Events, News

Landowner Meet & Greet 2025

Please join Central PA Pheasants Forever chapter volunteers and our local Pheasants Forever wildlife habitat biologist to learn how they can help install conservation and wildlife habitat practices on your property. Interact with local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Centre County Conservation District staff and receive annual program updates. Penn State will also present. 

Available by in person attendance only – – – – PA Pesticide Credits: 2 core and 2 in Category 1 (Agronomy Crops)

Program is being held on Feb. 20 at the Centre Hall Lions Club. It will start at 9AM and conclude at 12PM. Light breakfast refreshments will be available. No cost to attend, but you must register for the event online or by contacting Ryan Brown, Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist, at rbrown@pheasantsforever.org, or by phone (570)-433-5079. Online registration can be completed through this link.

Find out about Pheasants Forever and how they can help with conservation projects on your farm.

  • Get updates from conservation partners including NRCS and the Centre County Conservation District.
  • Hear about Integrated Pest Management and the potential impacts of pesticide overuse on bird populations from Penn State Extension entomologist, Dr. John Tooker.
  • Sign up now for PA Pesticide Credits: Core, Private Category, Category 1: Agronomic Crops, Category 18:
    Demonstration and Research.

To sign up, contact:
Ryan Brown—PF Farm Bill Biologist
rbrown@pheasantsforever.org |570-433-5079

*If you can’t make the meeting, but are still interested in funding for
conservation projects on your property, please contact Ryan!

Events

15th Annual Central PA Pheasants Forever Membership Banquet 2025

Dear Friends in Conservation,

The Central Pennsylvania Chapter of Pheasants Forever will hold its Fifteenth Annual Membership Banquet on Saturday, March 29, 2024.  We will again be holding the banquet at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Grays Woods, just outside of State College.  This venue will give us more space to accommodate a larger crowd.  The address is 867 Grays Woods Boulevard, Port Matilda, PA 16870.

The Central Pennsylvania Chapter of Pheasants Forever is a local conservation group founded in March 2008 to restore wildlife habitat in Centre and surrounding counties. We restore uplands, wetlands, streams, and stream buffers with a focus on restoring upland bird habitat and establishing a huntable wild pheasant population. Last year, our volunteers dedicated 75 hours directly to hands-on habitat restoration work including mowing, mulching, spraying and planting.  With our conservation partners, we restored 105 acres of upland nesting cover, including 22 acres of pollinator habitat, plus 4 acres of wetland and over 7.5 miles of stream habitat. We also maintained an additional 4 acres of upland bird habitat.  In October 2024, we hosted a Youth Pheasant Hunt where 18 youth hunters took their first chance at harvesting a pheasant.

In 2025, we will again work closely with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, restoring habitat on State Game Land #333 in Centre County and State Game Land #317 in Union County.  We will continue to work with the Game Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to control invasive weeds, plant food plots, and establish native grasslands and pollinator habitat on public and private land in Central Pennsylvania.  We are also planning a veteran’s pheasant hunt on November 11.  Thank you to the members and donors that make these projects possible.  

Prizes and auction items at this year’s banquet will include guns, clothing, wildlife prints, outdoor gear, and collectibles. There are three ways to purchase tickets: Mail the enclosed order form back with a check to the address on the bottom, call or e-mail to reserve your tickets, or order your tickets on the website:  Click Here to Get Your Banquet Tickets .  All banquet tickets must be paid in advance. Payment at the door is not an option.  To reserve a full table of 8, an e-mail with all attendees must be sent by March 26, 2025 to Chip Brown at 239foxgap@gmail.com .  

Pheasants Forever is the conservation voice for habitat and hunting. For more information on the event, visit our website at Central PA Pheasants Forever .  Please feel free to contact me by phone or e-mail.

