Late-Season Pheasant Stocking Includes Union County SGL 252 and 317

About 8,400 ring‑necked pheasants were released statewide on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12 to provide additional hunting opportunities in the final weeks of the 2025-26 pheasant season, which closes Feb. 28. The Pennsylvania Game Commission said the supplemental stocking is a targeted, statewide effort that spans all six Game Commission regions and focuses on areas with suitable mid‑winter habitat and public access.

Union County residents are directly affected: the Commission’s county-to‑game land listing includes Union SGL 193, 201, 252 and 317, and other reporting specifically lists SGL 252 and 317 as receiving birds. The releases are primarily hens, reflecting the Commission’s decision to release surplus birds that were raised as a contingency during the 2024 and 2025 production seasons. Wildlife Operations Division Chief Ian Gregg explained the background: “The Game Commission purchases the pheasant chicks raised on our game farms from a private-sector supplier,” and added, “During the 2024 and 2025 production seasons, we requested our supplier to raise additional pheasants to be held through the fall and early winter as an ‘insurance policy’ against any disease issues that might arise in the supplier’s primary breeder flocks.”

With breeder flocks healthy, Commission officials concluded it was not feasible to hold the extra birds through winter. “With flocks presently healthy, it’s not feasible to hold onto these ‘backup’ birds, which will be released to provide late‑winter hunting opportunities,” Gregg said. The birds released Feb. 11-12 will not carry leg bands; the Commission cautioned hunters that they could still encounter banded birds from earlier stockings. “None of the pheasants released next week will carry leg bands, though hunters could still encounter banded birds from earlier releases.”

Band reporting remains a priority for the ongoing game farm pheasant harvest rate study. Hunters have reported more than 2,600 banded pheasants so far this season. Ian Gregg thanked hunters for participating and asked anyone who harvested a banded bird to report it: “We thank hunters for their cooperation in reporting over 2,600 banded pheasants this hunting season as part of our game farm pheasant harvest rate study, and we continue to welcome reports of any banded pheasants harvested late in the season... Also, for anyone who harvested a banded pheasant earlier in the season but hasn’t yet gotten around to reporting it, it is not too late to call the information in to the toll‑free number on the band so that your data can be included in the analysis.”

Statewide totals from earlier stocking efforts remain much larger: more than 225,000 pheasants were released during the regular stocking period from early October through early January. A Commonwealth table of county figures provides a separate set of numbers; the verbatim excerpt follows:

“UNION COCKS 810 240 320 260 250 250 240 200 180 2,750 HENS 270 80 120 90 90 90 70 60 50 920 TOTALS COCKS 2,320 2,610 3,410 2,770 2,710 2,570 2,370 1,320 1,120 21,200 HENS 830 910 1,250 1,030 970 930 830 450 340 7,540 TOTAL 28,740”

Also included in the Commonwealth listing were lines such as: “Centre SGL 333 ACOE area below Foster Joseph Sayers Lake” “Clearfield SGL 60, 77, 87, 98” “Union SGL 193, 201, 252, 317”

Expect local conditions to change the precise timing and locations. The Commission warned weather or logistics could require adjustments, and the targeted approach means hunters may need to travel farther to locate stocked birds. For Union County hunters, the supplemental drops on SGL 252 and 317 - plus the additional SGLs listed in the Commonwealth table - offer a late‑season option before Feb. 28; report any banded birds as requested and check with the Game Commission for any schedule updates.