Creating public lands for wildlife and for people

To date, Pheasants Forever has made more than 218,000 acres of land forever public for upland wildlife, and for hunting and other recreation.

For many members, Pheasants Forever’s ongoing work to create public lands is one of the top reasons for joining and continuing to support the organization.

Want a “visual” of the impact of the 218,591 acres that Pheasants Forever has made forever-public to date? It is 341.5 square miles. Walk just the perimeter of each of those square miles and you would travel 1,366 total miles — the distance from The U.S.-Canada Peace Garden Crossing in North Dakota to Round Rock, Texas, just north of Austin.

Imagine what a bird dog would run … and how much land awaits inside each square mile.

Public access is so important, it is right there loud and clear in two words in the Pheasants Forever mission, and permanently public lands are at that core. How does it work?

Pheasants Forever serves as a coordinator for these acquisitions. Pheasants Forever helps with financing but also helps pull together a wide variety of partner organizations to fund a land purchase.

PF chapters across pheasant country are integral to that process by helping identify willing sellers and also putting locally-raised money in the pool. Willing is an important word. It is also noteworthy that many private sellers come to Pheasants Forever because they want to create a legacy of wildlife and wild places for future generations. In short, all sales to PF are voluntary.

 

Pheasants Forever then works with a variety of federal, state or local agencies and organizations to create upland habitat on the acres, or improve what might already be there, and then finally facilitate a property’s transition to state or federal agencies for use as a wildlife management area, game production area, waterfowl production area (great upland habitat!) and other forms of permanently public land.

Private lands work their way in to public access equation too. How? Many of the acres that PF biologists help landowners put into upland habitat – often on acres that aren’t profitable for growing crops – are then enrolled in public walk-in access hunting programs in that state.

How can you help? Join, renew, stay with us, increase your support. PF members are critical to the public access equation. Your membership provides funding, and shows that the public wants permanently public uplands upon which to hunt and recreate. And your membership creates real clout behind our policy work.

To participate even more in the public access part of the PF mission, many folks earmark contributions and donations directly to PF’s Build a Wildlife Area program for their state. Tale a look at our Public Lands Acquisition Map to see this in action … and perhaps find a place for your next hunt or wildlife hike.

 

Pheasants Forever then works with a variety of federal, state or local agencies and organizations to create upland habitat on the acres, or improve what might already be there, and then finally facilitate a property’s transition to state or federal agencies for use as a wildlife management area, game production area, waterfowl production area (great upland habitat!) and other forms of permanently public land.

Private lands work their way in to public access equation too. How? Many of the acres that PF biologists help landowners put into upland habitat – often on acres that aren’t profitable for growing crops – are then enrolled in public walk-in access hunting programs in that state.

How can you help? Join, renew, stay with us, increase your support. PF members are critical to the public access equation. Your membership provides funding, and shows that the public wants permanently public uplands upon which to hunt and recreate. And your membership creates real clout behind our policy work.

To participate even more in the public access part of the PF mission, many folks earmark contributions and donations directly to PF’s Build a Wildlife Area program for their state. Tale a look at our Public Lands Acquisition Map to see this in action … and perhaps find a place for your next hunt or wildlife hike.