bauerline
Well-known member
Something to keep an eye on.
http://triblive.com/sports/outdoors/11174794-74/birds-commission-pheasant
http://triblive.com/sports/outdoors/11174794-74/birds-commission-pheasant
PA Pheasant Program
- Thread starter bauerline
- Start date
It doesn't look to promising $5million is a lot to make up on a stamp. At $25 it'll take 200,000 stamps
There's mint being wasted in the game commission somewhere. Who would of thought a small game license would of made up the original capitol in which it took to get the program started. How did the commission quantify starting the project. I am quite sure there was money appropriated that never made it to the program.
I hope for the keystone state pheasant hunters,something good will happen. However Pensylvania politics have always been something to get disgusted about
There's mint being wasted in the game commission somewhere. Who would of thought a small game license would of made up the original capitol in which it took to get the program started. How did the commission quantify starting the project. I am quite sure there was money appropriated that never made it to the program. I hope for the keystone state pheasant hunters,something good will happen. However Pensylvania politics have always been something to get disgusted about
Diehardpheasant
New member
we definitely need a pheasant stamp . i hunt pheasant October thru February and typically find birds the final week. only hunt public land and 90% is pgc land. i also hunt jersey and pay $40 for a stamp there. i would have no problem with a $25 stamp especially if birds were still released after the new year. my kids much rather upland birds for the simple fact of more action and long season. take away more of the small game and you are left with one and done for deer. heck you already pay $25 to hunt ducks so why not for pheasant
HollowWatcher
Member
Give me a stamp already!
HollowWatcher
Member
10/05/2016
PHEASANTS RELEASED, HUNTERS GET READY
HARRISBURG, PA - A memorable season in which more birds will be released statewide awaits Pennsylvania?s pheasant hunters.
And as scary as it might seem, without a license-fee increase in the very near future, this might well be the last year the Game Commission releases pheasants for hunters.
The pheasant season kicks off Saturday, Oct. 8, with the start of the one-week season for junior hunters. Then on Saturday, Oct. 22, the season opens to hunters statewide.
In total, about 240,000 pheasants ? about 25,000 more than last year ? are scheduled for release statewide for the 2016-17 seasons.
The increase is due to several factors that have come together for the benefit of hunters.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has planned some changes to its pheasant-propagation program to cut costs. Instead of raising chicks from breeder pheasants at the Game Commission?s game farms, the agency in 2017 plans to begin purchasing day-old chicks from private propagators.
The move is expected to save more than $200,000 annually, but this year also contributes to an increased number of pheasants released, since birds that would have been kept as breeders instead can be released on public-hunting grounds.
Additionally, the Game Commission purchased about 15,000 day-old chicks this year in a test run to ensure its program could operate smoothly if it transitions to purchasing all chicks to be raised. Those birds will be released, as well.
And while the agency took deliberate action to reduce production due to the anticipated increases from the release of breeder birds and the chicks that were purchased, this year experienced the highest hatch rate in recent memory.
All of this adds up to more pheasants afield in 2016-17.
?Against all odds, Pennsylvania?s pheasant hunters once again have plenty to be excited about this year,? said Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough. ?It?s no secret the Game Commission has been navigating some rough financial waters; 17 years without one adjustment for inflation to our primary source of revenue ? the hunting license ? will do that.
?We have been forced as an agency to make many cuts to staff and programs, and moves to make the pheasant propagation program less costly are among these,? he said. ?Fortunately for pheasant hunters, however, those moves will result this year in more ringnecks released statewide, adding even more excitement to some of the best hunting action around.
?But the future of pheasant hunting in Pennsylvania might not be as bright,? Hough said.
About 17,000 pheasants are scheduled for release for the weeklong junior-only season, which begins Oct. 8. Then, in mid-October several consecutive weekly releases of pheasants will begin, to be followed by a late-season release of hen pheasants.
The statewide pheasant season begins Oct. 22 and runs through Nov. 26, then reopens on Dec. 12, ending on the last day of February.
The additional releases of birds that were purchased as chicks or would have been maintained as breeding stock should be noticeable, said Robert C. Boyd, who oversees the Game Commission?s pheasant propagation program.
?These extra birds are being stocked during the second, third and fourth in-season releases, and the winter release,? Boyd said. ?So while releases ahead of the junior season and statewide opener will continue to provide the typical early-season action, those who keep hunting through the season also are bound to encounter increased flushes and sustained opportunity to harvest pheasants,? Boyd said.
