Pheasants Forever is urging members of the South Dakota Legislature for bi-partisan support of
House Bill 1192, a legislative request on behalf of Governor Dennis Daugaard. The proposed legislation would allocate $1.5 million to the newly-created conservation fund held with the South Dakota Community Foundation. In turn, these funds would be used to complete state wildlife conservation projects.
“Pheasant hunting and the associated tourism benefits are worth an estimated quarter of a billion dollars to the state of South Dakota annually. The Governor’s $1.5 million request should be looked upon by the state’s legislative representatives as an initial investment in protecting one of the state’s significant revenue streams and cultural assets,” commented Dave Nomsen, leader of Pheasants Forever’s
new regional headquarters in Brookings.
House Bill 1192 would provide $1.5 million of matching money for South Dakota’s conservation fund, a trust created by the South Dakota Community Foundation as a deliverable from the
Governor’s Pheasant Habitat Work Group. For every dollar received from private contributions or private donations made to the trust, the proposed $1.5 million appropriation would be used as a 1:1 match, providing direct support toward the state’s habitat conservation efforts.
South Dakota has lost more than 1.8 million combined acres of grassland and prairie habitat since 2006 – having a direct long-term impact on bird populations in what many regard as the pheasant capital of the world. This impact prompted the state’s first Governor’s Pheasant Habitat Summit and the Work Group’s subsequent report.
About Pheasants Forever in South Dakota
South Dakota’s 32 Pheasants Forever chapters account for 6,000 members statewide. Those chapters have spent $4.8 million to complete 24,000 habitat projects since the first South Dakota chapter formed in Minnehaha County in 1985. Those projects have improved 360,000 acres for wildlife.
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 $508 million on 475,000 habitat projects benefiting 10 million acres nationwide.