Ringneck pheasant needs to be restocked

I really think the Department of Natural Resources and Pheasants Forever need to look seriously at funding a restocking effort in the parts of our state where the ringneck pheasant has virtually disappeared.

I live in Delaware County, and there is ample cover and habitat to support good numbers of birds here, but there are very few to be seen. Because of harsh winters and abnormally wet springs, the pheasants we do have struggle to repopulate their species.

They need a transfusion of “new life” into the mix, and we can do that by stocking adult pheasants. Minnesota has done this very successfully, as has South Dakota. We restock trout and other game fish annually in our rivers and lakes, so why can't/won't we help our declining pheasant population the same way?

Let's bring back this beautiful and elusive game bird before it goes the way another once plentiful species, the bobwhite quail.

Rog Hoekstra

Manchester