A Great Start to Forever: January 2008

People Making a Difference in Conservation

A Patron Day for Pheasants Forever

A Great Start to Forever: January 2008 Matt McQuillen, past president and current habitat chair for the Twin Rivers (Iowa) Chapter of Pheasants Forever is Pheasants Forever's newest patron member!

The Twin Rivers chapter is an extremely active chapter, and this past fall was named the 2007 Conservation Organization Chapter of the Year by Field & Stream magazine. While the recognition is well-deserved, McQuillen and the chapter see the longer-lasting impact the chapter's work will have, and his patron membership is reflective of that.

"Although our work on land acquisitions gets much recognition, I personally have the greatest degree of gratification from our involvement in the Youth Fun Day," McQuillen said, "We have a coalition of conservation groups who join together to provide 100 youth an opportunity to learn about and experience such things as duck calling, turkey calling, rifle shooting, shotgun shooting, fly tying, and conservation skills. More and more often, we hear about the lack of available land on which people can hunt. Although our efforts to acquire public access land are intended to benefit all members of the community, we are most hopeful that it affords hunting and outdoor opportunities for our youth."

To say thanks for his patron membership, Tom Fuller, Pheasants Forever's Regional Representative in Eastern Iowa joined Matt for a hunt at the McQuillen Addition of the Muskrat Slough Wildlife Area in Jones County, Iowa. Before the addition, Muskrat Slough was a 375-acre wildlife area owned and managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The 138-acre McQuillen Addition provided greatly needed nesting area and was a wonderful enhancement of the Muskrat Slough WMA.

"Matt, two faithful bird dogs, six less than impressed ring-necks and yours truly attended this morning's ceremonies," Fuller said of the outing, a very appropriate way to say "thank you" on behalf of Pheasants Forever.

For information on becoming a PF/QF patron member, contact Diane Weyandt, QF Director of Membership, at (877)773-2070 or via email at dweyandt@pheasantsforever.org.

If you have story ideas, dog photos, pre-1980 hunting photos and requests for future On The Wing consideration, please send correspondence to ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.

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