The best pheasant-hunting habitat and hunter access occur on more than 230 tracts of state game lands and other public lands under cooperative management with the Game Commission, and about 75 percent of the pheasants are stocked there.
The remaining 25 percent are released on private lands enrolled in the Game Commission?s Hunter Access Program.
The Game Commission stocks pheasants as a service to its hunters. The program cost $4.3 million last year, but it has its benefits.
Nearly 100,000 hunters participate in pheasant hunting in Pennsylvania, racking up nearly 400,000 hunter days and contributing $30 million to $40 million to the state's economy. And surveys have indicated nearly 80 percent of hunters support the pheasant stocking program.
A wealth of information on ring-necked pheasants, the Game Commission?s pheasant management program, and stockings statewide can be found at www.pgc.pa.gov by searching ?pheasant allocation.?
Only roosters may be hunted in many WMUs, check Page 48 of the 2016-17 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest for details. The daily limit is two pheasants.
The digest is issued to all hunters at the time they buy their licenses, and also is available online through the Game Commission?s home page.
Hunters also should note that pheasant hunting is closed in all Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas, where the Game Commission is attempting to restore self-sustaining wild pheasant populations. Maps of Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas begin on Page 50 of the digest.
Hough said the agency remains committed to its pheasant program, which celebrated 100 years in 2015, despite hard times financially. As revenues continue to decline, however, it?s uncertain how the program might change, he said.
?But this year, for certain, pheasant hunters have a lot to look forward to,? Hough said.
PHEASANTS RELEASED, HUNTERS GET READY
HARRISBURG, PA - A memorable season in which more birds will be released statewide awaits Pennsylvania?s pheasant hunters.
And as scary as it might seem, without a license-fee increase in the very near future, this might well be the last year the Game Commission releases pheasants for hunters.
The pheasant season kicks off Saturday, Oct. 8, with the start of the one-week season for junior hunters. Then on Saturday, Oct. 22, the season opens to hunters statewide.
In total, about 240,000 pheasants ? about 25,000 more than last year ? are scheduled for release statewide for the 2016-17 seasons.
The increase is due to several factors that have come together for the benefit of hunters.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has planned some changes to its pheasant-propagation program to cut costs. Instead of raising chicks from breeder pheasants at the Game Commission?s game farms, the agency in 2017 plans to begin purchasing day-old chicks from private propagators.
The move is expected to save more than $200,000 annually, but this year also contributes to an increased number of pheasants released, since birds that would have been kept as breeders instead can be released on public-hunting grounds.
Additionally, the Game Commission purchased about 15,000 day-old chicks this year in a test run to ensure its program could operate smoothly if it transitions to purchasing all chicks to be raised. Those birds will be released, as well.
And while the agency took deliberate action to reduce production due to the anticipated increases from the release of breeder birds and the chicks that were purchased, this year experienced the highest hatch rate in recent memory.
All of this adds up to more pheasants afield in 2016-17.
?Against all odds, Pennsylvania?s pheasant hunters once again have plenty to be excited about this year,? said Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough. ?It?s no secret the Game Commission has been navigating some rough financial waters; 17 years without one adjustment for inflation to our primary source of revenue ? the hunting license ? will do that.
?We have been forced as an agency to make many cuts to staff and programs, and moves to make the pheasant propagation program less costly are among these,? he said. ?Fortunately for pheasant hunters, however, those moves will result this year in more ringnecks released statewide, adding even more excitement to some of the best hunting action around.
?But the future of pheasant hunting in Pennsylvania might not be as bright,? Hough said.
About 17,000 pheasants are scheduled for release for the weeklong junior-only season, which begins Oct. 8. Then, in mid-October several consecutive weekly releases of pheasants will begin, to be followed by a late-season release of hen pheasants.
The statewide pheasant season begins Oct. 22 and runs through Nov. 26, then reopens on Dec. 12, ending on the last day of February.
The additional releases of birds that were purchased as chicks or would have been maintained as breeding stock should be noticeable, said Robert C. Boyd, who oversees the Game Commission?s pheasant propagation program.
?These extra birds are being stocked during the second, third and fourth in-season releases, and the winter release,? Boyd said. ?So while releases ahead of the junior season and statewide opener will continue to provide the typical early-season action, those who keep hunting through the season also are bound to encounter increased flushes and sustained opportunity to harvest pheasants,? Boyd said.
The best pheasant-hunting habitat and hunter access occur on more than 230 tracts of state game lands and other public lands under cooperative management with the Game Commission, and about 75 percent of the pheasants are stocked there.
