Quail Forever celebrates 10th anniversary, sets new membership record
St. Paul, MN -(AmmoLand.com)- In 2015, Pheasants Forever, Inc., including its quail division, Quail Forever, worked with more than 35,000 individual landowners and its chapter affiliates completed more than 12,700 wildlife habitat projects, which combined to improve habitat for pheasants, quail and other wildlife on more than 1.7 million acres.
Howard Vincent, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever president and CEO, says the organization’s chapter volunteers – there are 582 Pheasants Forever and 154 Quail Forever chapters across the country – continue to spearhead habitat results. “Our chapters lead local projects, are active in conservation advocacy, and help build and support partnerships necessary to habitat successes in the 21st century.” Pheasants Forever’s accomplishments also come with as little overhead as possible, and the nonprofit continues to be recognized as an exceptional charity by Charity Navigator, the largest charity evaluator in the country.
Wildlife Habitat Projects
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Farm Bill wildlife biologists – who help interested landowners enroll in voluntary conservation programs – made 35,809 landowner contacts in 2015, leading to nearly 1.4 million acres of habitat improvement for wildlife. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapter projects – nesting cover, upland & wetland restoration, food & cover plots and land acquisition projects – accounted for 320,666 acres of improved wildlife habitat in 2015. In total, the organization’s efforts improved 1.7 million acres for wildlife habitat in the United States and Canada.
Land Acquisition / Permanent Wildlife Habitat Protection
Because of 32 land acquisition projects in 2015, 4,615 acres of wildlife habitat have been permanently conserved by Pheasants Forever. All these properties have or will be turned over to state/federal natural resource agencies and opened to outdoor recreation, including hunting.
Youth, Education & Public Awareness
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters held 1,459 youth events in the past fiscal year which attracted more than 75,000 youth participants and 22,000 adult-onset hunters, a new organizational record. Chapters hosted youth hunts, sponsored shooting teams, helped with youth pollinator projects and held family field days in their communities.
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Membership Records
A record-setting number of members now belong to Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever at the end of 2015. From the humble beginnings of “The Habitat Organization” in 1982, Pheasants Forever’s membership has now reached a record high of 146,965 members. Included is a new record mark for Quail Forever at 15,899 members.
Quail Forever’s 10th Anniversary
August 10th, 2015 marked the 10th anniversary of Quail Forever, the leader for quail conservation efforts in the United States. The nonprofit organization boasts 15,899 members and 154 chapters in 28 states – all current organizational records – support that has helped Quail Forever improve more than 600,000 of habitat for quail since 2005.
Pheasants Forever, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Pheasants Forever’s full Annual Report will be published in the Spring 2016 issue of the Pheasants Forever Journal of Upland Conservation.
About Pheasants Forever:
Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 140,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent; the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure. Since creation in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent $577 million on 489,000 habitat projects benefiting over 12 million acres nationwide.
For more information, visit: www.PheasantsForever.org.