Native birds are now a rarity in the state. There is natural reproduction in some places, but by and large, pheasant hunting in New Jersey is dependent on the state's stocking program.

Even though some areas of the New Jersey have limited pheasant and quail reproduction, the number of wild birds produced cannot support a yearly hunting season. According to biologists, most of the native quail reproduction occurs in the southern reaches of the state. Pheasants that are stocked and survive the hunting season will sometimes breed with each other or native birds, and this produces a limited number of naturally reproduced birds as well.

Most of New Jersey's pheasant hunting takes place on wildlife management areas (WMAs), which are stocked with farm-raised birds. The state also stocks several WMAs with birds for dog training. New Jersey has about 20,000 small-game hunters, whose numbers have leveled off over the last several years.

Pheasants are the primary game bird being stocked on most of the 300,000-plus acres of land now in the WMA program, which is overseen by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW). Some of the WMAs also have a limited amount of native bird reproduction, especially in the southern portion of the state.

Quail are stocked on only two WMAs, Greenwood and Peaslee. Both are specifically managed for quail and have hedgerows, planted grasses and crops, as well as buffer zones.

Quail are stocked on only two WMAs, Greenwood and Peaslee. Both are specifically managed for quail and have hedgerows, planted grasses and crops, as well as buffer zones. There has been a limited amount of natural reproduction in both WMAs, but neither is capable of sustaining a natural population -- making stocking a necessity.

Originally, pheasant stocking was used as a tool to beef up native populations, which were very good until the mid-1970s. As more and more prime farmland and fields were developed, the native pheasants began a steady and rapid decline. By the mid-1980s, pheasant hunting in New Jersey became increasingly dependent on stocked birds. Pheasant hunting has now become a put-and-take situation in most parts of the state.

Garden State pheasant hunters have the excellent facilities and staff of the Rockport Pheasant Farm, just outside of Hackettstown in Warren County, to thank for the good pheasant and quail hunting they enjoy. The state also stocks several WMAs with birds for dog training. The 492-acre facility currently produces 55,000 to 60,000 ring-necked pheasants each year.

Every year, wildlife personnel at the farm take 10 male birds for every 100 females (approximately 270 cock birds and 2,700 hens) and place them in the breeding yards.

Their mating results in approximately 130,000 to 140,000 eggs being laid between mid-March and the beginning of July. These eggs are collected three times a day by DFW personnel and taken to the egg room, which is maintained at 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

There, the eggs are disinfected, sorted, put in trays and kept dormant until they are moved into incubators, where they take 24 days to hatch. After hatching, the chicks are moved to brooder rooms where they stay for six weeks. They are then moved outdoors to the 30-plus acres of range pens until fall.

The pens are planted in a cover crop of sorghum to provide the birds with protection from the weather. In the pens, the male pheasants will reach 2.5 to 3 pounds, females about 1.5 pounds before they are released onto the WMAs.

New Jersey is one of the most densely populated states in the country, and its terrain offers sharp contrasts. In the northeastern and central portion of the state, big cities and urban areas, covered with miles of asphalt, shopping malls and parking lots give way to the sparsely populated mountainous northwestern part of the "Garden" State, and the flat, sandy-soiled Pine Barrens and farmlands of the southern reaches.