Habitat & Conservation  |  01/02/2020

Habitat at and for the Heart


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Spring issue celebrates the core of Pheasants Forever’s mission

By Tom Carpenter, Editor at Pheasants Forever

Here as the core of winter settles onto the northern reaches of the pheasant range, and true late-season hunting starts farther south, may seem an odd time for a Pheasants Forever Journal cover featuring wildflowers in bloom, native prairie grasses standing tall, and wetlands edging the scene.

But I don’t think there’s any time better!

By the time you receive the issue in a month or so, I guarantee you’re going to be thinking spring. Rather than a nesting hen, or pheasant chicks, or a crowing rooster (all worthy subjects and cover candidates themselves), we decided to go right to the heart of Pheasants Forever’s mission: Habitat.

Put yourself in the picture. Can you hear the crickets chirping … and the rustle of young pheasants foraging beneath the coneflower stems? Can you smell the sweet pungency of the wetland … and a waft of bee balm scent? Can you see the bees buzzing, songbirds flying … and monarchs nectaring?

We’ve never (as far as anybody can remember) done a picture of just habitat as the cover for your magazine. It’s time.

I love what’s coming together for this issue, and I think you will too:

*A hands-on Ultimate Back 40 habitat plan for small blocks of pheasant habitat
*An illustrated journey into making your own Pint-Sized Pollinator Plot
*A deep feature story on Precision Agriculture and why it’s so important for farmers’ profitability, the future of the uplands, and pheasant hunting opportunity.
 *An outline on all Pheasants Forever does for native prairie grouse and their habitat – sage grouse, sharptails, and lesser and greater prairie chickens
*Why good soil health means more upland wildlife – including pheasants.

Habitat is at the heart of what Pheasants Forever does.

Habitat is for the heart of every Pheasants Forever member – places where we (and others) can escape, recreate, watch a bird dog work, hunt.

Enjoy the spring issue! If you haven’t yet joined Pheasants Forever, you may miss the cutoff for this issue’s mailing list. But if you join and then email me at tcarpenter@pheasantsforever.org, I’ll send you a copy when it’s printed. Click here or on the ad below for a great membership offer.