UPDATE, GOOD NEWS, Reynolds Game Farm

[rlelvis]

I am curious how many people hunt pheasants in NY. 

I for one DO hunt pheasants in NY and love it.  Seems that this will now end thanks to our 'budget cuts'.  

I can't help but believe there is an alternative to funding the program and will be doing some research into options over the coming months.

Any input would be appreciated, as would thoughts on an additional fee or stamp to hunt pheasants.

Thanks for any input.

[GeneRector]

  Howdy! Is there a season for pheasant in NY? Or, are they pen raised and released to hunt?  Seems like there should be enough interest to have some hunting.  Just my view.  Good luck!

[Leatherstocking]

A few years ago I would have thought no big deal about the closing. My view was that the money could be better spent on other things like habitat management rather than put and take birds. However, this past year I saw the value of it. That is because my youngster turned 12 and those pheasants (even though farm raised) provided several memorable days in the field. As I see it the value is in the fact that it provides a way for youngsters to get into the sport. When I was 12 there was lots of wild small game around. Now there seems  to be much less. So I think the pheasant program fills a niche that will help to keep youn folks getting into the sport. That said, my increasingly cynical nature tells me that is precisely why this administration may want to close it. For the anti's it is yet another way of limiting recruitment into the sport.

As for the funding, as I understand it the money to run the Reynolds game farm should be coming from Pittman -Robertson funds, so our Governor should not have to cut it from the general budget. If it is being funded by general funds, then the question is what is happening with those PR dollars?

[Mikey]

Most all the budget cuts have nothing to do with fostering any upstate economy, it is just a way for paterson and the demigods to further open the flow of any upstate $ to nyc.  You will also notice that most, if not all the budget cuts AND the new taxes paterson wants levied hit the upstate working man, not the nyc or inner city commuter.

If you want to hunt pheasant and have the kind of hunting experience you want with your son, then call the Old Stone Fence Hunting Preserve in Renssalearville (near Masena) and see if they still have Pheasant and other game bird hunting there.  Actually, you can access their site at www.oldstonefence.com.  HTH.  Mikey.

[rlelvis]

I also hope that sportsman will be able to influence both funding and the DEC decision to continue the program.

Like most hunters I have always taken the stocking program for granted. The old adage of hindsight etc...  It is like many things that often get less attention then they should until it is to late and programs are ended or rights are lost.  Someone else with no real interest is making decisions, often arbitrary or even worse – agenda driven.

I for one feel that it is worth great effort to work toward and affect a solution to funding and continuance of the program. The way I see it is that to allow this to go by the wayside without a conscious and pointed effort would be foolish. I feel that there is more at stake then just pheasant hunting. Without an outspoken and firm stand it could easily be assumed that the politicians or DEC can do as they wish with both our money and hunting opportunities in New York.  I have been fortunate to live in several states and will say with the exception of Alaska non compare to New York in terms of various outdoors opportunities, to include hunting.

 We must remember that most of our politicians are not hunters and this includes some of our DEC officials...   Politicians are driven by voters and the squeaky wheel adage applies.  All too often the average hunter, myself included, go about our lives without the conscious effort to support or speak out on what we believe in or hold in value.


Right now the future of pheasant hunting in New York is uncertain. Ultimately the solution may be a joint effort between private organizations and the DEC.  Maybe it will be in organized pressure from hunters to encourage the DEC to restore the Reynolds Game Farm and stocking program. 

One thing is for certain though, without a well thought out and pointed effort from New York hunters nothing will change.  So I encourage everyone that enjoys hunting in New York to speak up in defense of this decision of other opportunities we all take for granted before they are also taken from us. 

I for one would not be opposed to having a pheasant stamp but would first want to see a public and detailed full disclosure of where all moneys (from hunting licenses, gun and ammo taxes, and earmarked state and federal funds, etc)  have gone for the past five years and where future funds were to be committed.

In terms of economics it has been proven in study after study that outdoor recreation, including hunting, has a very high dollar to dollar return ratio.  Yet these are often the first programs to be cut.   

You do the math…     

Below are three links.  The first link is to Pheasant Forever, eight chapters operating in New York.  The next is to an article posted on Syracuse .com.  The third is to a short write up by the NRA.

There are contact names and numbers as well as other thoughts on the program.


http://www.pheasantsforever.org/page/1/FindaChapter.jsp?state=NY

http://www.syracuse.com/outdoors/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1229680598256990.xml&coll=1&thispage=2

http://www.nraila.org/legislation/read.aspx?id=4274


ok so now for the real reason I wrote this  -  my dog made me do it, he got tired of being wet all the time and took a liking to pheasants.  Not really, a Chessie never gets tired of the water.

[Leatherstocking]

Hey rlelvis,

Well said and beautiful dog!

Mikey - thanks for the link, but I have a preserve license for my own property. We are lucky. It is not my own son for which I am concerned about the Reynolds Farm closing, but for the thousands of other new hunters in the state. Many kids got their first taste of hunting from birds raised there and put out all over the state. If it closes, many kids will not get that opportunity and I fear it will only accelerate the slide in hunter numbers.

[Varmint Hunter]

Farmed-for-harvest animals are a rather discretionary item, quite unlike deer, beer or rabbit hunting. In the present financial climate of NYS it is not unexpected to see discretionary spending limited or even eliminated.

Farmed-for-harvest animal hunters are going to have to put up the $$$$$ to keep this particular hunting niche going. It will be more like golfing on a public course; the participant will have to cover the cost of the days activity.

