Permits for two Game Bird Heritage Apprentice pheasant hunts for junior hunters will be issued by drawing. The deadline to apply is Oct. 27. To be eligible, youths must have successfully completed a hunter education course and possess a valid California Junior Hunting License. This apprentice hunt will be located south of the City of Sonoma at the Valley of the Moon Trap Club and on the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) Ringstrom Bay Unit of the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area.

Additional activities will include wildlife management and safety talks, and practice shooting at the trap range. Lunch will be provided to participants and their chaperones. This event is possible through DFG’s Game Bird Heritage Program, the generous contributions by The Valley of the Moon Trap Club, and our many volunteers and donations. The event times are scheduled as follows:

Morning Hunt – Nov 15, 2008 – 8 a.m. to noon
Evening Hunt – Nov 15, 2008 – 1 p.m. to 4:55 p.m.

Hunters can apply on the DFG Web site or can download, print and mail an application form available at: www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/uplandgame/gamebird/specialhunts. Scroll down and click on “Apprentice Hunts for Juniors” to find information and a statewide map of the hunts and the application. Applicants must enter all required information. Hunters who have just graduated from a hunter safety class and have a priority stamp may enter that number to receive priority in the drawing. Two hunters may enter as one party.

The hunters must be accompanied and supervised by a non-hunting adult, 18 years of age or older. Shooting safety glasses and blaze orange clothing are required by all participants (including chaperones).

A total of 20 permits will be available for the Napa-Sonoma Marshes Wildlife Area hunts (10 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon). All successful applicants will be notified by mail only. Any vacancies after the drawing will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis through the receipt of applications.