March 20 is the final day to register for the Northwest Pennsylvania Chapter of Pheasants Forever’s eighth annual membership banquet.

The event is scheduled for March 30 at American LegionPost 285, 120 W. Fourth St., Waterford.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. for a buffet meal, gun raffles, silent auction and more. Seating is limited, and advanced registration is required.

For information and registration, visit nwpapf.org or call chapter president Ed Moss at (814) 528-4538.

Pheasants Forever of Northwest Pennsylvania will put on it eighth annual Membership Banquet March 30 at American LegionPost 285, 120 W. Fourth St., Waterford.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. for a buffet meal, gun raffles, silent auction and more. Seating is limited, and advanced registration is required.

For information and registration, visit nwpapf.org.

The Northwestern Pennsylvania Pheasants Forever chapter and the North East Sportsmen’s Club will put on a Young Guns shooting Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the gun club grounds, 11647 Townline Road, North East.

Shooters ages 6 to 10 will be able to use air rifles and .22s and shooters 10 and older also can try clay target shooting on the trap range.

Guns, ammunition, targets, safety gear, coaching and lunch will be provided at no cost. Participation is limited to the first 30 registered children. Those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

The event is made possible by grants from the Forever Shooting Sports Program and MidwayUSA.

The annual Northwest Pennsylvania Pheasants Forever banquet March 31 in Waterford will feature keynote speaker Ian Gregg, game bird section chief for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Gregg is expected to talk about a proposed Wild Pheasant Recovery Area for northwestern Pennsylvania. The 10,000-plus acre project would see the return of wild pheasants to the region.

The banquet will take place at American Legion Post 285, 102 W. Fourth St., Waterford, starting at 6 p.m. A buffet dinner at 7 p.m., legal beverages, raffles, and auctions are planned. Seating is very limited. Guaranteed registration deadline is March 15, and preregistration is encouraged.

Tickets are $60 each, with as many as three additional guests per ticket-buyer at $25 each. Under-18 attendee cost is $15.

For information and registration, visit nwpapf.org or e-mail chapter president Ed Moss at ed@nwpapf.org.

James Amoriello, 12, of Erie, shot two pheasants with just two shots in October 2011 during a youth hunt sponsored by Northwest Pennsylvania Pheasants Forever. He attended the hunt shortly after earning his hunting license.

“We cannot thank the volunteers of the Pheasants Forever organization for all their time and effort in creating such a wonderful and memorable pheaant hunt for our youth to enjoy,” wrote his parents, Jim and Kathleen Amoriello.

The Northwest Pennsylvania chapter of Pheasants Forever has scheduled two mentored youth pheasant hunts: Oct. 8 at the Miller Farm Habitat Project outside of Union City, and Oct. 15 starting at Sugar Grove AMVETS in Warren County

The hunts are open to children ages 12-16 who have a valid hunter/trapper education card. Participants must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, and will be led by experienced hunters with trained dogs. Lunch is provided, and each young hunter will receive a one-year youth membership to Pheasants Forever. There is no charge to participate, but preregistration by Sept. 8 is required. For information and registration materials, e-mail heath@nwpapf.org.

The Oct. 8 hunt is at the site is one of the local chapter’s first habitat restoration success stories. Five years ago, the land was little more than 60 acres of mud. Today, it thrives with native warm season grasses mixed with wildflowers. This excellent upland habitat benefits deer, turkeys, songbirds, and pheasants. Wildlife artist Bill Czarnecki used the site for his painting Just the Beginning, which depicts a father and son on a pheasant hunt. One participant in this hunt will win an autographed print of the painting, courtesy of the artist. To see the painting, visit the chapter’s website www.nwpapf.org. This event is co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

The Oct. 15 event will include trap-shooting at the club’s range before heading afield. The hunt is co-sponsored by the AMVETS and the Forever Shooting Sports program.

Chapter 728′s first mentored youth hunt, in October 2007, drew 11 hunters.  In October 2010 two hunts drew a combined 48 hunters.

A proposal for a Wild Pheasant Recovery Area in the Northwest Region will be the centerpiece topic at Pheasants Forever Chapter 728’s sixth annual membership banquet March 26.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. at American Legion Post 285, 102 W. Fourth St., Waterford. Dinner will be served at 7 p.m.

Region 1 Game Commissioner Ralph Martone, of New Castle, will speak about establishing a recovery area that could see wild birds released as soon as 2013.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Ring-necked Pheasant Management Plan calls for creation of four recovery areas in the state by 2015 as part of a plan to re-establish wild pheasant populations. Wild-trapped pheasants are released into these areas, with a goal of achieving a density of 10 hen pheasants per square mile.

Martone will be joined by state Sen. Robert D. Robbins, of Greenville, R-50th Dist., and Dave  Putnam, Game Commission secretary.

The banquet will feature a buffet-style dinner, legal beverages and chances to win outdoor equipment, firearms, wildlife art and home and dog items.

Cost for membership and dinner is $50 per person, $20 per guest. Youth membership and dinner is $20 per person. Those who took part in youth hunts in October may attend the dinner for $10 each.

Make checks payable to Pheasants Forever 728 and mail to Ed Moss, 9992 Wildman Road, North East, PA 16428. The banquet is open to the public.

Preregistration is encouraged; limited tickets are expected to be available at the door.

For information or a registration form, visit www.nwpapf.org.

Pheasants Forever is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasants and other wildlife through habitat improvement and conservation. Chapter 728, formed in Warren County, covers all of northwestern Pennsylvania. The chapter has 230 members who have developed more than 1,200 acres of habitat and given instruction to more than 120 youth hunters.