Dr. J. Scott Taylor has been hired as the Coordinator of the National Wild Pheasant Conservation Plan the Midwest Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) announced last week at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference. Dr. Taylor will begin his new duties in April at the Pheasants Forever regional office on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota.
Inspired by the successes of the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative, the National Wild Pheasant Conservation Plan was developed by the Midwest Pheasant Study Group, an official advisory body of MAFWA composed of state pheasant biologists, with significant participation by other pheasant states throughout the country. The goal of the plan is to restore and maintain self-sustaining wild pheasant populations in each state to provide maximum recreational opportunities.
Although originally the product of MAFWA, the plan truly is national in scope, and the Midwest Pheasant Study Group was disbanded and reconstituted as the National Pheasant Technical Committee. Participating pheasant states from the Pacific Northwest to Pennsylvania plus Pheasants Forever have pledged support not only for the implementation of the plan, but also financial commitments to support the Coordinator’s work for at least 3 years.
Dr. Taylor earned a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from Kansas State University, a M.S. in Range and Wildlife Management from Texas A&I University, and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has worked for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission since 1996 as their Upland Game Program Manager, Wildlife Research Section Leader, and Wildlife Division Administrator. As Division Administrator he served on the Central Flyway Council, the Playa Lakes Joint Venture Management Board, and the Great Plains Landscape Conservation Cooperative Steering Committee.
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 145,000 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 $634 million on 502,000 habitat projects benefiting 14.1 million acres nationwide.
Pictured: MAWFA representatives from different conservation organizations and state agencies welcome Dr. Taylor to his new position as National Wild Pheasant Conservation Plan Coordinator. Top row -Todd Bogenschutz (Iowa DNR), Dr. Scott Taylor (National Wild Pheasant Conservation Plan Coordinator), Keith Sexson (KDWPT), Ed Boggess (retired MN DNR) Bottom row - Howard Vincent (Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever) and Jim Douglas (NGPC)
Media Contact
Jared Wiklund
(651) 209-4953
jwiklund@pheasantsforever.org