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Need Wildlife Habitat Help? National Pheasant Fest 2009 is the Place
Pheasants Forever’s Landowner Habitat Help Room offers FREE wildlife habitat consulting..

Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever

Madison, Wis. – -(AmmoLand.com)- Where can a landowner obtain a free, one-on-one wildlife habitat consultation with leading wildlife habitat experts? The place is Pheasants Forever’s Landowner Habitat Help Room at National Pheasant Fest 2009 presented by Cabela’s. The event will be held February 6, 7 & 8 at Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. At last year’s event, over 560 landowners took advantage of the Landowner Habitat Help Room, and an estimated 45,000 habitat acres were evaluated for management recommendations.

The Landowner Habitat Help Room, powered by Pheasants Forever (PF), New Holland, Alliant Energy, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), is designed to give farmers and landowners site-specific information about conservation programs they can implement on their land. Biologists use aerial photography, topography, and soil information to do individual planning. Landowners just need to bring the legal description of their property (township, range, and section). Through a one-on-one consultation, landowners will have the opportunity to learn about conservation and habitat options on their land available through federal, state and local programs. In fact, biologists on hand will have data on every farm in Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, and more!

“For landowners and farmers to create high quality habitat, they need to understand the conservation options that are available to them,” said Ron Leathers, PF Director of Public Finance, “The Landowner Habitat Help Room provides the best advice and information about conservation programs that can assist them with their land use goals.” On hand in the Landowner Habitat Help Room will be PF Farm Bill Biologists and staff professionals from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Upper Midwest state wildlife agencies.

Help Room biologists will be fluent in federal conservation programs run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) and NRCS. Those programs include the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP), Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), and Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP), to name a few. In addition to federal programs, the biologists will be knowledgeable about state and local PF conservation programs and will be able to discuss steps for enrolling in all eligible programs. Landowners will also be able to discuss potential cost-share options, as well as average land rental rates.

National Pheasant Fest 2009 presented by Cabela’s will combine a national consumer show, habitat seminar series, and family event complete with puppies, tractors, shotguns, and art. In fact, the Fest promises to be the country’s largest event for upland hunters, sport dog owners, and wildlife habitat conservationists.

For the special price of $30, a National Pheasant Fest advance ticket package includes three-day weekend admission to National Pheasant Fest 2009 ($30 value), 1-year membership to Pheasants Forever ($30 value) which includes a subscription to the Pheasants Forever Journal of Upland Conservation (5 issues), membership card and decal, and a free Pheasants Forever hat ($16.95 value) which you can pick up at National Pheasant Fest. Single day tickets to the event will sell for $10 at the show, and the annual PF membership alone is $30. In other words, purchasing advance tickets to National Pheasant Fest is a $77 value at less than half the price, a savings of over 60 percent! To order tickets and for more information, log onto www.PheasantFest.org .

About:
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are non-profit conservation organizations dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant, quail, and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, and education. PF/QF has more than 129,000 members in 700 local chapters across the continent.

For additional information about Pheasants Forever, please visit www.PheasantsForever.org

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Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever

Saint Paul, Minn. - -(OutdoorWire.com)- Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) are urging all its members take a moment and sign the Petition to Save America’s Wetlands. The petition is part of the “We Are Wetlands” campaign. A campaign of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), “We Are Wetlands” is intended to raise awareness for the importance of wetlands and clean water in our daily lives and why this resource is now more at risk than ever.

The “We Are Wetlands” campaign is seeking a minimum of 80,000 signatures – one for every acre of natural wetlands lost each year – calling for restored federal wetlands and clean water protections. America has lost more than half of its original 221 million acres of natural wetlands and we continue to lose approximately 80,000 more acres each and every year. This trend will continue and likely accelerate due to weakened federal protections for wetlands under the Clean Water Act. In recent years, Supreme Court decisions have stripped federal protections for geographically isolated wetlands and intermittent ephemeral streams. As a result, it is now easier for wetlands and other waters to be polluted, drained, filled in and paved over.

As part of the “We Are Wetlands” campaign, the Petition to Save America’s Wetlands is being circulated. To be delivered in early 2009, the petition asks the President of theUnited States to support restored federal protections for wetlands.

“The importance of wetlands are well-documented, but only through a grassroots effort will we gain the stronger wetlands protection we need,” said Howard Vincent, President and CEO of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever who serves on the TRCP Board of Directors. “Our nation’s wetlands are vitally important. Healthy streams and wetlands naturally filter and replenish our drinking water supplies. They protect our homes and other property by controlling floods and buffering erosion. They maintain and enhance water quality by filtering pollution and sediment, and they provide critical habitat to fish and wildlife and hunting and fishing opportunities for sportsmen and -women.”

“Wetlands are an important ingredient in the pheasant habitat mix as well,” Vincent explained for PF’s keen eye on this issue. “Any late season bird hunter knows that cattail sloughs provide tremendous winter cover for pheasants. This is not just a duck and fish issue. We need wetlands for roosters, and we need wetlands for a healthy environment.”

For more information about the “We Are Wetlands” campaign, log onto www.wearewetlands.org or contact Geoff Mullins, TRCP Wetlands Initiative manager, at 202-654-4609 orgmullins@trcp.org.

About the TRCP
Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

About Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are non-profit conservation organizations dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant, quail, and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, and education. PF/QF has more than 129,000 members in 700 local chapters across the continent.
For additional information please visit www.PheasantsForever.org and www.QuailForever.org

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