# SFW Raising Pheasants Via Surrogators



## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Admittedly, I was critical of SFW a while back and over the past few years have grown to appreciate their efforts on the upland home front.

This is an example of how they are shifting my opinion and gaining my appreciation and admiration:

https://www.ksl.com/?nid=1112&sid=4...ases-pheasants-onto-wildlife-management-areas

Thank you SFW, seriously.


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## brendo (Sep 10, 2013)

We better thank Mr. wonnacott too. He has a large part in this!! So thank you Bret!


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Fingers crossed it works in the long run and we can better sustain pheasant hunting in the state. 

I'll applaud them and their volunteers for such programs any day.


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## ns450f (Aug 28, 2018)

Somebody I trust told me there were wild pheasants living somewhere close to cedar city on public land. I am going to investigate this claim in November..... they even showed me pictures of the birds they harvested 4 years ago


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## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

I'm kind of torn on the pheasant release thingy

I think SFW would be better off releasing large numbers of chukars in flat easy walking areas that butt up against actual chukar hills. This way they could release both males and females and any chukars that are not killed by the hordes would have a slim chance of linking up with wild birds and actually increasing the population of an upland bird species that can thrive in this state with plenty of habitat to boot. Plus pen raised chukars are cheaper than pheasants and they could release more of them. I think that they do this for the youth hunt.

The downside to this idea is purely selfish as I don't want more competition in the chukar hills so maybe it's good they don't do something that actually makes sense.

What we have now is admirable and plenty of guys get a free pheasant farm experience but overall it doesn't help the species as the habitat just isn't there. But again it brings people plenty of happiness and is a great good will gesture for SFW so I'm definitely not against it.


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## Papa Moses (Sep 27, 2018)

This is awesome. IMO people jumped on the Utah pheasant train 10 years too late but things like this are great to see. Habitat, predator control, and relocation of quail (which they should do with pheasants too, pheasant that would be killed by urban sprawl) hopefully this program spreads all throughout the state!


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

I believe SFW has been the wheels behind the pheasant releases at Ogden Bay. The DWR has released something like 7,000 hen pheasants several times a year the past couple of years during the spring and summer months. Good for them....

Just keep SFW far away from Utah Waterfowl hunting.....8)


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## elkunited (Aug 16, 2019)

I think this will be good. Used to see a ton of pheasants 15 years ago and now I rarely see them.


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## sheepassassin (Mar 23, 2018)

How many millions of “conservation” dollars do they get every year from the expo? And this is what they have to show for it?

Pretty sad Utah has to release pen raised birds for its own pheasant hunts to keep the hunters happy. Isn’t a big reason modern hunting in today’s world even exists is to remove surplus wildlife? If we have to plant birds for a hunt, we probably don’t have enough to be harvesting any to begin with. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good that they are trying to improve something, but maybe they should just release birds for a few years without the intent to kill them during a hunt


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

If they didn't release birds every year the pheasant hunt as we know it would disappear in just a couple of years. Utah just doesn't have the habitat anymore to raise enough wild birds to sustain any type of hunting activity.

Perhaps we just need to let the pheasant hunt go the way of the dodo bird and just be done with it 

Sent from my SM-J737V using Tapatalk


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## backcountry (May 19, 2016)

Releasing the pen raised birds the way they do each autumn definitely doesn't seem sustainable. I'll likely hunt them as long as they do it as I love them for dinner but wouldn't cry if they ended the program.

On the other hand, the video the OP linked seems to show we might be able to create a few reserves of "wild"-ish pheasants in limited places around Utah. If that project is sustainable then I'm all for it.


