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Local group needs help with stocking pheasants

By Thomas W. Shaffer 4 min read

I remember growing up near the fields of Mt. Saint Macrina in North Union Township.

Not only was there an abundance of pheasant, but my Dad told me that in the late 1960s there was also wild quail. As I traveled the long trail through hordes of blackberry, raspberry and unknown brambles to the endless fields of corn and wheat, there is one thing I remember distinctly. At dusk, pheasants would roost in treetops. I have expressed that this trait no longer exists in the pheasants stocked by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

I understand that in the late 1800s, the pheasants that we had in this area were brought from England. They did not come from China as most people believe. Since the great freeze of 1977 when the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway froze shut, I have never seen a pheasant roost in a tree. Why? Because that strain of pheasant to my knowledge no longer exists in Pennsylvania due to being wiped out by the harsh winter of 1977. Did you know that in the 1960s, Pennsylvania had more pheasants than any state in the country.

Many blame the decline in pheasant on the lack of habitat, too many predators, DDT etc., or a combination of things, I can assure you from first-hand experiences, South Dakota has more predators than Pennsylvania and we still have good habitat, even though it is shrinking annually.

I believe the trap and transfer program that Pheasants Forever has initiated is necessary to restore pheasants to the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has brought back all the predators: hawks, eagles, otters, and bear, so why won’t they bring the pheasant back? It’s simple. The cash cow is the deer program and they do not view small game hunting this way.

I believe that our game commission is misguided. States such as South Dakota bring in millions of dollars of revenue per year because of pheasant hunting.

In 1991, South Dakota’s pheasant population was decimated by a severe winter. Hunters asked their fish and wildlife department to raise pheasants. This idea was rejected because they did not want to negatively affect the genetic strain of wild pheasants with the introduction of pen-raised birds. After two years, their pheasant population rebounded to over 1 million pheasants.

Despite the game commission shutting down the Pike Run/California University project, other pheasant recovery areas in the commonwealth are flourishing with the exception of the area in Somerset – that frankly was never suited for pheasants.

It is my opinion that it was a mistake to keep it alive and cancel the Pike Run project, in part, because Dr. Gary Brain participated in a 2012 February pheasant count at Pike Run and had flushed 18 pheasants on one farm.

This spring will be the fifth year that the Fayette County Vo-Tech School has raised pheasants to be released into the wild for public recreation. I’ve donated $4,000 to build a rearing facility. To date, I’ve has purchased approximately 10,000 Michigan Blue Back pheasants that are a much hardier strain of pheasant then the weak variety that the game commission stocks.

The Fayette County Pheasant Restoration Program consists of other civic minded individuals such as Dr. Gary Brain, Superintendent Eddie Jefferies, the Rev. Ken VanSickle, Trout Unlimited Officer Jim Tobal, Pheasant Forever President Rich Kovacic, Quail Unlimited Presidents Roy Sisler, Rick Miller and Ed Stanish, National Field Trial Judge Chris Ryder and Magisterial District Judge Randy Abraham who have contributed their time and money to this project.

The Vo-Tech Veterinary Program is responsible for raising the pheasants under the guidance of Becky Shepard and also does a fine job raising thousands of fingerling trout that are released into public streams for recreation.

It costs $6 per bird to raise to maturity. If you wish to sponsor a bird or birds at this rate, or wish to volunteer your time, please contact me at 724-425-1162. The next meeting is scheduled to be held at the Fayette County Vo-Tech School on Tuesday, April 14 at 10:30 a.m. If interested in attending, please call in advance.

Thomas W. Shaffer, an attorney, is a resident of Uniontown.

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