Habitat & Conservation  |  01/24/2022

Waste Management Donates $60,000 to Local Pheasants Forever Chapter


dc3db7a8-15fd-465c-bed4-5ed7fe537ebe

Texas based disposal and environmental services company Waste Management, Inc. has donated $60,000 to the McLeod County Chapter of Pheasants Forever in Minnesota. The corporate donation – funded by Waste Management, Inc affiliates Burnsville Sanitary Landfill, the Elk River Landfill and Spruce Ridge, Inc. – will be used to restore and enhance portions of two existing pieces of public hunting land on the western edge of the Twin Cities metro.

“This is another step in our longtime partnership with these businesses,” said McLeod County Pheasants Forever chapter president Jeff Nies. “They’ve done great work for conservation in Minnesota and we’re really excited to utilize this money to continue that work.”

The first part of the project will restore all feasible wetland basins on the 156-acre Spiering Wildlife Management Area in southern McLeod County. This will be accomplished through sediment removal, dike construction, disturbance seeding and other common conservation practices. The total cost for this part of the project is estimated at $30,000.

The second half of the project will focus on just under 33 acres of the Rich Valley Wildlife Management Area between Hutchinson and Glencoe, Minnesota. The work will consist of converting that acreage from cropland to a mixture of native grasses and wildflowers, through tillage and chemical application, followed by seeding and maintenance mowing. Pheasants Forever will conduct all project management on both properties.

Rich Valley and Spiering Wildlife Management areas are permanent habitat protection projects contributing to the goals of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Call of the Uplands® national campaign - a recently announced monumental initiative to save America’s uplands and cultivate the next generation of conservationists and hunters.

“McLeod County has always had a great working relationship with Waste Management,” said Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever biologist Kayla Blocker. “This donation is very impactful for us and we’re really excited to get started on the work this spring.”

Waste Management, Inc. offers environmental services to nearly 21 million residential, industrial, municipal and commercial customers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. With 26,000 collection and transfer vehicles, the company has the largest trucking fleet in the waste industry. Waste Management’s presence in Minnesota is significant, and their senior district manager in the area Michael Miller said they want to show Minnesotan’s they’re committed to conservation.

“When another opportunity for an environmental project arose, it was an easy decision to work with the Pheasants Forever team,” said Miller. “They brought great ideas to the table and we have confidence in their ability to execute.  We’re excited to see the results which stand to benefit the environment for all Minnesotans to enjoy.”

Work on both properties will get underway soon and is scheduled to be completed by Fall 2024.