Chapter News Update - February 2024

Presidents Report

Well winter is here, and it is banquet season all around us. Many conservation clubs like: Delta Waterfowl; Ducks Unlimited; MN Deer Hunters Association and Pheasants Forever are in planning and hosting mode. I hope you will join us at our 2024 Brown County Pheasants Forever Banquet and Family Fun Night being held March 23, 2024, at the Sleepy Event Center. This is further detailed below.

This is the time of year parents are looking at camps for their kids to enjoy summer. We have many outdoor options we can help with. Some of the options for camps you might want to consider are Tune Camp; Woodie Camp; etc. These camps are outdoor driven, and kids come away with many enjoyable events from the activities. Talk to us if interested. We can assist you in how to get more information.

With the 2024 MN Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener taking place this year out of Sleepy Eye, we met with the MN Department of Natural Resource (DNR) to plan many updates and improvements to enhance the WMAs in and around Sleepy Eye and Brown County. These efforts will be part of the Adopt-a-WMA program in which we are active participants. This is further detailed below.

Hope to see all of you at the 2024 BCPF Annual Banquet will be March 23, 2024.

The 2024 BCPF Annual Banquet will be March 23, 2024, held at the Sleepy Eye Event Center. We hope you mark your calendars early for this event and you can attend and support us. Additionally, we have already saved the date for 2025. It will be on March 22, 2025. All the money raised will be put to good use in Brown County. Some of these efforts are to support the high school trap teams; improve the WMAs with food plots; plantings; parking areas and signage.

Several changes will be taking place at the event regarding games and raffles to better comply with the MN Gambling Boards Rules. We hope you can attend and help us raise critical funds, which we use for habitat work in the county. Although some of the changes may seem inconvenient or unnecessary, we hope you understand why we must make changes to certain games or raffles to meet their requirements.

Some of these are:

No discounted Rooster Bucks can be used for a fund-raising activity.
People under 18 are not allowed to gamble.
Credit cards are not allowed for gambling purposes. We can take them for auctions and ticketing to the event.
And many more little ones you will see at the event.

Tickets can be purchased now for the event at: https://pfqf.myeventscenter.com/event/2024-33rd-Brown-County-Pheasants-Forever-Banquet-87735 . Rooster Bucks will only be available this year as part of a Sponsorship Package.

Tickets purchased at the door will be at an increased “premium” price of $100 vs. $75 for pre-pay. Save money and make it easier for us to play by purchasing your tickets prior to the event date.

Ticket Options are as follows:

- Silver Sponsorship - Individual or Couple's Package @ $250.00

Includes event entry, (1) Pheasants Forever (PF) annual membership; (2) meals; (2) PF logo knives; (2) PF Logo wine glasses; ($150) in Rooster Bucks; (1) sponsor only raffles tickets and sponsorship name in brochure.

- Gold Sponsorship - Family Package @ $350.00

Includes event entry, (1) Pheasants Forever (PF) annual membership; (Up to 3) Pheasants Forever (PF) annual ringneck memberships; (2) meals; (3) youth meals; (2) PF logo knives; (4) PF Logo wine glasses; ($250) in Rooster Bucks; (1) sponsor only raffles tickets and sponsorship name in brochure.

- Platinum Sponsorship - Corporate or Table (8) Package @ $1000.00

Includes event entry, (8) Pheasants Forever (PF) annual membership; (8) meals; (8) PF logo knives; (8) PF Logo wine glasses; (1) gun ($500 value); (8) sponsor only raffles tickets and sponsorship name in brochure.

- Associate Membership + Meal Ticket @ $75.00

Includes event entry; (1) meal ticket and an annual PF membership ($35 value). Please be sure to fill out the full name and address for the membership.

- Spouse or Life Member Meal "Only" Ticket @ $25.00

Includes event entry; (1) meal ticket. "MUST be current Life Member of PF" or spouse with paying Adult Member.

- Youth Ages 5-15 (Ringneck) Membership + Meal Ticket @ $15.00

Includes event entry: (1) meal ticket and (1) annual "Ringneck" membership ($15 value). Ages 15 years and younger.

- Student Ages 16-25 (Student) Membership + Meal Ticket @ $50.00

Includes event entry; (1) meal ticket and (1) annual "Student" membership ($25 value). Ages 16-25 years old.

- New Life Membership + Meal Ticket + Package @ $1500.00

Includes event entry, (1) Pheasants Forever (PF) life membership; (2) meals; (2) PF logo knives; (2) PF Logo wine glasses; ($150) in Rooster Bucks; (2) sponsor only raffles tickets and sponsorship name in brochure.

