Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever has begun preparations for its annual celebration of upland hunting and conservation, the 2017 National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic, being hosted at the Minneapolis Convention Center on February 17, 18 & 19. The event will represent the nation’s largest convention for upland hunters, landowners, sporting dogs, and wildlife habitat conservationists. The 2017 National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic is presented by Federal Premium® Ammunition.

Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever is celebrating the 10^th anniversary of its National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC) – chapter-nominated individuals ages 13-18 who are tasked with being spokespersons for their age group on national issues regarding the outdoors – and touting the efforts of its individual members for their work on conservation issues since 2006.

Pheasants Forever’s newest partners in conservation – Casey’s General Store and Pepsi – are donating to the organization’s wildlife habitat conservation mission for every bottle of Pepsi sold in Casey’s General Store locations in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31^st, 2016.  

Federal Premium is proud to announce it has surpassed a total of 50 million shotgun shells sold in support of Pheasants Forever, the nation’s leading upland habitat conservation organization. These special shells are all sold in boxes marked with the Pheasants Forever logo, as part of an on-box royalty program. 

 

Pheasants Forever’s Rooster Road Trip 2016 - Upland Nation, an annual digital showcase of upland hunting on public land habitat & access projects, takes to the field October 24^th – 28^th and November 14^th – 18^th. This year’s tour turns bird dogs loose on the prairies of South Dakota and Minnesota before venturing south to put boots down in the grasslands of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska.

In light of changes to the Conservation Reserve Program, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has partnered with Pheasants Forever, the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (through Natural Resources Conservation Service ),  High Plains Land Conservancy and Muley Fanatics Foundation to provide Corners for Conservation—677 acres  of grassland wildlife habitat and 82 new hunting spots in Phillips, Sedgwick, and Kit Carson Counties.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever is pleased to announce the promotion of several longtime Farm Bill biologists – Erin Holmes, Brady Wooten, and Brandon Beltz – to new positions within “The Habitat Organization.”

Pheasants Forever has been recognized with its fifth consecutive 4-star rating from Charity Navigator – the nation’s largest charity evaluator – and is now included in the top 6 percent of charities in the country to receive such designation.

For the third consecutive year, Pheasants Forever and Pepsi-Cola of Mitchell are teaming for conservation by renewing the “Take It Outside” program. Through this partnership, Pepsi-Cola of Mitchell will donate to Pheasants Forever for every trademarked Mountain Dew 20oz bottle sold, up to $5,000 between October 1, 2016 and December 15, 2016 in the Mitchell region, supporting the organization’s wildlife habitat conservation efforts in South Dakota.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, joined by South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard, today announced Sioux Falls as the 2018 host city of the nation’s largest upland hunting and conservation event. National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic will be held at the Sioux Falls Convention Center on February 16, 17 & 18 in 2018 with Federal Premium® Ammunition serving as the presenting sponsor.

North Dakota’s roadside pheasant survey conducted in late July and August indicates total birds and number of broods are down statewide from 2015.

Another mild winter, good nesting season conditions and a slight increase in grassland habitat in the pheasant range all combined to increase Minnesota’s roadside pheasant index by 29 percent compared to last year, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
 

The South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP) has completed the annual pheasant brood survey and the results show a 20 percent decrease in the statewide pheasants-per-mile (PPM) index from 2015.

State officials covered more than 6,000 miles of county roads counting upland game during the first two weeks of August and after all the species were counted, data compiled and numbers crunched, what can Iowa pheasant hunters expect to find this fall? A repeat of last year.

Families and youth can apply now for an opportunity to hunt with experienced pheasant hunters on select days in October. The mentored hunts are being offered through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Pheasants Forever.