As I entered the state game lands at Tuscarora, I encountered a man and boy who were just leaving. The boy was a red head, with crisp, bright orange hat and vest, Harry Potter-style glasses, and tracks of tears under both eyes. I stopped and asked him what was wrong.

He had spotted a pheasant under a bush along a fence row. He had called out to his father that he saw one, and after he did "a couple guys came over and shot it on the ground" which is something his father had told him not to do.They separated from those hunters and that area, but became discouraged by the throngs of hunters everywhere they went. They opted to leave.This year, beginning with the Youth Pheasant opener Oct. 8 and ending with the late stocking program from Dec. 12 until the end of February, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will stock about 240,000 pheasants. The birds are released on more than 230 tracts of state game lands, other public lands which are under cooperative management by the game commission, and private lands enrolled in the PGC's Hunter Access program.That's an increase in numbers from last year, and it's partly due to the state's plans for 2017. In 2017, instead of raising chicks from its own breeder pheasants, they'll purchase the chicks from private propagators. Birds that would have been kept as breeders will instead be part of this hunting season stockings.In the future, the PGC may opt to have hunters purchase a "pheasant stamp" for a nominal fee, perhaps $10 and few hunters would kick at that. The PGC raising and stocking program is fantastic and has been ongoing for 101 years. But the melee that ensues at state game lands in the wake of the stocking truck is not. And according to a study from the 2015/16 season, the statewide harvest rate of the stocked pheasants is estimated at about 50 percent.My thoughts on improving the actual stocking, hunting experience and program revenue:Put the stocking of some of the game lands out to bid. It costs the state about $28 to raise and stock one pheasant.Game bird breeders who live within easy access of state lands could stock those in their area, and instead of a single weekly release of birds in large numbers, stock smaller numbers of birds on more days. They could also provide birds at a lower cost, probably from $15-18 per bird.In addition to creating a "pheasant stamp" requirement, increase the nonresident small game license cost, which is currently $101.70.Price the pheasant stamp at $25 for residents and $50 for non-residents, but with no cost to seniors and youth.