Jul 21, 2002 5 min read

Local hunting clubs urged to mentor pheasant hunts HARRISBURG – With Pennsylvania’s first ever youth pheasant hunt scheduled for Oct. 12 and 14, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania State Chapter of Pheasants Forever have produced a 24-page planning guide for conservation and hunting clubs interested in developing their own mentored youth pheasant hunt program. The manual can be viewed on the Game Commission’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), by clicking on “Hunting Information” and then selecting “Pennsylvania’s First Youth Pheasant Season.”

To participate in the youth pheasant hunt, youngsters must be 12 to 16 years of age, and must have successfully completed a Hunter-Trapper Education course. As required by law, an adult must accompany the young hunters. Participating hunters do not need to purchase a junior hunting license in order to take part in the youth pheasant hunt.

“The future of hunting is directly related to the continuing participation of young Pennsylvanians in our hunting seasons,” noted Vern Ross, Game Commission executive director. “The challenge is to successfully compete with all the other activities and recreational opportunities that vie for a teenager’s time. It’s truly a challenge for the Game Commission, as well as Pennsylvania’s more than a million hunters.

“To truly maximize this opportunity for young hunters, and to ensure we pass along the ethics and ideals of our hunting heritage, the Game Commission and Pheasants Forever are encouraging local clubs to sponsor a mentored youth pheasant hunt for the young people in their community.”

“Pheasants Forever is a strong supporter of youth conservation programs, and we are excited about the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s new youth pheasant season and youth mentored hunts,” said Mike Pruss, Regional Biologist for Pheasants Forever in Pennsylvania. “These will be additional opportunities for our next generation of conservationists and hunters to experience the thrill of hunting for these fantastic game birds for which the Commission and Pheasants Forever work so hard to provide habitat.”

The planning manual offers a step-by-step guide on how to develop an organized mentored youth pheasant hunt, including: a sample timeline; suggested committees and assignments; general event planning considerations; and several sample forms and news releases. The manual also includes event evaluation guides so clubs and organizations may consider changes for future mentored youth pheasant hunts.

To bolster the youth pheasant hunt, the Game Commission recently increased the number of pheasants it plans to stock prior to this two-day hunt. The agency will release 13,560 birds (7,440 males and 6,120 females) on land open to public hunting as outlined on Pages 13-16 of the 2002-2003 Pennsylvania Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations.

Some of these birds will be provided as an incentive to those clubs and organizations that sign up before July 31 with the Game Commission to host a mentored youth pheasant hunt. While the number of birds available may be limited, the only two stipulations to be eligible are that these hunts must have registration open to the public and must be held on lands open to public hunting.

Additionally, to maximize potential participation, the Game Commission will post on its website all planned mentored youth pheasant hunts.

The new youth pheasant season, which will be held concurrently with the annual junior squirrel hunt on Oct. 12 and 14, was the product of deliberations by the Youth Pheasant Hunting Committee, chaired by Lori Richardson, Game Commission Outreach Coordinator. For additional information on the development of this youth pheasant hunting season, please refer to Game Commission News Release 81-01, which can be viewed in the “Newsroom” of the agency’s website (www.pgc.state.pa.us).

“Holding concurrent youth seasons for squirrel and ring-necked pheasants will offer variety to youths who participate in these small game-hunting opportunities,” Richardson said. “The state’s long-standing two-pheasant daily bag limit will apply to junior hunters participating in the season.”

Other recent Game Commission initiatives to promote youth hunting opportunities include youth squirrel and waterfowl hunts initiated in 1996; special antlerless deer harvesting opportunities initiated in 1998, and expanded in 2000; and youth field days implemented in the early 1990s. Also, as part of the license fee increase approved in 1998, the General Assembly created a junior combination license that packages regular license privileges with archery, flintlock and furtaking opportunities for $9, compared to the regular junior license price of $6.

In response to the new opportunities, junior hunting license sales increased by 2,348 from 103,718 in 2000-2001, to 106,066 in 2001-2002. In fact, the junior hunting license sales figures are the highest for this age group since 1990.

Also, contrary to national trends, the 2001-2002 license year was the second consecutive year the Game Commission recorded increases in general hunting license sales and furtaker license sales, as well as nearly every other category of special license, such as bear, muzzleloader and archery stamps.

Pheasants Forever emphasizes habitat improvement, public awareness and education, and land management policies that benefit private landowners and wildlife alike.

Pheasants Forever’s commitment to youth conservation and education includes its Leopold Education Project, an award-winning conservation education curriculum based on Aldo Leopold’s, A Sand County Almanac; and its extensive Ringnecks youth mentor program that introduces thousands of young people to the outdoors annually. Local chapters enjoy numerous benefits of belonging to the national organization, including keeping 100 percent of their fundraising dollars to spend on local habitat projects and youth programs.

For more information on Pheasants Forever, visit its website at www.pheasantsforever.org. For information on starting a local chapter, contact Mike Pruss at mpruss@pheasantsforever.org.