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22 B6) PHEASANT RELEASES ON PUBLIC LANDS Strategies • Use releases of pen-raised pheasants to improve youth and family hunting opportunities, especially near urban population centers and/or in landscapes where wild pheasant populations are more limited • Use the most efficient methods of releasing pen-raised pheasants such that the cost of birds returned to the bag is minimized • Evaluate pheasant releases and propose changes to increase hunter participation and satisfaction if deemed necessary Tactics CONTINUE releasing adult rooster pheasants across a minimum of 15 publicly accessible sites prior to the youth pheasant season and Thanksgiving weekends, with an emphasis on sites near population centers in eastern Nebraska CONTINUE to utilize a competitive bidding process to minimize the costs associated with the purchase and transport of pen-reared pheasants CONTINUE to monitor hunter participation, harvest success, and satisfaction at pheasant release sites to help improve future efforts CONTINUE to secure federal aid grants and matching funds to support pheasant releases on a minimum of 15 publicly accessible sites BEGIN to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of pheasant releases and quantify their relative contribution to R3 efforts (hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation) ASSESS opportunities to engage partners and secure external funding sources to help support pheasant releases on public lands B7) STATUTES AND REGULATIONS AFFECTING THE REARING AND RELEASING OF PHEASANTS Strategies • Create a statutory and regulatory environment that allows Controlled Shooting Areas (CSA) to profitably meet hunter demand for their services while protecting wildlife and hunter interests • Reduce potential barriers for individuals to raise, release, and/or purchase pen-reared pheasants while minimizing associated risks to wild populations Tactics CONTINUE to regulate CSAs and Captive Wildlife Permits (CWP) under current rules and policies (but see tactic below) CONTINUE to communicate regularly with state gamebird organizations to obtain feedback regarding potential changes to requirements and policies associated with CSAs and CWPs ASSESS the biological, economic, and law enforcement ramifications of reducing CSA requirements and policies, and recommend changes accordingly such that regulatory burden is minimized