HELENA, Mont. — Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ “Roosters for Recruitment” program releases pheasants on public lands statewide each fall through a partnership with the Montana Department of Corrections.
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“Most, if not all, of them have really taken to the air and flown and dispersed in all different directions,” said Sara Meloy, an education bureau chief with Montana FWP.
Across the state, 2,500 birds took to the skies.
“It is exciting watching them out on the landscape, and they immediately disappear into cover and think will provide some really good hunting opportunity to folks who are interested in getting out and chasing them,” Meloy said.
The releases create new hunting opportunities, particularly benefiting young upland bird hunters who can experience pheasant hunting with improved success rates.
“Hunting pheasants can be kind of tricky, and if you are taking a 12-year-old out for their very first time, if you want them to get hooked, I think having a good chance at harvesting a bird is a good way to do that,” Meloy said.
The pheasants were raised at Montana Correctional Enterprises in Deer Lodge by inmates.
“It gives them a chance to learn some skills, really do something that they find meaningful, and then it is also a way for the state to produce these birds that are then released by FWP for hunting opportunities,” Meloy said.
Since pheasants started hatching at the facility in 2022, there have been 85,000 birds released across the state.
The regular pheasant season opens on Oct. 10.
