About 30,000 adult pheasants will be released on lands open to public hunting for the upcoming fall pheasant hunting season in New York State. It begins in St. Lawrence County and the rest of the North Country Oct. 1.

Again this year, junior hunters 12 to 15 years old can hunt pheasants this weekend, Sept. 24 and 25, before official adult opening.

For that, pheasants will be released on a number of select sites to provide ample youth hunting opportunities. In St. Lawrence County, the youth hunt will be at Upper & Lower Lakes Wildlife Management Area, between the Grasse River and the Oswegatchie River three miles west of the village of Canton. All current pheasant hunting rules and regulations remain in effect during the youth hunt.

A list of adult pheasant release sites around the state can be found on the Web at http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/9349.html.

The Day-old Pheasant Chick Program provides additional opportunities for pheasant hunters. This program was developed in the early 1900s to provide day-old pheasant chicks to cooperating 4-H groups and sportsmen and sportswomen. The chicks are distributed to program participants in May and June. The birds are raised to adulthood and released on lands open to public hunting before the season opens. This year, nearly 46,000 pheasant chicks were distributed statewide as part of this program. Anyone interested in raising and releasing pheasants to expand next year's hunting opportunities should contact DEC's Reynolds Game Farm at (607) 273-2768.