Category Archives: News
Late Season Women on the Wing Hunt
The Central PA Chapter of Pheasants Forever hosted our first annual Women on the Wing Event in October. The event was attended by six women. For some of the participants, it was the first time that they handled a shotgun.
Following up on the enthusiasm of some of the participants, Jamie, Cortney, and Monica were invited for a mid-January hunt at Pointer Haven Lodge. With temperatures in the teens, the hunters were eager to hunt some birds.
Along with my German Shorthaired Pointers, Oreo and Cookie, we set out for an action packed hunt. The pheasants and the dog work did not disappoint the hunters. The hunters demonstrated the skills they had acquired on the trap range this fall. After the hunt, the birds were cleaned and processed for the table.
Recruiting, Retaining, and Re-Activating pheasant hunters is critical to the mission of the Central PA Chapter of Pheasants Forever.
2026 Landowner Meet & Greet
2025 Youth Hunt
This year’s youth hunt was another success! The Chapter has introduced another batch of youngsters to the sport! The hunters, with the help of mentors and some very skilled bird dogs, were able to bag some birds. They also learned about the importance of habitat, and hunting safety! Enjoy some pictures from this year’s hunt!
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!
Pollinator Habitat – Brubaker Farm
SGL 333 Habitat in 2023
Warm Season Cover
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!
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.
