On Sept. 27, at the Viterra Elevator near North Battleford,the members of the Battlefords Wildlife Federation, students from local schools and Viterra employees released 43 pheasants into the wild. The students and staff of the schools incubated the eggs, Dan Konopelski raised the pheasants on his farm, and Viterra offered their property as the place to release and Ducks Unlimited gave their permission to release the birds on to their wetland. Also involved were the City of North Battleford, CN Railway and Battlefords District Co-op whose donations helped buy incubators and flight pens. This is a project the Wildlife Federation is spearheading to help bring back pheasants to the area and also to get students involved with giving back to nature, says organizer Cheryl Irvine. “This is an ongoing project for many years to come,” she says. Spencer Smith of Meridian Surveyors did a video from a drone of the release and anyone wishing to see it can go to Youtube and and search Battlefords Wildlife Federation Pheasant Release. Photos courtesy of the Battlefords Wildlife Federation