The remaining 25 percent are released on private lands enrolled in the Game Commission?s Hunter Access Program.
The Game Commission stocks pheasants as a service to its hunters. The program cost $4.3 million last year, but it has its benefits.
Nearly 100,000 hunters participate in pheasant hunting in Pennsylvania, racking up nearly 400,000 hunter days and contributing $30 million to $40 million to the state's economy. And surveys have indicated nearly 80 percent of hunters support the pheasant stocking program.
A wealth of information on ring-necked pheasants, the Game Commission?s pheasant management program, and stockings statewide can be found at www.pgc.pa.gov by searching ?pheasant allocation.?
Only roosters may be hunted in many WMUs, check Page 48 of the 2016-17 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest for details. The daily limit is two pheasants.
The digest is issued to all hunters at the time they buy their licenses, and also is available online through the Game Commission?s home page.
Hunters also should note that pheasant hunting is closed in all Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas, where the Game Commission is attempting to restore self-sustaining wild pheasant populations. Maps of Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas begin on Page 50 of the digest.
Hough said the agency remains committed to its pheasant program, which celebrated 100 years in 2015, despite hard times financially. As revenues continue to decline, however, it?s uncertain how the program might change, he said.
?But this year, for certain, pheasant hunters have a lot to look forward to,? Hough said.
HollowWatcher
Member
Don't like the rhetoric of this release also disappointed in how the PGC is handling the whole issue. No need for the negative tone and threats they have been making since the license increase proposal. The PGC receives all kind of hate..pheasant hunters are actually champions of the PGC. Why they choose to alleniate a group of hunters that have stood with them and for the cause is beyond me. We support a license increase and a pheasant stamp and have been vocal about it..they know that..stop talking about it and get it done. They would have to be incredibly stupid to cut the program entirely but some of there antics lead me to question how dedicated they really are. Wish people like Mr. Delaney were still in charge to speak for the hunters.
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PA Grouse Hunter
Member
Pheasant program
Everyone on this forum is an avid upland bird hunter as I am. Been chasing birds with my Britts for 55 years, seems most of us all agree with license increase and a phez stamp, so whats the problem, gutless politicians afraid of their jobs. Let the commission steer their own ship. I hunt in quite a few western states and everyone includes a stamp of some sort. As a member of Phez for ever and the Ruffed Grouse Society our groups all support license increase and upland bird stamp. So lets get Harrisburg moving.
Everyone on this forum is an avid upland bird hunter as I am. Been chasing birds with my Britts for 55 years, seems most of us all agree with license increase and a phez stamp, so whats the problem, gutless politicians afraid of their jobs. Let the commission steer their own ship. I hunt in quite a few western states and everyone includes a stamp of some sort. As a member of Phez for ever and the Ruffed Grouse Society our groups all support license increase and upland bird stamp. So lets get Harrisburg moving.
We had a very healthy population of wild pheasants back in the 50 and 60s which covered a wide area here in PA with healthy broods every year. No one every really explained what caused their demise even in the most prime areas. What really happened to them? Will the same thing happen to our wild turkeys someday?
PA Grouse Hunter
Member
What happened to the Wild Phez in PA
Hunting Phez in PA for over 50 years, I noticed
a dramatic decrease in the numbers once the Hay Bind was introduced and the local farmers went to 5 cuttings of hay a year. Even in South Dakota this year any areas that had haying the numbers were down. The Ranchers cut hay early this year due to the amount of spring rains. Normal cutting is once around July 15, this year they cut much earlier. One fellow I talked to said he cut up at least 40 hens on the nest that he could verify. Not Good!! No nesting no PHEZ, this is a fact.
Hunting Phez in PA for over 50 years, I noticed
a dramatic decrease in the numbers once the Hay Bind was introduced and the local farmers went to 5 cuttings of hay a year. Even in South Dakota this year any areas that had haying the numbers were down. The Ranchers cut hay early this year due to the amount of spring rains. Normal cutting is once around July 15, this year they cut much earlier. One fellow I talked to said he cut up at least 40 hens on the nest that he could verify. Not Good!! No nesting no PHEZ, this is a fact.
HollowWatcher
Member
http://triblive.com/sports/outdoors/11597950-74/game-commission-hunters
Hope we get a pheasant stamp!
Hope we get a pheasant stamp!
FLDBRED
Well-known member
It's long overdue !
The decline in Pheasant populations hasn't just been happening in PA.. We see it happening all across the midwest including states like South Dakota.