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## #1DEER 1-I (Sep 10, 2007)

Habitat is the problem, and it’s not getting fixed. Release birds the day before the hunt and during it and stop wasting money on this. I used to be very for it. But it has little to nothing to do with anything but habitat. If you have habitat you’ll have pheasants. I used to get birds and see them all the time by our farm. In recent years vs when I was younger, farmers now feed off the ditch banks, cut edge to edge, fees it off with cattle after that, and burn what’s left around nesting time in the spring. Ditches are turning into buried pipes, flood irrigation has turned to sprinklers.....pheasants in Utah are inevitably something that we are going to lose as sad as it is. Just 10 years ago I could kill a few roosters a year within a mile of our farm and see them every day I went there. With the changes in habitat, it hasn’t taken long to be lucky to see 1 bird a year now. Unfortunately releasing pen raised birds that you can’t hunt the day after is a waste of money. If wild birds can’t cut it, there’s a reason, and pen raised birds raised in a surrogator aren’t going to do any good until the issue that caused the wild birds to go extinct is remedied.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I agree with One Eye

But I also believe predation compounds the challenges so I appreciate the efforts of SFW on that avenue.


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## sheepassassin (Mar 23, 2018)

Fowlmouth said:


> Just keep SFW far away from Utah Waterfowl hunting.....8)


Too late for that! Our lord and savior of the waterfowl community, Darin noorda, has already opened the chicken coop door in front of the wolves and walked away.... after he said he wouldn't ever do that to us public land hunters. It's only a matter of time now


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## Papa Moses (Sep 27, 2018)

sheepassassin said:


> How many millions of "conservation" dollars do they get every year from the expo? And this is what they have to show for it?
> 
> Pretty sad Utah has to release pen raised birds for its own pheasant hunts to keep the hunters happy. Isn't a big reason modern hunting in today's world even exists is to remove surplus wildlife? If we have to plant birds for a hunt, we probably don't have enough to be harvesting any to begin with. Don't get me wrong, it's good that they are trying to improve something, but maybe they should just release birds for a few years without the intent to kill them during a hunt


I agree for the most part BUT! I believe too many today say they hunt for "surplus" or "for the meat" because of political correctness. For many of us with dogs and young kids it is great that there is an equal and free opportunity to provided to ALL for us to have the chase and pursuit for our dogs and families to enjoy. Yes they aren't wild (this program at least seems to address this) and they aren't the quality of a game farm, but they are birds available to all for their own pursuit. Like I said earlier I think Utah should've done this 10 years ago and we maybe wouldn't have to release pen raised birds but it is what it is. This program is far from perfect and flawed in many ways I'm sure. But it's a step in the right direction


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

ns450f said:


> Somebody I trust told me there were wild pheasants living somewhere close to cedar city on public land. I am going to investigate this claim in November..... they even showed me pictures of the birds they harvested 4 years ago


That's cool if true, but sorry if I am HIGHLY skeptical. Let me know if you get into them. You don't have to say a word about where, but I would be super intrigued to find out this claim is true. My guess is your buddy found one of the release areas for the pen raised birds and got some of them. Of course I could always be wrong.


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

sheepassassin said:


> Too late for that! Our lord and savior of the waterfowl community, Darin noorda, has already opened the chicken coop door in front of the wolves and walked away.... after he said he wouldn't ever do that to us public land hunters. It's only a matter of time now


I'd like to hear more about this. You're speaking in code, and I don't understand.


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## sheepassassin (Mar 23, 2018)

Vanilla said:


> I'd like to hear more about this. You're speaking in code, and I don't understand.


Send me a PM and I'll fill you in.


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Releasing pheasants is nothing new in Utah. The DWR had their own holding pens and raised pheasants for realease back in the 60's, 70's and 80's.....


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## sheepassassin (Mar 23, 2018)

It’s odd that the division has many projects in motion to eradicate every invasive species Utah has, carp, phrag, quagga, pike, noxious weeds, etc.... yet here they are releasing this invasive species every year


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

sheepassassin said:


> It's odd that the division has many projects in motion to eradicate every invasive species Utah has, carp, phrag, quagga, pike, noxious weeds, etc.... yet here they are releasing this invasive species every year


I know, right? One would think they would have stopped releasing $FW by now . . .


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## Vanilla (Dec 11, 2009)

Well played CPAjeff. Well played!


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