Pheasants Forever is expanding its presence in the state of California with new chapter starts in Butte, Solano, and Sutter counties. Known as the Chico, Solano County, and Sutter Buttes Chapters of Pheasants Forever, the local groups will focus on restoring upland habitat in their respective regions while educating younger generations on the importance of wildlife habitat conservation.
“All of our new chapters in California are motivated by the common thread of wildlife habitat and upland hunting traditions,” stated Dan Connelly, regional representative for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever in California. “Chapter committee members are eager to begin solving complex issues for wildlife habitat in their regions, and I believe their work will make a difference for the hunting and conservation community in California.”
Although pheasant populations have been on the decline in California since the early 1990’s, a call to action for restoring habitat of this iconic species is being made by Pheasants Forever and its partners. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) recently hosted a
pheasant ecology workshop in cooperation with Pheasants Forever to examine possible causes in the decline of the state’s pheasant population over the last 25 years. “The combination of modern analysis tools and on-the-ground land management techniques helped us chart a map forward, which is especially important during the drought,” said Matt Meshriv, upland game program scientist for CDFW.
Data collected during the workshop, held April 30 and May 1, showed that contributing factors to the pheasant decline included changes in agricultural practices, growth of forested habitats in historic wetland and grassland environments, climate change and predation from increasing raven populations. Pheasants Forever chapters in the state are working to tackle these issues by contributing local funding towards sound habitat management practices. “We look forward to collaborating with Pheasants Forever and other conservation partners interested in this species,” added Meshriv.
Chico Chapter of Pheasants Forever
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The Chico Chapter of Pheasants Forever has elected Thomas Page of Chico as president and Ryan Page of Durham as treasurer.
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For more information about the chapter or to become involved, contact chapter president, Thomas Page, at (503) 966-3396 /
email.
Solano County Chapter of Pheasants Forever
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The Solano County Chapter of Pheasants Forever has elected Tim Anderson of Vacaville as president and Bobby Horner of Vacaville as treasurer.
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For more information about the chapter or to become involved, contact chapter president, Tim Anderson, at (707) 474-8448 /
email.
Sutter Buttes Chapter of Pheasants Forever
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The Sutter Buttes Chapter of Pheasants Forever has elected James Stone of Sutter as president, Sonja Stone of Sutter as treasurer, and Jason Cooper of Meridian as banquet chair.
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For more information about the chapter or to become involved, contact chapter president, James Stone, at (530) 923-9440 /
email.
California is home to 12 Pheasants Forever chapters, nine Quail Forever chapters, and 1,800 members of "The Habitat Organization." For more information about Pheasants Forever in California, to join a chapter, or inquire about starting a chapter, contact Dan Connelly at (702) 606-6775 /
email.
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.
Photo Credit: Pheasants Forever, Rachel Bush
Media Contact
Jared Wiklund
(651) 209-4953
jwiklund@pheasantsforever.org