Sincerely, 

Mark Thomas 

Banquet Chair 

markthomas08@gmail.com

THE HABITAT ORGANIZATION

Central Pennsylvania Pheasants Forever 15th Annual Membership Banquet 5:00 PM on March 29, 2025, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Port Matilda, PA

To purchase tickets: Click Here to Get Your Banquet Tickets

Or mail check to: Central Pennsylvania Pheasants Forever Chapter 855

Mark Thomas, 239 Fox Gap Rd., Rebersburg, PA 16872

Phone: 814-241-8748 or e-mail: markthomas08@gmail.com

  • Business or Group Sponsor Membership $590: includes four dinners, recognition in the program, two Platinum Ticket Mugs ($250 value), two entries in the exclusive sponsor raffle (minimum prize valued at $300), two chances to win one of three Ticket Mug Giveaways and two, one-year Pheasants Forever memberships.
  • Sponsor Membership $295: includes two dinners, recognition in the program, one Platinum Ticket Mug (new this year with 25 ticket strips!), one entry in the exclusive sponsor raffle (minimum prize valued at $300), one chance to win one of three Ticket Mug Giveaways, and one, one-year Pheasants Forever membership.
  • Single Membership $80: includes one dinner ticket and a one-year Pheasants Forever membership.
  • Spouse Ticket $40: includes one dinner for your spouse.
  • Youth 12-18 years old $30: includes one dinner ticket and a one-year Ringneck membership.
  • Youth Under 12 years old $15: includes one dinner ticket and a one-year Ringneck membership.
  • Meal Ticket $40: For Life Members only.
  • TABLE of 8 – e-mail Chip Brown at 239foxgap@gmail.com with all names by March 26, 2025

Early Bird Ticket Mug Special $80.00: You Choose one of the First-Tier mugs at the banquet. Plus, a chance at winning one of three First Tier mugs being given away. DOES NOT include meal ticket or membership. Must be purchased by March 8, 2025.  Purchase on our website.

* After March 8, the ticket mug prices will be:

First Tier $100.00 = Chance of 20, 18 or 16 strips of tickets Second Tier $75.00 = Chance of 12, 11 or 10 strips of tickets Third Tier $50.00 = Chance of 8, 7 or 6 strips of tickets

Strips of tickets also available. Get two strips for $20.00 Each ticket strip has 5 chances to win.

!!New Sponsor Prize Choices!!

For every eight sponsors, one prize will be chosen by the winner from 35 available prizes. See our website for prize list and description. Don’t miss out! No limit on prizes.

Purchase an ad in the banquet program: Full Page $100, ½ Page for $50, and ¼ Page for $25

**We will accept cash, credit card or a merchandise donation of equal value

News, Projects

SGL 333 Habitat in 2023

Diverse grassland habitat on SGL 333. This habitat type provides all of the needs of a nesting hen and her brood, as well as fall and winter cover!
Over time, grasslands are encroached by woody species. Fire is a great way to restart plant succession and keep grasslands grasslands!
News

2024 Banquet Venue Change

Dear Supporter of the Central PA Chapter of Pheasants Forever,

The Chapter would like to thank you for your continuing support.  This past spring banquet raised the most funds to-date.  As a result, the chapter was able to continue our habitat mission and our outreach to youth hunters this fall on October 7, 2023.  

The Chapter has completed the habitat work on State Game Land 333.  This year, chapter volunteers removed 250 trees and shrubs and sprayed 11 acres to prepare the acreage for planting of switchgrass and pollinators on the acreage.  The work was completed in April and May. We will share photos of the project with you at our banquet on March 23, 2024.

With the success of the 2023 banquet, the chapter realized that in order to grow the banquet we needed a larger venue. The Banquet Committee has decided to move the banquet to Good Shepherd Church.  The facilities at Good Shepherd Church are larger and can comfortably handle 200 attendees plus the tables of prizes. The chapter has contracted with Bonfire Barbecue to serve as our caterer.  We have used Bonfire Barbecue to cater our youth pheasant hunt event.  The feedback on the food was exceptionable.

The move will also enable the Chapter to keep the ticket for the 2024 banquet the same as the 2023 banquet.  Please mark the date of March 23, 2024 on your calendar!

