Focused Event Offers Unique Opportunities for Youth to “Get Offline and Get Outside” During Youth-Only Pheasant Hunt Weekend Sept. 27-28, 2025

Regular Season Pheasant Release Opens Oct. 1 with New Changes

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced a special youth-only pheasant hunting weekend for several counties in eastern New York on Sept. 27-28. The DEC Pheasant Propagation Program supplies more than 50,000 adult pheasants to support upland game bird hunting across the state and is an important tool for hunter recruitment, reactivation, and retention. A large portion of the birds supplied are reserved for youth hunting opportunities, which provides an unique opportunity to “Get Offline and Get Outside.”

DEC Region 4 Regional Director Sean Mahar said, “Hunting is a time-honored tradition that provides important support to local economies throughout our region and DEC’s conservation efforts in the state. DEC’s youth hunts offer a focused introduction to upland bird hunting with guidance from experienced, adult hunters who help to foster and encourage hunter education, hunting ethics, responsible firearm use, and wildlife conservation that will hopefully last a lifetime for these young hunters. We encourage all interested New Yorkers and their families to ‘Get Offline and Get Outside’ and join one of the many youth hunting opportunities available this year.”

The Governor’s “Get Offline, Get Outside” campaign encourages New York State’s kids and families to put down their phones and computers, take a break from social media, enjoy recreation and outdoor social gatherings, and put their mental and physical health first.

Get Offline, Get Outside Challenges supports the Governor’s initiative by providing a tool to inspire youth to engage in outdoor activities, including the recently announced DEC Challenge for youth to complete 50 activities before the age of 19. The challenge is designed to be completed by anyone and encourages participants to try new activities and visit new parks, forests, wildlife management areas, and other outdoor locations in their communities and across the state. With several dozen activities available, this challenge is intended to be completed over time.

DEC’s Reynolds Game Farm in Ithaca will provide the pheasants for the youth hunts. Youth hunters (ages 12-15) must be accompanied by an experienced adult mentor to guide them through the hunting experience on the day of the hunt. A complete statewide list of pheasant release sites is available on DEC’s 2025 Pheasant Release Sites Interactive Mapper and Table. Hunters are encouraged to review the 2025-2026 New York State Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide before going afield, and to be sure of their target and beyond when hunting.

Hunters are also reminded to ask permission from private landowners before hunting on their lands. Many of the release sites are available for hunting due to private landowner cooperation and maintaining good relationships with property owners is critical to ensuring certain areas remain open to hunting in the future. 

In addition, the pheasant hunting regular season in DEC Region 4 (Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Montgomery, Otsego, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Schoharie counties) will open on Wednesday, Oct. 1. DEC will release approximately 5,250 adult ring-necked pheasants on DEC Region 4 lands open to public hunting for this fall’s season.

Changes for this year’s pheasant release are as follows:

• Pheasant stocking will no longer occur at the Taconic Ridge State Forest site (George Allen Hollow Road, town of Berlin, Rensselaer County) due to new residential development in the area; and
• DEC Region 4 is offering a new location for pheasant hunting in Southern Albany County on Cheese Hill Road in the town of Rensselaerville. Visit the 2025 Pheasant Release Sites Interactive Mapper and Table for a map of the property as well as site-specific rules and parking instructions.

Questions about pheasant hunting can be directed to DEC’s Bureau of Wildlife at (518) 357-2355 at Schenectady headquarters or (607) 652-7367 at the Stamford sub-office. Additional information about pheasant hunting is available at DEC’s Pheasant Hunting webpage.