The companies in Montana hope the brand new pheasant program will profit inmates and hunters 406 Politics



The state of Montana is bringing a new program to raise and release pheasants to the Montana State Prison.



A pheasant cock remains inconspicuous

A pheasant cock remains inconspicuous.

Tom Kuglin
,

Seaborn Larson

The state of Montana is trading holsteins for chickens at Montana State Prison in the hope that a new pheasant rearing and release program will help recruit hunters and provide inmates with additional work opportunities.

House Bill 637, a far-reaching and hotly debated bill by Republican MP Seth Berglee of Joliet, includes $ 1 million for a new pheasant program in Montana State Prison. It is planned that the birds will be released in state game reserves before the youth hunting season – for the first time in almost four decades the state will raise and store pheasants.

Big Sky Lede: Swap Holsteins for Chickens

Recruitment, retention and reactivation, commonly referred to as the "Three Rs" of the hunt, are part of a national push to bolster hunter numbers. Realizing that hunting is not just about shooting a bird, FWP sees pheasant release as an opportunity for early success, especially when young people are trying to hunt, said Quentin Kujala, chief of staff at FWP.



Young pheasant hunt

14-year-old Keenan Athman targets a chicken pheasant that flies at the Rooster Ridge Pheasant Club during a special juvenile pheasant hunt in the private estate west of Missoula in 2016.


KURT WILSON, Photo of the Missoulian File

"There is quite a lot of evidence to show that at this stage in your hunting career, success with a bird in hand or fish in hand is really important," he said. "If there is no element of success, the evidence suggests that new (hunting) recruits tend to move elsewhere."

Ring Pheasants are not native to North America, but are widespread after being imported from Asia. Although an exact date is unknown, it is believed that pheasants were introduced to Montana before 1895. Birds continued to be released in the early 20th century, and by 1929 the state of Montana established state pheasant farms in Warm Springs, Billings, USA. Fort Peck and Moiese. By 1982, nearly 900,000 birds had been released, Kujala said. That year, the state stopped funding its stocking programs and then focused more on the habitat where wild birds can thrive.



Rooster pheasant

Ring Pheasants are not native to North America, but are widespread after being imported from Asia.


Billings Gazette Photo

Before HB 637, pen-rearing pheasants could be released in two different ways.

Shooting ranges are private operations where birds can be released to hunt outside of the regular hunting season. The canned food is subject to government approval and reporting.

FWP also runs its Upland Game Bird Enhancement Program. This program primarily focuses on improving the habitat for pheasants and other wild birds, e.g. B. the financing of protective belts or the provision of some leftover plants for food supply in winter.

Part of the improvement program also includes grants for the release of pheasants with birds of private origin, usually to stimulate a private land population following habitat projects, Kujala said. However, these funds are used relatively little and the habitat remains in the foreground.

The new stocking program is not designed to increase the number of wild birds, but merely to increase the number of wildlife sanctuaries for youth and subsequent general pheasant seasons.

"I think the focus here is that it is not about establishing new pheasant populations, but rather increasing the populations that are now there and, if you will, strengthening them for these juvenile seasons," said Kujala.

While stable birds vary in warmth, they generally have far less survivability than wild birds and do not compete with wild birds for resources, he continued. Since pheasants are already exotic, FWP has no concerns that the introduction could affect gene pools, and the birds are certified disease free.

Wild pheasant populations often fluctuate from year to year depending on the severity of winter and the weather during the spring breeding seasons.

To fund the new program, FWP will be drawing dollars from the Pittman-Robertson Act, a federal excise tax on firearms and ammunition, and some state royalties. The rearing and release will be funded as a new program and will not result in any loss of funding for other programs, Kujala said.

The last batch of raw milk left the ranch outside the Montana State Prison on December 27, drying up a decade-long run for the prison's work program.

With a goal of 50,000 birds per year, the cost per bird has not yet been established due to uncertainty about the cost of maintaining the prison program with training and equipment, Kujala said.

Still, the price came with a sticker shock to some lawmakers and some stakeholders. Hearings included the debate over whether the funding was a waste of money given the poor survivability of barn birds and the continuing need for habitat dollars, or whether the state should promote put-and-take hunting practices. They found that privately sold birds cost less, although FWP said private operations in the state likely could not meet the state's demand for 50,000 birds.



Ring pheasant

Ultimately, the $ 1 million in House Bill 637 remained when it passed the Legislature, and some lawmakers touted it as a benefit to both the Corrections Department inmates and the hunters.


RYAN BERRY, Billings Gazette

Ultimately, the $ 1 million bill remained in the bill when it passed the Legislature, and some lawmakers touted it as a benefit to both the Corrections Department inmates and the hunters.

Ross Wagner, director of the agriculture program at Montana Correctional Enterprises, said it will take time for the program to reach its full size.

The prison work program sold about 270 cows in mid-December. This ended MCE's 30-year contract with Darigold, the product brand for a dairy cooperative in the Pacific Northwest headquartered in Seattle. The program took about 70 heads to milk twice a day, enough to sustain the prison and deliver to nine other Justice Department facilities across the state.