News

Continuing Work on SGL#333

Habitat Restoration on State Game Land 333

Many of you have noticed the newly planted fields and the restoration signs while hunting this fall at State Game Land 333 in Centre County.  The Central Pennsylvania Chapter, along with the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed two upland restoration projects there, and anticipate improved habitat on the Game Land this year.  In late May, the Chapter provided herbicide to the Game Commission who sprayed the plots.  Soon after, the USFWS’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife crew and Central Pennsylvania chapter members mowed the standing dead vegetation including patches of autumn olive and Tartarian honeysuckle.  The Pheasants Forever crew, including chapter volunteers, then planted 13 acres of native grasses and forbs, and another 8 acres of native wildflowers and grasses using the Service’s Truax seed drill.  Following a dry summer, foxtail dominated both stands; however, we anticipate switchgrass, big bluestem and Indian grass next year, along with wildflowers including black-eyed Susans, coneflower, coreopsis and bee balm.  The structure of these stands will provide excellent cover for pheasants, other upland birds, and mammals.  In addition, the increased insect activity in these stands will provide abundant food, while vastly increasing pollinator habitat at the Game Land. 

Events, News

Central Pennsylvania Pheasants Forever 13th Annual Membership Banquet in 2023

The Central Pennsylvania Chapter of Pheasants Forever will hold its Thirteenth Annual Membership Banquet on March 23, 2023. We will once again hold our event at the Mountain View Country Club in Boalsburg.

Early Bird Mugs must be purchased March 1, 2023.

Buy Tickets Here!!

Ticket Options Are:

-Business or Group Sponsor Membership $590: includes (4) dinners, recognition in the program, (2) First Tier Ticket Mug ($200 value), (2) entries in the exclusive sponsor raffle (minimum prize valued at $300), (2) chances to win one of three Ticket Mug Giveaways and (2), one-year Pheasants Forever memberships.

-Sponsor Membership $295: includes two dinners, recognition in the program, one First Tier Ticket Mug ($100 value), one entry in the exclusive sponsor raffle (minimum prize valued at $300), one chance to win one of three Ticket Mug Giveaways, and one, one-year Pheasants Forever membership.

-Single Membership $80: includes (1) dinner ticket and a one-year Pheasants Forever membership.

-Spouse Ticket $40: includes (1) dinner ticket for your spouse

-Youth 12-18 years old $30: includes (1) dinner ticket and a one-year Ringneck membership.

-Youth Under 12 years old $15: includes (1) dinner ticket and a one-year Ringneck membership.

-Meal Ticket $40: For Life Members only.

-Table of 10: e-mail Chip Brown at 239foxgap@gmail.com with all names by March 24, 2023

Purchase an ad in the banquet program: Full Page $100, ½ Page for $50, and ¼ Page for $25

Buy Tickets Here!

If you wish to sign up by mail, please send a check to:

Central Pennsylvania Pheasants Forever Chapter 855
Mark Thomas, 239 Fox Gap Rd., Rebersburg, PA 16872

News

2022 Youth Pheasant Hunt

On October 1, 2022, eighteen youth participated in the Central Pennsylvania Chapter’s Youth Pheasant Hunt at Pointer Haven in Rebersburg. The day of fun started when the first group of six hunters arrived promptly at 7:30 AM, with safety instruction and clay bird shooting shortly after. Then off to fields of switchgrass and big bluestem they went for real birds – each group of two hunters working with a dog and a handler, plus two mentors. After the hunt, it was time for stories. There was also a presentation about the life cycle of pheasants and the importance of grassland and pollinator habitat and how to restore it. The highlight was an excellent lunch of beef brisket and pulled pork by Bonfire Old-Fashioned BBQ. The second group of hunters followed at 9:30 and the third group at 11:30. A big thank you to all the volunteers that made this happen plus the many sponsors from our spring banquet, and our donors including Big Dawg’s Plumbing and Heating, Mahogany Ridge Game Farm, Bryant and Carson Law Firm, Tom Jeffries, the Penn State Chapter of The Wildlife Society, Millheim Small Engine, and as always, our host, Pointer Haven Lodge.

News

2022 Chapter 855 Sponsors

Dan Aiello
Henry Beiler
Diane Brown
David Burns
Fred Dailey
Rick Dailey
Doug & Lisa Deibler
Tom Dunlap
Bruce English
Larry John Haag
Rudolph Hersh
Chris Hoffman
Tom and Shirley Jeffries
Pete LeVan
Charles McCole
Kristie Miller
Elizabeth Ottarson
Garin Peck
Dave Putnam
Joe Putnam
Paul Rebarchak
Terry Schneidell-Aument
Chad Seeger
Terrence W. Yoder