FUN: Yellowstone Valley Pheasants Forever Banquet is March 22

Pheasant hunting is a popular sport in Montana, where the pheasant season runs from October 11 - January 1, 2025. Pheasants Forever is a nationwide organization that supports the viability of pheasant hunting through various programs. Pheasants Forever has 750 local chapters, including Yellowstone Valley Pheasants Forever, chapter #434.

They're hosting their annual banquet, on March 22, 2025, and tickets and sponsorship opportunities are available now.

A ring-neck pheasant. Photo by David Thielen on Unsplash

Yellowstone Valley Pheasants Forever encompasses nine Montana counties: Yellowstone, Carbon County, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Golden Valley, Musselshell, and Big Horn. Its annual spring banquet is the group's largest fundraiser.

Pheasants Forever has more than 400,000 supporters, members, and partners. Locally, Yellowstone Valley Pheasants Forever contributes to various projects, primarily helping develop healthy habitats and introducing the sport to new members. They write,

Whether it’s through improving habitat, informing the public about land management or educating future generations of hunting enthusiasts, conservation is the underlying principle in all we do at the grassroots level.

The banquet is held at the Swift River Ranch. Credit Google Maps

Join the banquet, on March 22 at the Swift River Ranch.

Off Duck Creek Road, just southwest of Billings, Swift River Ranch is a fantastic event facility, and attendees at this year's event are in for another great evening of fun, food, and a chance to win a new gun, hosted by Q2's Ed McIntosh.

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Pheasant hunters in 1915. Credit Phillips/Getty Images

The state bird of South Dakota isn't native to North America.

Ring-neck pheasants didn't always exist in the United States. The colorful birds are native to Asia, and it's believed they were introduced to America in the 1880s by a sportsman (and the U.S. consul general in Shanghai at the time) named Owen Denny. Denny is reported to have several crates of the birds shipped to his home in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. You can read more about the birds' introduction to the US in this excellent article from the Audobon Society.