The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will begin stocking pheasants this week for the 2023-2024 hunting season starting Saturday, Oct. 14. DEM stocks pheasants to provide public hunting opportunities on select management areas throughout Rhode Island. After the youth hunting weekend of Oct. 14-15, stocking occurs twice weekly at most locations Oct. 21 until early December and once weekly through the end of December, depending on weather.
In September, DEM announced that it has temporarily closed recreational areas in Glocester, including Durfee Hill Management Area and George Washington Management Area, until further notice to lessen the risk of visitors and staff being bitten by mosquitoes potentially carrying Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE). DEM’s decision to temporarily close these areas was made in consultation with the Mosquito-Borne Disease Advisory Group which is led by the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) and DEM in consultation with experts from the University of Rhode Island. Pheasants that would be stocked at Durfee Hill management area will be redistributed to Nicholas Farm management area for the youth pheasant hunting weekend and pheasants that would be stocked at Durfee Hill for the regular season will be redistributed throughout Black Hut, Buck Hill, and Nicholas Farm management areas. Once the first hard frost of autumn occurs and kills adult mosquitoes allowing DEM to reopen the closed areas, the normal stocking schedule will resume. Please check DEM’s pheasant stocking webpage for timely updates on stocking locations as DEM continues to monitor the risk of EEE in conjunction with RIDOH. Hunters are reminded to take precautions in the field to protect themselves from mosquito bites.
The pheasant hunting season runs Oct. 21 through Feb. 28, 2023, with a daily bag limit of two birds. Hunters 15 and older must be in possession of a RI hunting license and game bird permit. Youth hunters 12 to 14 must have a junior hunting license and a game bird permit and be in the immediate company of a fully licensed adult 21 and older. A full list of pheasant hunting rules and regulations can be found in the Rhode Island Hunting and Trapping 2023-2024 Regulation Guide. Hunting licenses can be purchased online on DEM’S Rhode Island Outdoors (RIO) portal.
Weather permitting, the 2023-2024 pheasant stocking will be conducted overnight to be first available on:
| Dates | Locations |
| *Saturday, October 14, 2023 | Nicholas Farm, Eight Rod, and Great Swamp |
| Saturday, October 21, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| Wednesday, October 25, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, and Nicholas Farm |
| Saturday, October 28, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| Tuesday, October 31, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, and Nicholas Farm |
| Saturday, November 4, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| Wednesday, November 8, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, and Nicholas Farm |
| Saturday, November 11, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| Tuesday, November 14, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Durfee Hill, Great Swamp, and Nicholas Farm |
| Saturday, November 18, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| Thursday, November 23, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, and Nicholas Farm |
| Saturday, November 25, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| Wednesday, November 29, 2023 | Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, and Nicholas Farm |
| Saturday, December 2, 2023 | ** Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| Saturday, December 8, 2023 | ** Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| Saturday, December 16, 2023 | ** Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| Saturday, December 23, 2023 | ** Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| Saturday, December 30, 2023 | ** Arcadia, Black Hut, Big River, Buck Hill, Carolina, Great Swamp, Nicholas Farm, Sapowet Marsh, Simmons Mill, and Eight Rod Farm |
| *Special youth weekend |
** Weather permitting
Upon the release and establishment of pheasants in North America in 1857, pheasant hunting has a long tradition in Rhode Island, supporting family customs, connecting people with nature, and attracting tourism to the state. Changing farming practices and land uses resulted in the elimination of pheasants from most of Rhode Island, except for a small population on Block Island. Hunters provide funding for wildlife conservation through their purchase of firearms and ammunition through the Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration Program, and through the purchase of their state hunting licenses. Hunters and anglers purchase around 70,000 licenses, permits, stamps, and tags each year and contribute more than $235 million to Rhode Island’s economy. Although the landscape has changed, DEM’s pheasant stocking program continues to support Rhode Island’s pheasant hunting tradition.
REMINDER: All users of Wildlife Management Areas and Undeveloped State Parks are required to wear at least 200 square inches of solid, fluorescent orange during the hunting season from the second Saturday in September until the end of May. Covering or clothing consisting of 500 square inches of blaze orange is required during the shotgun deer season in December.
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