Ben- I hope as well that this new program's a success. I grew up hearing my father's stories of pheasant hunting in Lancaster county in the 50's, 60's and early 70's. They sounded much like the stories I hear of the Dakotas now.
Dean- There are small pockets of wild birds.... They just aren't where I hunt
I would wager the ones you saw were stocked. One back road I travel bisects the local game lands. It's not unusal to see a couple dozen pheasants on the road during hunting season and for a month or two after it closes. I still see one or two every so often this time of year.
Cheers
Marcus