It may be a bitter pill to swallow for pheasant hunters but it would keep the sport viable during these worsening economic times.

[rlelvis]

Varmint Hunter

First - I would agree that discretionary spending is directly effected by the prosperity of an economy.   BUT, as I understand it, this spending is not coming from the General Fund and is taken solely moneys generated through sales and subsequent taxes imposed on guns and ammo.  So how can we accept the decision to eliminate the program without taking steps necessary to facilitate a return to stocking through the Reynolds Game Farm. 
If we were taking money from education or the few social programs that are deserving and worthy of taxpayers dollars - and stem from the General Fund than I would agree that it is classified as discretionary spending.   This is not the case though!

Leatherstocking

Thanks for the compliments on the pup.  I got him from the Chessie Rescue, not far from Ithaca and Reynolds Game Farm.  He is a real ‘mad man’ in the marsh or even field.  He came from a non hunting home but in his first season he made over 150 successful retrieves, I was in between Military retirement and a new job so we went alot.  He only lost one and that was late season on the Saint Lawrence and it was a cripple that went ¾ of the way across the river, he did his best but it was late in the day, the water temp was down with skim ice fairly thick and we had been out for 4 hours.  I ended up calling him back. 
As far as pheasants go he will hot point them but works close and with nose to the ground.  Last year he flushed 16 plus birds and all were close enough that I was able to take them.  You can’t see it the picture but he did take a spur to the lip on one cripple, one inch open cut.  Never slowed him down and returned the bird without incident or aggression after being tagged.  He’s my bud.

 You hit the nail on the head!
As far as having a place to take JR hunters for exposure and experience I could not agree more.  This program, although I love to hunt them myself, is really an opportunity for young hunters to gain experience and spend time in the field with dad, big brother, or someone else that takes them.  Even with the big game age lowered it is often time in a duck blind or chasing upland birds that leaves a lasting impression and offers real time together for both the teacher and the student.  I hunt the local WMA and I would say that 70% of the hunters are father/son.  The basic nature of pheasant hunting is really the traditional bonding and sharing experience type hunting that is all too often needed in today’s society.  There is a mystique for young hunters that accompanies pheasant hunting that is not be found in rabbit or squirrel hunting and grouse opportunities are limited.  It may be nothing more then the elegant nature of the bird or watching the dog work but whatever it is it really dose make a difference.

I will do what I can to change the future of pheasant hunting in NY and hope that others will too.  It will take more than just complaining and it may cost a few dollars but in my opinion it the time and money are WELL SPENT.

Leatherstocking,  I hope that you will take the opportunity to invite young hunters to enjoy what you have there on your own property.  As I am sure you know, we as teachers, can often take as much away from the experience of taking a young hunter to the field as they do, sometimes more. 

Did not intend to get long winded again...

All - take care and good hunting.

[Leatherstocking]

rlelvis - first of all, if you ever have offspring from that dog, let me know! Second, if I hit the nail on the head you drove it home. And lastly, I am happy and proud to say that I have three young mentees entering the sport. In fact one of them just registered here on Graybeard - welcome again BirdHunter94!!

[rlelvis]

Wish I could breed him, the previous owner did the deed though.   

Well as long as I can convince others that action is needed we might just be ok.

And most important thanks, hats of to you...

WELCOME BirdHunter94, good hunting!

Bob

[rlelvis]

Any others with interest or input please respond with thoughts.

Got to keep the pheasants on public land here in NY.

[skylar957]

This is our GREAT Governor Patterson's genius way of saving NY. He feels the 750,000.00 that he STEALS from Our Funding of the Reynolds Game Farm Will Offset his Defunct 15 Billion, Yes Billion Dollar Budget. This Is Just The Beginning of a Long Bumpy Road for The Once Great State Of NY.

[Leatherstocking]

Good news! See below which came to me today in an email from the NRA-ILA...........

Big Victory for New York’s Sportsmen:
Reynolds Game Farm to Remain Open!
 

Following pressure from upset hunters and facing legal action, Governor David Paterson (D) and Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Chair Pete Grannis have decided that the Reynolds Pheasant Preserve, a last-of-its-kind pheasant-breeding operation open since 1927, will remain open. 

Last month's announcement that the farm would close set off a chain of events culminating in a suit filed by the New York Rifle and Pistol Association, the National Rifle Association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Conservation Alliance of New York.  The groups requested and were granted a restraining order to halt the destruction of the pheasants until it could be determined whether they were paid for with monies derived from excise taxes collected from firearm and ammunition sales.

Please call Governor Paterson and thank him for reconsidering the farm's fate.  You can contact the Governor by phone at (518) 474-8390.

[rlelvis]

Yes very good news and thanks to all that took the time to voice their opinion to state officials.

I hope that this will not come up again for some time but unfortunately I think it will.  Although next time I think 'they' will rethink the road to the decision making process.

There could be a Pheasant stamp in our future and hope that everybody who hunts small game will consider purchasing one. It ultimately does more then just pay for the Pheasants it makes a statement.

For all the naysayers out there that did not think that this was worth their time I hope you will look back on the outcome. And next time something like this happens you will not throw in the towel. Ultimatly this about more then the pheasant farm! There is always hope but actions need to keep close company with that hope.

Again thanks to all that contacted me and took the time to contact state officials.

Now off to order shells for next years pheasants here in NY!!!

Good Hunting