January 29, 2015
Thanks to the Union Sportsmen's Alliance (USA) Work Boots on the Ground program and a group of dedicated union volunteers, the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife's pheasant and quail stocking programs received a boost in 2014.
After the success of the project in 2013, the USA’s 2nd Annual Tri-State Area Conservation Dinner committee decided to replicate it. Using $5,100 worth of building supplies purchased with 2014 dinner funds, 52 pheasant and 10 quail transport boxes were built, painted and delivered to the Division. The boxes were put to good use this past season with a record number of birds stocked (see below) on state Wildlife Management Areas.
For more information on the donation, please see www.unionsportsmen.org/nj-pheasant-quail-programs-get-boost-union-volunteers/ on the USA website.
The most pheasants of the past 24 years were produced and stocked by the Division in 2014 - almost 63,000! This includes 1000 bonus birds for the Youth Pheasant Hunt and nearly 5,600 bonus birds for the final four regular season stockings. The breakdown is as follows:
Youth Hunt |
2,100 |
Regular Season |
55,000 |
Bonus Birds |
5,590 |
Total Stocked |
62,690 |
All pheasants were raised at the Division's Rockport Pheasant Farm in Warren County.