As taxpayers year by year we are all steadily contributing to the destruction of upland and many other kinds of wildlife habitat through federal agriculture subsidies of modern agricultural practices that focus on squeezing as much cultivated agriculture and monoculture out of the environment as possible with a significant disregard for stripping the land of wildlife diversity and resource conservation. Wouldn?t it make much more sense to focus a significant amount of effort to alter those subsidy programs so that anyone who uses them must also be required to maintain specifically arranged percentages of that acreage that has long term benefits to the environment and wildlife? Modern AG practices are clearly the most significant source of the problem. It is where counter efforts should be focused. Doing otherwise is like struggling against ourselves. Nibbling around the edges with many small separately focused organizations and programs that establish tiny wildlife honey holes or a sparse number of remote wildlife preserves just won?t be effective in the long run. This is not only in the best interest of the hunting community but also includes that of any organization or citizen who is interested in being active in appreciating and taking part in a wildlife healthy world to live in.
See; Shrinking pheasant habitat in South Dakota a big worry
*
As taxpayers year by year we are all steadily contributing to the destruction of upland and many other kinds of wildlife habitat through federal agriculture subsidies of modern agricultural practices that focus on squeezing as much cultivated agriculture and monoculture out of the environment as possible with a significant disregard for stripping the land of wildlife diversity and resource conservation. Wouldn?t it make much more sense to focus a significant amount of effort to alter those subsidy programs so that anyone who uses them must also be required to maintain specifically arranged percentages of that acreage that has long term benefits to the environment and wildlife? Modern AG practices are clearly the most significant source of the problem. It is where counter efforts should be focused. Doing otherwise is like struggling against ourselves. Nibbling around the edges with many small separately focused organizations and programs that establish tiny wildlife honey holes or a sparse number of remote wildlife preserves just won?t be effective in the long run. This is not only in the best interest of the hunting community but also includes that of any organization or citizen who is interested in being active in appreciating and taking part in a wildlife healthy world to live in.
See; Shrinking pheasant habitat in South Dakota a big worry
*
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FLDBRED
Well-known member
Very well said Sir! :cheers:
PA Grouse Hunter
Member
PA Game Commissioners meeting
Just thought I would give everyone time to comment. Meeting this Sunday at 2PM in Harrisburg. On the table will be the phez program and the idea of a stamp. A friend of mine Skip Klinger, president of the Palmyra Sportsman Club will be there to voice his and our support of a phez stamp. Of the 6 commissioners 2 want the whole program to go away, very sad I think. Today was the last day for 14 employees working at the 2 game farms they are closing. Please comment to Skip or the game commission. Thanks
Just thought I would give everyone time to comment. Meeting this Sunday at 2PM in Harrisburg. On the table will be the phez program and the idea of a stamp. A friend of mine Skip Klinger, president of the Palmyra Sportsman Club will be there to voice his and our support of a phez stamp. Of the 6 commissioners 2 want the whole program to go away, very sad I think. Today was the last day for 14 employees working at the 2 game farms they are closing. Please comment to Skip or the game commission. Thanks
:thumbsup:
In Ohio the DNR pretty much gave up on supporting pheasant hunting statewide and if not for federal CRP subsidies it would be pretty much gone completely.
Ohio has also seen what was once a good huntable grouse population crash to non existence in many areas and without the pheasant's to hunt grouse definitely took on a lot more hunting pressure to where I no longer find them in many places they used to thrive. I've seen this first hand.
The decline in Pheasant populations hasn't just been happening in Ohio and PA.
We see it happening all across the midwest including states like South Dakota.
If we don't all work together to support the traditions of upland hunting the opportunity will become pretty much a thing of the past for everyone but those who live in the most remote places or those who can afford to maintain their own private hunting estates. For many it already has.
:thumbsup:
In Ohio the DNR pretty much gave up on supporting pheasant hunting statewide and if not for federal CRP subsidies it would be pretty much gone completely.
Ohio has also seen what was once a good huntable grouse population crash to non existence in many areas and without the pheasant's to hunt grouse definitely took on a lot more hunting pressure to where I no longer find them in many places they used to thrive. I've seen this first hand.
The decline in Pheasant populations hasn't just been happening in Ohio and PA.
We see it happening all across the midwest including states like South Dakota.
If we don't all work together to support the traditions of upland hunting the opportunity will become pretty much a thing of the past for everyone but those who live in the most remote places or those who can afford to maintain their own private hunting estates. For many it already has.
:thumbsup:
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