IDFG will stock 34,000 pheasants at 22 locations this fall

Pheasant hunters will have more birds and more places to hunt this fall since the Idaho Fish and Game Commission expanded the department’s pheasant stocking program by more than doubling the number of stocking locations, adding at least one in each of Fish and Game’s seven regions.

Starting in October, pheasants will be stocked at 22 locations, including the Coeur d’Alene Wildlife Management Area and the Boundary Smith Creek WMA near Bonners Ferry.

A list of stocking locations can be found on the Fish and Game website under “pheasant stocking.”

In addition to more release sites around the state, Fish and Game will stock about 34,000 pheasants this year, up from about 21,000 last year.

“Pheasants are the most popular game bird species for upland game hunters in the state,” said Jeff Knetter, Upland Game and Migratory Game Bird coordinator. “Hunters and supporters of pheasant hunting asked us to expand the pheasant stocking program to include additional properties, and we now provide that opportunity.”

Prior to 2020, Fish and Game pheasant stocking was limited mostly to Wildlife Management Areas in southern and eastern Idaho. Changes in rule and law in 2019 expanded the requirement that hunters age 18 or older must have a valid Upland Game Bird Permit to hunt all properties where Fish and Game stocks pheasants. The extra funding paid for expanded stocking efforts.

The new permit replaces the WMA Pheasant Permit that was previously required to hunt pheasants stocked on Wildlife Management Areas. The permit is only required if a person hunts pheasants on properties where pheasants are stocked. Each property where a permit is required will be clearly marked with signs designating it as an Upland Game Bird Permit release area. - Staff Report