For Release: Thursday, September 22, 2011

DEC Announces Release of Pheasants for 2011 Hunting Season

Pheasant Raising Programs Bolster Hunting Opportunities

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that approximately 30,000 adult pheasants will be released on lands open to public hunting for the upcoming Fall pheasant hunting season. The pheasant hunting season begins on October 1 in northern and eastern portions of New York, October 15 in central and western portions of New York, and November 1 on Long Island.

For the fifth consecutive year, junior hunters (12-15 years old) have the opportunity to hunt pheasants the weekend prior to the opening of regular pheasant hunting season. In northern and eastern New York, the youth pheasant hunt weekend is September 24-25. In western New York, the youth pheasant hunt weekend is October 8-9. Pheasants will be released on a number of select sites across the state to provide ample youth hunting opportunities (see table below). All current pheasant hunting rules and regulations remain in effect during the youth hunt.

In addition to the upstate youth hunts, DEC is working to establish a youth pheasant hunt on Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk counties) this Fall. Legislation authorizing a youth hunt on Long Island was signed by Governor Cuomo in August, and DEC initiated a regulatory proposal that, if adopted, would have the youth hunt held on the last full weekend in October (October 29-30, 2011). Pheasants would be released prior to that weekend at the sites listed below. To review the proposal and submit comments visit the "Proposed Regulations" page on the DEC website. The public comment period on this proposal is open and comments will be accepted through October 3, 2011.

The pheasants will be released on state-owned wildlife management areas and cooperative hunting areas prior to and during the Fall hunting season. All release sites for pheasants raised via state-funded programs are open to public hunting. A list of statewide adult pheasant release sites and sites receiving birds for the youth pheasant hunt weekends can be found on DEC's website.

The Day-old Pheasant Chick Program provides additional opportunities for pheasant hunters. This program was developed in the early 1900s to provide day-old pheasant chicks to cooperating 4-H groups and sportsmen and sportswomen. The chicks are distributed to program participants in May and June, and cooperators incur all costs associated with rearing the birds, including feed, water, utilities and facility construction. The birds are raised to adulthood and released on lands open to public hunting before the season opens. This year, nearly 46,000 pheasant chicks were distributed statewide as part of this program. Anyone interested in raising and releasing pheasants to expand next year's hunting opportunities should contact DEC's Reynolds Game Farm at (607) 273-2768.

Boundaries for pheasant hunting zones conform to Wildlife Management Units used for management of other wildlife. Wildlife Management Unit boundary descriptions can be found on the DEC website. In addition to knowing these unit boundary descriptions, hunters should review the 2011-2012 New York Hunting & Trapping guide for complete regulations and other important information before going afield. Hunters who plan to use private lands should ask permission from the landowner prior to accessing those lands.

Youth Pheasant Hunt Sites 2011
County	Town	Youth Hunt Site	Special Rules / Notes
Albany	Berne	Partridge Run WMA	See maps at all informational kiosks
Albany	Knox	Margaret Burke WMA	West side of County Route 254
Allegany	Birdsall	Keaney Swamp Wildlife Management Area
Allegany	New Hudson	Hanging Bog WMA along New Hudson Rd.
Broome	Triangle	Whitney Point Multiple Use Area
Cattaraugus	Conewango, Randolph	Conewango Swamp Wildlife Management Area - between Rte. 241 and Conewango Creek
Cattaraugus	Farmersville	Harwood Lake Multiple Use Area
Cattaraugus	Red House	Allegany State Park, Wolf Run Rd. & Upper Bay State Rd.	Free permit necessary from Administration Building
Cattaraugus	South Valley	Allegheny Reservoir Wildlife Management Area	Vicinity of Bone Run off Onoville Rd.
Cayuga/Tompkins	Ledyard, Genoa, Lansing	Cayuga Tompkins Co-op Hunting Area
Chautauqua	Sherman	Alder Bottom Wildlife Management Area - off Idora Rd. and Rte 76.
Chenago	Smithville	Long Pond State Forest
Clinton	Chazy	Lake Alice Wildlife Management Area
Delaware	Colchester	Bear Spring Mtn. WMA	Trout Brook Rd.
Dutchess	Milan	Lafayetteville Multiple Use Area
Dutchess	Red Hook	Tivoli Bays Wildlife Management Area
Erie	Collins	Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area - South of Vail and Unger Rd. and Button Rd.
Essex	Westport	Near the junction of Lake Shore Rd & Clark Rd on state land
Genesee	Darien	Darien Lake State Park
Genesee/Niagara	Alabama, Royalton	Tonawanda Wildlife Management Area
Jefferson	Brownville	Perch River Wildlife Management Area
Livingston	Livonia	Hemlock-Canadice State Forest	North end of Hemlock Lake
Monroe	Greece	Braddock Bay Wildlife Management Area
Niagara	Lewiston	Joseph Davis State Park	Special permit required for hunting pheasants on Oct. 8-9; Contact J. Davis State Park, 716-754-7766
Niagara	Wilson	Wilson-Tuscarora State Park	Special permit required for hunting pheasants on Oct. 8-9; Contact Wils.-Tusc. State Park, 716-751-6361
Onedia	Whitestown	Oriskany Flats Wildlife Management Area
Onondaga	Lysander	Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area
Ontario/ Yates	Naples, Italy	High Tor Wildlife Management Area
Orange	New Windsor	Stewart State Forest
Oswego	Richland	Deer Creek Marsh Wildlife Management Area
Oswego	West Monroe	Three-Mile Bay Wildlife Management Area
Putnam	Patterson	Cranberry Mountain Wildlife Management Area
Putnam	Patterson	Great Swamp Wildlife Management Area	Access off Cornwall Hill Rd., park in designated areas only (6 car capacity)
Rensselaer	Nassau	North and south of Jefferson Hill Rd. at the intersection with Middle Rd.	Must ask permission by calling 518-766-4346 after 5 PM
Saratoga	Greenfield	Daketown State Forest
St. Lawrence	Canton	Upper & Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area
Steuben	Tuscarora	Nichols Farm on Thompson Road
Suffolk**	Brookhaven	Rocky Point State Natural Resources Management Area	A daily permit must be obtained from the Ridge Hunter Check Station
Suffolk**	Brookhaven	Eastport State Lands	A daily permit must be obtained from the Ridge Hunter Check Station
Suffolk**	Riverhead/Brookhaven	Otis Pike Preserve	A daily permit must be obtained from the Ridge Hunter Check Station.
Tioga	Richford	Michigan Hill State Forest
Washington	Greenwich	Carter's Pond Wildlife Management Area
Washington	Jackson	Eldridge Swamp State Forest
Wayne	Savannah	N. Montezuma Wildlife Management Area along Savannah-Spring Lake Rd
Wayne	Wolcott/Huron	Lake Shore Marshes Wildlife Management Area
Wyoming	Middlebury	Carlton Hill Multiple Use Area & Sulphur Springs FWMA Co-op.	Five miles north of Warsaw

**TENTATIVE. There is a regulatory proposal to establish a youth pheasant hunt on Long Island that is currently open for public comment. Comments on the proposal will be accepted through Oct. 3, 2011. If the proposal is adopted, birds would be released at the sites listed above for Oct. 29-30, 2011.

Additional information provided on the DEC website includes:

Pheasant Hunting Information:

Pheasant Hunting Seasons

Pheasant Release Sites

Long Island Youth Pheasant Hunt Regulatory Proposal