Pheasants Forever Inc

Programs: Wildlife habitat initiatives: during the 2017 fiscal year, pheasants forever, inc. Completed 12,550 habitat projects impacting 216,878 acres and made 29,583 landowner contacts impacting another 1,012,000 acres. Since its inception in 1982, pheasants forever has spent $784 million and completed 530,013 habitat projects on 14,345,000 acres of land. These projects include land acquisitions, shelterbelts, wetlands, food plots, nesting cover, tree planting, maintenance and include the purchase of habitat equipment. Following are current year end historical highlights of the various projects completed by pheasants forever: land acquisitions-land acquired by, or with the help of, pheasants forever is generally donated to state and federal wildlife agencies for public wildlife management areas. During the year, pheasants forever spent $16. 9 million to help purchase 7,497 acres of land. In addition permanent conservation easements were acquired on 5,240 acres. Since inception, pheasants forever has helped purchase, and put into public domain, 190,729 acres of land at a cost of $182 million. Shelterbelts- a well designed shelterbelt can effectively protect wildlife from exposure to harsh weather conditions. Shelterbelts also provide loafing, feeding, roosting and escape cover for pheasants and other upland wildlife throughout the year. In harsh winters, shelterbelts become rescue cover, allowing a nucleus of breeding individuals to survive the winter and repopulate the rural landscape the next spring. During the year, pheasants forever expended $495,243 to plant trees and has spent $21. 9 million on planted trees since 1982. Wetlands - wetlands provide an excellent source of winter cover and provide the best overall survival rates for pheasants. A wetland's dense network of stems provides effective insulation from cold temperatures and wind chill, and provides shelter from blowing and drifting snow. Pheasants forever restored 2,365 acres of wetlands during the year and 84,539 acres of wetlands since inception. Food plots- winter cover is much more effective with a high energy food source nearby. Well-placed food plots establish safe foraging patterns, restrict unnecessary movements, and provide a dependable food source. A dependable high energy food source is needed to carry female birds through harsh winters in good condition and leads to a reduction in mortality rate during the following spring nesting season. During the year, pheasants forever planted 70,889 acres of food plots and has planted 1,896,425 acres of food plots since 1982. Nesting cover - throughout the pheasant range, nesting cover is the single most important limiting factor for wildlife populations. Establishing the right vegetation and managing it properly will provide pheasants with concealment from predators and protection from various weather conditions. Additionally, our nesting and brood-rearing projects that plant prairie grasses and forbs (flowering plants) also improves habitat for bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Pheasants forever established or improved 52,507 acres of nesting cover during the year, and more than three million acres since 1982. Maintenance - during fiscal year 2017 pheasants forever completed 1,620 projects to maintain quality habitat on over 87,000 acres. Since 1999 the organization has completed more than 49,000 maintenance projects covering more than 3,300,000 acres. Equipment - pheasants forever chapters purchase specialized habitat equipment which is either donated to local wildlife agencies or made available to local landowners to aid in establishing and/or maintaining their own habitat projects. During the year, pheasants forever expended $709,287 to purchase habitat equipment and has spent $17. 1 million on habitat equipment since inception. Farm bill biologist program - pheasants forever has developed a network of more than 130 trained biologists that work directly with local landowners around the country. These farm bill biologists assist landowners in designing, developing, and funding habitat improvements on private lands. Pf farm bill biologists possess the knowledge of federal, state, and local programs to assist landowners in finding the right program to meet their personal habitat and land use goals. Since its inception the farm bill biologist program has made more than 146,000 landowner contacts impacting 5. 7 million acres. Through a unique partnership, farm bill biologists are located in local usda service centers in priority habitat areas throughout the pheasant range.

public awareness, education and outreach: the education and outreach component of pheasants forever provides year-round youth programs that offer a pathway of activities that cultivate and grow land stewards and hunting conservationists of all ages. The focus is on hunter recruitment, retention, and reactivation. This initiative is carried on in part through the no child left indoors(r) initiative and other outreach activities. The organization's publications, the pheasants forever journal of upland conservation (published four times a year) and the quail forever journal of quail conservation (published four times a year) and the joint upland hunting super issue (published once for both pf and qf audiences) are distributed to members along with a variety of printed and electronic communications disseminated to educators, chapter leaders, and other stakeholders. These periodicals contain information pertaining to the need for wildlife habitat development and restoration, the benefits of water and soil conservation, current issues and policies affecting conservation and the tradition of hunting, chapter activities and other special features. More than 210,000 youth and 100,000 adults were introduced to hunting, shooting sports and conservation through pheasants forever and quail forever youth programs and events that include workshops, educational materials and resources. The no child left indoors(r) initiative engages pf and qf chapters in community activities that connect youth and their families to the outdoors. Chapters host more than 4,000 events per year that include hunter safety classes, youth mentor hunts, summer camps, shooting programs, outdoor field days and habitat projects. Youth 17 or younger can become ringnecks and/or whistler members. Over 16,000 youth members receive the youth magazine upland tales four times a year. Youth leadership is encouraged at the local level and through state youth leadership councils and a national youth leadership council comprised of about 25 active young leaders from across the country. Educational brochures also are available on subjects such as habitat and pheasant population dynamics.

field operations: pheasants forever's wildlife biologists provide support, information, hands-on education to the public, and work on implementation of wildlife habitat development and restoration. Pf's biologists also assist members and chapter volunteers to improve wildlife habitat in the most efficient and effective way.

pheasants forever provides support for and informs and updates, the more than 150,000 members and nearly 750 chapters, as to the need for ongoing work in wildlife conservation and provides assistance to accomplish that goal.