Hunters will see something new in the air this fall at Sterling WMA in southeast Idaho

Pheasant stocking will take place this fall in some wildlife management areas (WMAs) and other properties statewide during pheasant season. This year, however, things will look a little different at the Sterling WMA in southeast Idaho. That’s because Idaho Fish and Game Southeast Region has partnered with Idaho for Fish and Wildlife to run a pheasant surrogator on the WMA, one that resulted in rearing and releasing melanistic (black) pheasants. Hunters on Sterling will definitely see something new in the air this fall.
 

The what and why

Fish and Game and the project partners are investigating opportunities to improve Fish and Game’s pheasant stocking efforts and hunter experiences. Traditionally, Fish and Game uses staff and volunteers to truck in boxes of farm-raised rooster pheasants and release them at Sterling WMA twice a week during pheasant season. That will still happen, but this time hunters may also encounter black pheasants from the surrogator project.

Surrogators (self-contained incubators) hold many pheasant chicks and raise them to 4 weeks old, after which the chicks are released to the wild. The hope is that this method can successfully rear birds to harvestable size more cost-effectively than purchasing adult pheasants from a commercial pheasant farm. Black birds were used so that hunters and biologists can tell at a glance where any harvested birds originated. 

Evaluating success

Whether it is surrogate-raisedbirds or the more traditional pheasant release method, this project focuses on evaluating ways to improve the pheasant supplementation program and the pheasant hunting experience for those afield. 

This surrogate experiment will help Fish and Game and its partners evaluate the ability to rear and release pheasants on site and assess the technique's potential effectiveness by tracking how many surrogate birds are harvested.

A hunter who harvests a black pheasant will automatically know his/her pheasant came from the surrogate and was not a wild or farm-raised bird. Additionally, as part of this project, Fish and Game will leg-band a portion of the roosters distributed through traditional stocking methods. These banded birds will give managers a better understanding of what harvest rates are for farm-raised birds. Managers can then compare the potential benefits of each pheasant supplementation technique.

Hunters can help with our harvest estimates by doing the following:

• Please leave one wing from each of your harvested pheasants in a blue wing barrel, which can be found in most access areas and parking lots at the WMA.

• If a hunter prefers not to leave a wing or if they harvest a banded pheasant, he or she can report the harvest to the Southeast Region Fish and Game office in Pocatello at 208-232-4703.

“We will be posting flyers on Sterling WMA with this information as well as some photos of black pheasants,” said Regional Habitat Biologist Maria Pacioretty. “Just remember, Idaho has no season on hen pheasants, no matter the color, so hunters should always be mindful of their target.”