State Parks announces pheasant hunt lottery

Niagara Frontier Region of New York State Parks Press Release

The Niagara Frontier Region of New York State Parks announced the annual permit lottery for the 2025 pheasant hunting season will take place Monday, Oct. 6. This will include the drawing for both the youth hunt and the regular season hunt.

Youth hunt permits will be required for the two days of the special youth hunting weekend – Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11-12. This year, the youth hunt will allow for a second hunter on the permit. For the regular season hunt, permits will be required for the three days expected to draw the heaviest hunting traffic: Oct. 18, 25 and Nov. 1.

There will be two separate hunts each day. The first hunt will be from sunrise to 12:30 p.m. The second hunt will be from 12:30 p.m. to sunset.

Hunting throughout the regular pheasant season, from Oct. 18 to Dec. 31, is allowed at three State Parks: Golden Hill, Joseph Davis and Wilson-Tuscarora. No hunting is permitted during the open firearm season for deer. Permits, however, are required on Oct. 11-12 youth hunt and the Oct. 18, 25 and Nov. 1 regular season.

As in the past, stocking will be done by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. No hunting is allowed on the following Friday release days: Oct. 10, 17, 24 and 31.

There is no fee for the permit, and hunters awarded permits will have the option of naming one additional hunter on their permit.

Hunters interested in entering the permit lottery should mail in a separate, standard-size 3-by-5-inch file card or postcard for each date and park they would like to hunt. Only one permit will be issued to each hunter per day. Cards may be put into one envelope for each respective park and mailed together to the appropriate address listed below:

√ Golden Hill State Park, 9691 Lower Lake Road, Barker; 716-795-3885

√ Wilson Tuscarora State Park, 3371 W. Lake Road, Wilson; 716-751-6361

√ Joseph Davis State Park, 300 Portage Road, Lewiston; 716-754-7766