Local teenagers will soon have another opportunity to go a huntin’ on the grassy fields of Marcellus’ Rolling Hill Preserve, as the Cass County chapter of Pheasants Forever hosts its annual Youth Pheasant Hunt March 11.

Sign-ups for the free outdoor event, aimed at youth 16 years old and younger, are now open. In order to participate, teenagers must have successfully completed a hunter safety course, must be accompanied by an adult and must bring their own shotgun and ammunition.

The event is organized by members of Pheasants Forever and the Dowagiac Conservation Club. The former will pay for the pheasants and fees for renting the preserve that morning, while the latter will serve lunch and provide volunteer hunter safety instructors to supervise the hunt.

The event begins at 8 a.m. Participating teenagers and their parents/guardians will be separated in groups to roam the grounds for birds to hunt, accompanied by one of the instructors and a hunting dog.

At the end of the hunt, the teenagers are taught how to dress their birds, which they can take home to be turned into trophy or eaten.

“One of the goals of the event is to teach responsible gun safety and hunting practices to young hunters,” said Pheasants Forever President Jeff Nelson. “It also gives them a chance to experience the outdoors.”

The event usually draws between 15 to 20 participants, mainly from Cass County with the occasional teenager from Indiana or Berrien County, Nelson said.

Pheasants Forever and the conservation club have co-hosted for nearly the entire time the Cass County chapter of the preservation society was founded in 1998, Nelson said. The program serves as a way for teenagers to re-enforce the lessons they learn in hunter safety courses taught by the conservation club and other agencies, Nelson said.

“While I was at the Hunter’s Rendezvous the other day, I had several adults come up to me and mention how they participated in the youth hunt years ago,” he said. “They told me they had a lot of fond memories of it, and how important it was to them.”

People have until March 8 to register for the hunt. Interested participants may sign up by calling Nelson at (574) 522-6595.