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Game-farm pheasants out in fields now
Eastern Washington pheasant hunters get a shot in the arm this weekend as the state Department of Fish and Wildlife begins its annual release of game-farm-reared roosters.
As part of the state Legislature's 1997 Pheasant Enhancement Program, about 16,000 adult rooster pheasants will be periodically released across Eastern Washington at about 25 sites, including the Fish and Wildlife Service's Ringold and Two Rivers sites, and the Corps of Engineers' Hollebeke and Big Flat Habitat Management Units in Franklin and Walla Walla counties.
Jim Tabor, a state district wildlife biologist in Ephrata, said that in addition to the release sites described in the state's Pheasant Enhancement Program brochure, (which can be downloaded from the state's Web site: www.wa.gov/wdfw) a small percentage of pheasants also will be released on state lands open under the Feel Free to Hunt Program.
The idea behind releasing pen-reared pheasants, Tabor said, is to supplement the harvest of wild birds, so the remaining three releases will occur during the next six weeks to provide hunting opportunities throughout the season.
"The only problem with releasing birds on our Feel Free to Hunt lands is that we don't make that information public, at the request of private landowners," Tabor said.
The Feel Free to Hunt lands are part of the state's Upland Wildlife Restoration Program, which has more than 400,000 acres of private land open for public hunting under several access agreements.
"For the average pheasant hunter, the pheasant release sites will provide plenty of opportunity and the quality of the birds is very good this year," he said.
More experienced upland bird hunters, Tabor said, often do not hunt pheasant release sites and will search out the Feel Free to Hunt areas and other public and private areas.
One pheasant release site that will be receiving a healthy dose of quality birds is Ringold, north of Pasco.
All of the birds to be released at Ringold will be coming from the Coyote Ridge Correction Center in Connell. Prison inmates are raising nearly 5,000 birds for release this season. About 1,200 are scheduled for Ringold, Big Flat and a few Feel Free to Hunt lands.
"We've already released about 300 birds from Coyote Ridge for the September youth hunt, and hunters said they were in excellent condition," Tabor said.
Tabor said Coyote Ridge roosters are some of the best pen-reared birds released statewide.
"Some of these birds are so wild, they'll fly up to a half-mile away when we release them from the crates," he said.
Tabor said the birds from Coyote Ridge - which are fully mature and sporting long tails - are raised in huge covered pens with a low density of birds and plenty of cover to reduce contact with humans.
"At Coyote Ridge, they try to duplicate conditions birds will find in the wild and they do a good job. If these birds weren't leg banned, you'd be hard-pressed to tell them from wild birds," he said.
On average, the state pays about $12 for each game-farm-reared rooster it releases.
Another advantage of higher quality birds is that some will survive late into the season and perhaps longer.
"We know many of the pen-reared birds will survive the winter and perhaps even contribute to future generations by breeding with wild hens," he added.
In 1997, the state Legislature created the Eastern Washington Pheasant Enhancement Fund, charging east-side hunters a $10 fee. In 1999, a simplified license system resulted in a single fee for small game hunters. The pheasant enhancement fund was retained, but it's based on the number of Eastern Washington pheasant hunters.
Annually, the state invests up to $1.5 million on upland bird habitat management, with the pheasant enhancement program providing an additional $50,000 for habitat work. Loss of habitat is the greatest threat to upland bird species.
For wingshooters heading afield this weekend, keep in mind that nontoxic shot is required while hunting at Ringold and Two Rivers, a fact inadvertently left out of the state's hunting regulations pamphlet.
Also, the Wallula area, which has been a pheasant release site in recent years, will not be stocked because summer wildfires destroyed much of the available cover.
Following last weekend's general deer hunting opener, state wildlife biologists report better success than last year.
In Eastern Washington, hunters enjoyed about a 15 percent overall success rate.
A Deer Park check station survey showed about the same number of hunters afield as last season, but with more youth, senior and disabled hunters taking part.
In the southeast corner, the Marengo Game Management Unit saw heavy hunting pressure, but good success. The general season continues through Sunday in all units and through Oct. 26 in some.
Modern firearm bull elk hunting opens Oct. 27 in most units across Eastern Washington and early snows would aid hunters. Blue Mountain elk hunting is spike-bull only.
To the north, where animals are scattered and in smaller groups, any bull is legal.
Deer hunting was above par in the Columbia Basin, biologists report, with more hunters afield and more deer checked by wildlife officials.
As in Region I, youth hunters in Okanogan and Douglas counties in particular seemed to do well, taking advantage of new opportunities for any whitetail deer in Okanogan East, Wannacut and Sinlahekin Creek, and for any deer in Wannacut, Alta, Big Bend, Foster Creek and Moses Coulee units. Tabor said that more than many harvested deer came through the Chewuch check station in Okanogan County as last year (69 compared with 29.) Tabor also estimated that more than half the opener's deer harvest in Okanogan was by youth hunters. In the Yakima area, modern firearm spike-only bull elk hunting begins Oct. 27 in the Colockum and Yakima herd GMUs. Also, any elk is allowed in the Kiona unit (372) in Benton and Yakima counties and in the East Klickitat unit in Klickitat County to help address elk damage problems in agriculture areas.
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