Pheasant hunting season begins Saturday in Montana, and hunters will have new opportunities thanks to an unlikely partnership between Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks and the Montana State Prison.

About 80 pheasants were released Friday at the Lake Helena Wildlife Management Area, but these birds weren't raised through traditional methods. Instead, they were hatched and cared for by inmates at the Montana State Prison as part of a conservation program that pairs wildlife management with rehabilitation.

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The pheasant release program allows inmates to harvest, incubate and hatch pheasant eggs, then care for the birds from hatchling to adulthood. The collaboration between FWP and the state prison has been running for four years and provides inmates with valuable life ski

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