No Reservations or Permits Required

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that Tioughnioga Wildlife Management Area (WMA), in the towns of Nelson, Georgetown, and Cazenovia, is the newest pheasant stocking location in Madison County. Stocked pheasants will be provided by DEC’s Reynolds Game Farm in Ithaca. 

Tioughnioga WMA is permanently replacing the former Hamilton stocking site. The WMA provides convenient and free public hunting access with no reservations or access permits required to hunt pheasants, an easy-to-find and contiguous hunting area, and clearly marked property boundaries. Located off Tinsley Hill Road, the stocking site offers more than 130 acres of open grassland habitat with countless acres of adjacent young forest and shrubland habitat for pheasant cover.

DEC will stock pheasants on the WMA on multiple occasions throughout the regular season, ensuring birds are available to hunters over a longer period. New for 2022, DEC developed an interactive map detailing state and private land release sites for pheasants. The interactive mapper provides significantly more information on stocking sites, including the number of birds released, the approximate last stocking date for each property, and any access restrictions.

Pheasant Hunting

Statewide, DEC will release approximately 30,000 adult pheasants on lands open to public hunting for the upcoming fall pheasant hunting season. Many of these release sites are privately owned or managed by non-DEC governmental agencies (e.g., New York City Department of Environmental Protection, counties, or towns). Hunters are asked to be respectful of any special rules, as the pheasant propagation system relies on these outside entities to provide hunters with opportunities close to home.

The Day-old Pheasant Chick Program provides additional pheasant hunting opportunities through a partnership between DEC and sportsmen, 4H Youth and landowners that are interested in rearing and releasing pheasants. Birds from this program are raised to adulthood and released before the season opens and disperse widely, presenting a greater challenge for experienced hunters. 

DEC Encourages Hunter Safety

While statistics show hunting in New York is safer than ever, mistakes are made every year. DEC believes every hunting-related shooting incident is preventable, and encourages hunters to use common sense this season and to remember what they learned in their DEC Hunter Education Course.

Firearm Safety:

• Point your gun in a safe direction.
• Treat every gun as if it were loaded.
• Be sure of your target and beyond.
• Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.
  

Wearing blaze orange or pink is required for hunting big game with firearms. In addition, DEC encourages small game hunters to wear blaze orange or blaze pink. Wearing orange or pink prevents other hunters from mistaking a person for an animal or shooting in a hunter's direction. Hunters wearing blaze orange are seven times less likely to be shot.

Owners are encouraged to dress their dogs in blaze orange or pink or another bright color. For more information about requirements for hunting with dogs, go to: https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/27801.html

For more information and other important safety tips, please visit DEC's website and watch videos about hunter safety. For more information about getting outdoors safely and responsibly, visit DEC's website.