GLENDO – Each year, hundreds of hunters enjoy pheasant hunting opportunities in Platte County and the surrounding area, thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Wyoming State Parks.
Ben Milnar, coordinator for the Downar Game Bird Farm in Yoder, stocks Glendo State Park twice each week with pheasants for area hunters.
Hunters looking forward to pheasant season will be pleased to learn that the Downar Game Bird Farm has about 17,000 birds to stock this year.
 As in years past, pheasants will be released at the Springer/Bump Sullivan Wildlife Habitat Management Area (WHMA) and at Glendo State Park during the special hunts and into the regular season.
Birds will also be stocked at Table Mountain WHMA, Platte County Walk-In Areas 20, 23, and 51, Goshen County Walk-In Areas 24, 29, and 63, and Laramie County Walk-In Areas 21 and 34. Goshen County Walk-In Area 19 south of Veteran will not be stocked this year due to lack of cover. All areas will be stocked twice a week during the general season until the supply of birds runs out, likely around mid December. 
Lack of cover on many Walk-In Areas in Platte and Laramie counties will result in fewer birds stocked in these areas this season.  
Hunters are reminded to purchase a Pheasant Special Management Stamp to hunt pheasants on Walk-In and habitat areas.

The Downar Farm program raises the pheasants from start to finish, and retains about 1,500 birds each year for breeding.
The program began in the 1960’s, as part of an effort to establish a natural population of ring-necked pheasants in the area.  Milnar said that while the birds do naturally thrive in some parts of Goshen County, typical environmental conditions in much of the area make a naturally occurring population of pheasants impossible.
He said hunters are expected to harvest the entire population of pheasants released each year, and noted the program provides a hunting opportunity in the area that would not otherwise exist.  He noted that without the program, pheasant hunting would be almost entirely reduced to private game reserves and hunting clubs in the area.
“There is no way the number of hunters down in those areas could be supported by any number of wild pheasants that may carry over from the previous year,” he said.
Downar Farm supplies pheasants for Glendo State Park, as well as other walk-in areas in Platte, Goshen, and Laramie Counties, including the Springer Wildlife Habitat Unit and Table Mountain Unit near Torrington.
The Youth Only hunt days in Glendo State Park occur each Sunday in November after the season opens.   Per Game and Fish rules, hunting is only available for individuals 18 and under on these days, and no permit is required for youth.
“It’s a great recruitment and retention program,” Milnar said.  “For kids that are just getting exposed to hunting, the youth hunt is one of the first things they do.”
Brian Johnson, Interim Superintendent for Glendo State Park, agreed that the Youth Hunting program was a benefit for the area.
“The youth hunt is a great way for recreationists to visit the park,” Johnson said.  “The partnership with Game and Fish and Wyoming State Parks on this youth hunt is introducing the younger generations to many outdoor activities.”
Glendo offers many other opportunities for area hunters as well.
Johnson said that the Park follows Game and Fish guidelines for all hunting regulations.
“As long as it is a species that has a hunting season through Wyoming Game and Fish, then it is permissible to hunt that species at Glendo within the appropriate area of the park.”
Johnson said that species commonly hunted in Glendo in addition to pheasant include deer, antelope, turkey and waterfowl.
For more information on the Youth Hunt, as well as other hunting opportunities and programs available through Game and Fish, please visit www.wgfd.wyo.gov.