Pheasants Forever Accepts 5,241 Acres of Voluntary Conservation Easements in FY 2017

During the organization’s last fiscal year, ending June 30, 2017, Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever partnered with private landowners to protect 5,241 acres with perpetual conservation easements held by Pheasants Forever, Inc. The properties will be managed as working lands, while providing quality habitat for pheasants, quail, pollinators, prairie chickens, migratory birds, and a variety of other wildlife.
 
“Conservation easements are an important component of the organization’s broader strategy to permanently protect large swaths of habitat throughout pheasant and quail ranges in the United States,” stated Howard Vincent, President and CEO for Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever.  “To date, Pheasants Forever has partnered with numerous private landowners to protect strategic lands through voluntary conservation easements in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota.” 
 
At its simplest, a conservation easement is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and a qualified organization, like Pheasants Forever, that permanently limits certain uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. Conservation easements are one of the many tools available for donors looking to retain ownership of land for themselves and their heirs, yet to ensure permanent protection of wildlife habitat for future generations. A prime example of this type of habitat protection work is a series of conservation easements recently donated to Pheasants Forever by landowner, Brad Bradley.
 
“When I was growing up in eastern Kansas, quail were plentiful. Now, quail numbers are down 90 percent and conservation efforts are needed more than ever,” explained Bradley. “I want to protect my land as a legacy for upland wildlife, as well as preserve its agricultural heritage. My partnership with Pheasants Forever allowed me to accomplish these goals on my 2,035-acre properties in Kansas and Missouri. For someone like me, who is interested in retaining ownership of land for our heirs, conservation easements are an effective tool. Establishing conservation easements with Pheasants Forever is a great way for our family to permanently protect current and future land uses, while encouraging wildlife habitat conservation for future generations.”
 
In addition to Pheasants Forever’s conservation easements with Mr. Bradley, the organization worked with additional landowners during its last fiscal year to establish the following perpetual conservation easements:
 
  • Jewell County, Kansas: 1,425-acre conservation easement in Kansas' pheasant, quail, and greater prairie chicken range of north-central Kansas.
  • Edwards County, Kansas: 1,781-acre conservation easement completed in partnership with the Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies and located in the heart of Kansas' pheasant, quail, and lesser prairie-chicken range in the state’s south-central region.
To learn more about Pheasants Forever’s permanent habitat protection strategies available for your property or to be connected with a Pheasants Forever conservation easement specialist, please contact David R. Bue, Vice President of Development, at (218) 340-5519 or email dbue@pheasantsforever.org.
 
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 149,000 members and 720 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Since creation in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent $708 million on 517,000 habitat projects benefiting 15.8 million acres nationwide. 
 
Photo: A wetland and its associated upland bird habitat are now permanently protected as part of landowner Brad Bradley’s conservation easement partnership with Pheasants Forever.  
 
Media Contact
Jared Wiklund
(651) 209-4953
jwiklund@pheasantsforever.org