Wagner said earlier this month that while HB 637 may have emerged successfully from legislation, the designs for a pheasant farm at Deer Lodge, as far as I know, are still "in the air".



Cows sold

The prison work program sold about 270 cows in mid-December. This ended MCE's 30-year contract with Darigold, the product brand for a dairy cooperative in the Pacific Northwest headquartered in Seattle.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

"I looked at some existing buildings to see if it would work here," said Wagner. “It sounds exciting, however. I think it would be a good workout routine for these guys. "

Pheasant rearing job skills may not have the same applicability as a dairy farm, but Wagner said some certifications, such as a pre-apprenticeship for work done under the program, may be available when inmates return to their communities .

"Any training we can do with these guys will help them in the long run," he said. “We are dealing with some who have never had a job in their life. If you give them a little pride and ownership, pat them on the back and show them what a good job they are doing. It helps self-esteem really. It works wonders for them. "

The prison will need incubators and incubators, equipment that Wagner said was difficult to track down. Nor is Wagner clear whether one of the buildings in the program can be equipped to house the chicks, or whether they will need a new structure overall.



Prison inmate Mark McGuire pats a dairy cow

Inmate Mark McGuire pats a dairy cow after recently feeding her on the Montana State Prison dairy farm.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Wagner has never raised pheasants – there is a big technical difference between breeding birds and dairy cows – but his plan for taking over the new farm is to start small and reach the numbers FWP envisions.

"It won't happen overnight, that's for sure," said Wagner.

This fall, FWP plans to source privately raised pheasants for its release program once MSP begins its program.

In addition to providing the logistics for launching the program and coordinating releases across the state, FWP also plans to recruit young hunters and mentors ahead of the two-day youth hunt, September 25-26, Kujala said.

Photos: At work at the Montana State Prison dairy

Inmate Tyler Kortan closes the door to a calf barn

Inmate Tyler Kortan closes the door to a calf barn after changing sheets at the dairy facility at Montana State Prison in early May 2021.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Legislators approved $ 1 million in April

Legislators approved $ 1 million for a new venture in April to fill the void. House Bill 637, sponsored by Joliet Republican Seth Berglee, has done many things, including a new program to raise pheasants in prison.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Inmate Tyler Kortan goes back to a tractor

Inmate Tyler Kortan returns to a tractor after changing sheets in a calf barn at the Montana State Prison dairy in early May 2021.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that the number of dairy herds fell more than half between 2002 and 2019, with the decline accelerating in 2018 and 2019. COVID-19 also caused great uncertainty in the industry.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Last year Darigold, the product brand for a dairy cooperative

Last year, Darigold, the product brand of a Seattle-based dairy cooperative, announced its 30-year contract with the prison, forcing the state prison labor program Montana Correctional Enterprises to reduce dairy operations from 350 to about 70 milk to produce to keep the facilities of the Justice Department across the state to self-feed.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Inmate Ronald Hill mucked out cattle sheds

In early May 2021, inmate Ronald Hill dished out cattle sheds with a front loader at the dairy farm at Montana State Prison.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Inmate Billy Carter works on making vanilla ice cream

Inmate Billy Carter is working making vanilla ice cream at the dairy in Montana State Prison in early May 2021.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Holstein cows at the dairy farm in Montana State Prison.

Holstein cows at the dairy farm in Montana State Prison.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Inmate Mark McGuire feeds a small group

Inmate Mark McGuire is feeding a small group of Holstein cows at the dairy farm at Montana State Prison in early May 2021.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

The prison work program sold around 270 cows

The prison work program sold about 270 cows in mid-December. This ended MCE's 30-year contract with Darigold.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Inmate Mark McGuire fills a grain bucket

Inmate Mark McGuire fills a grain bucket while feeding dairy cows in Montana State Prison in early May 2021.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Holstein cows at the dairy farm in Montana State Prison.

Holstein cows at the dairy farm in Montana State Prison.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Prison inmate Mark McGuire pats a dairy cow

Prison inmate Mark McGuire pats a dairy cow after recently feeding the herd at the Montana State Prison dairy farm.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Dave Miller, Dairy Operations Manager

Dave Miller, manager of the dairy farm at Montana State Prison, opens a gate between the cattle sheds in early May 2021.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Inmate Tyler Kortan takes out fresh sheets

In early May 2021, inmate Tyler Kortan removes fresh bed linen from a calf barn in the dairy of Montana State Prison.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Holstein cows at the dairy farm in Montana State Prison.

Holstein cows at the dairy farm in Montana State Prison.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Inmates who work in agriculture remain in dormitories

Inmates who work in agriculture remain in dormitories outside the prison walls. Ross Wagner, Agriculture Director at MCE, compared the area to a pre-release center.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

With the reduced dairy operations, MCE will now continue to develop

With the reduced dairy operation, MCE will now develop plans for rearing pheasants as a new training opportunity for inmates.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Inmate Mark McGuire speaks to a small group

Inmate Mark McGuire speaks to a small group of Holstein cows at the Montana State Prison dairy farm in early May 2021.


THOM BRIDGE, Independent Record

Tom Kuglin is the assistant editor of the Lee Newspapers State Bureau. His coverage is focused on nature, recreation and natural resources.

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