy to find birds of that quality! We've been following your releases and the results have been outstanding with many birds surviving for months. I wish your club the best, you guys do a great service for the youth and veterans.
 
If eliminating this stocking program and utilizing the same funds to develope habitat for wild birds that in 10 years the bird numbers were the same as the amount of released birds, would you PA folks be for or against it?
 
PA will not have the same number of wild birds as released birds. Wild pheasants in PA are very rare and most of those are in areas closed to hunting. For the the vast majority of PA pheasant hunters it is the stocked birds that provides the hunting opportunities.
 
If eliminating this stocking program and utilizing the same funds to develope habitat for wild birds that in 10 years the bird numbers were the same as the amount of released birds, would you PA folks be for or against it?

A lot of us have asked the same question over the years and I have even brought it up for discussion a few times. The answer was that although millions may be spent on the stocking program on a yearly basis,but because of the expense of real estate in Pa. the thousands of continuous acres needed for a sustainable huntable population couldn't be met by purchasing land.
Now we still hunt "wild" birds on much smaller parcels, but these areas receive little hunting pressure. Not sure I buy into the whole continuous acreage thing, but that's the science they go buy!
Having said that, I also see the need for the stocking program.There are many areas of the State that will never offer a wild pheasant population again and 90,000 pheasant hunters are offered a great day in the Pa. uplands.
 
As long as modern industrial AG related industries hold sway over legislators and AG markets there will be minimal long term wildlife conservation practiced at the level required for establishing and maintaining healthy upland bird populations ANYWHERE that modern AG is practiced at a significant scale. The effects of modern AG land use practices and pesticide applications keep wild birds, plants and insects from thriving. These are all interrelated.
 
We got them as day old chicks that n the spring. I will be looking at options at getting chicks from a different supplier shortly. We have several options to consider.

Okay. Yeah, it sounds like you have everything into place to raise chicks right from the start. That's good. At least you won't have to pay more of older chicks.

Best of luck. Let me know if you need a couple recommendations for breeders---here in the Midwest. There a number of breeders with some great birds, each with different strengths and such.

Nick
 
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