Our emcee and masters of ceremony for the event will be Bob St. Pierre, Chief Marketing Officer of Pheasants Forever. He will bring a lot of fun and energy to the banquet and is a great guy who has hunted and supports Brown County in many ways.

Sleepy Eye will be hosting the MN Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener (GPHO) on October 11-12. The town of Sleepy Eye will be in the spotlight for two days as several folks (including the Governor; LT. Governor; MN DNR Commissioner and President, CEO of Pheasants Forever, along with other local and state politicians) will be attending from all around the state. We at Pheasants Forever are taking an active role in certain parts of this two-day event. An early look at a few of the activities we will be coordinating with the City of Sleepy Eye include:

Friday, October 11: Many of the local businesses will be hosting activities. These are in the planning stages and we will update you as these become available.

Saturday, October 12: There will be a breakfast for registered attendees at the Sleepy Eye Event Center. After the breakfast many of the registered hunters will be led by a team member and be hunting on both MN Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) or on private property. We will be actively seeking up to 35 “Hunter Hosts” for the actual hunt. We are actively seeking and encouraging local resident hunters to be “Hunter Hosts” to help in this effort to take a few guests with them to their favorite hunting location. Please contact Tim Kraskey directly to discuss if interested in helping!

After the hunt, everyone will come back to the Sleepy Eye Event Center for lunch and closing.

We are actively seeking anyone with private land that is in CRP or a similar type of habitat that can host a small group hunt for the morning of October 12. Please contact Tim Kraskey directly to discuss.

We do want to add a cautionary note for any folks who are not from the local area. Our public lands for the morning of October 12 will be very crowded and used for this event. If you plan to travel to Brown County to hunt, you might find it hard to get on public land.

Landowners there are several active programs you should be aware of:

New - Landowner-led Prescribed Burns.

Pheasants Forever is assisting in an effort for landowner-led prescribed burns. In cooperation with “Prescribed Burn Association” or PBA, groups of landowners and other interested parties wanting to pool resources such as knowledge, tools, and equipment to perform prescribed burn on private property can gain hands on training and safety skills for performing burns.

Partners in the PBA program include USDA, NRCS, US Fish & Wildlife Services, Pheasants Forever and more. If you are interested in learning more or helping, contact Jason Andersen, Prescribed Burn Coordinator at (402) 210-0444 or at jandersen@pheasantsforever.org .

New - RIM Riparian Floodplain Restoration Easement Program

Landowners there are several active programs you should be aware of: The Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) has received funding through the Outdoor Heritage Fund and Clean Water Fund to secure Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) easements along riparian areas that provide both improved wildlife habitat and water quality benefits. Land currently under a CRP contract may be enrolled and there are different RIM contact lengths and management options available. BWSR will utilize the RIM easement program in partnership with local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) to target, protect and restore high priority habitat complexes. Applications will be accepted during the months of January, July, and October. Applications must be submitted by the last day of the applicable month. Enrollment begins 10/02/2023.

CRP (Conservation Reserve Program). Sign-ups are currently on-going.

In exchange for a yearly rental payment, farmers enrolled in the program agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and to plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. The program’s long-term goal is to re-establish valuable land cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion, and reduce loss of wildlife habitat. Contracts for land enrolled in CRP are 10-15 years in length.

Under continuous CRP signup, environmentally sensitive land devoted to certain conservation practices can be enrolled in CRP. Offers for continuous enrollment are not subject to competitive bidding during specific periods. To submit an offer, producers should contact the FSA at their local USDA Service Center by July 31, 2024, in order to have an offer effective by Oct. 1, 2024.

They are automatically accepted provided the land and producer meet certain eligibility requirements and the enrollment levels do not exceed the statutory cap. FSA will accept offers from producers on a first-come, first-served basis and will return offers for approval in batches throughout the year.

For more information, including a list of acceptable practices, contact your USDA Service Center at visit fsa.usda.gov/crp.

Adopt-a-WMA Program

If you have hunted or driven by the Bashaw Wildlife Management Area (WMA,) you might have noticed the new signs we have erected. They are informative and descriptive to the WMA. We have been trying now for 3+ years to get something like this as the standard for all WMAs. This is part of ongoing improvements we are doing as part of the Adopt-a-WMA program with the MN DNR.

We hope you can join us for next spring on Earth Day as we will again get out and do some specific work like planting shrubs, cleaning up garbage, replacing signs or removing fencing on a few WMAs. Mark your calendars now and save the date for this on Saturday April 20th, 2024. Other dates are in the planning stages as we speak to help get many improvements prior to the MN Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener.

Save the date for this on Saturday April 20th, 2024.

The monies we receive through donations, fund raising, and membership are critical to us enhancing or purchasing lands for all the public to enjoy. We encourage everyone to renew their membership to Pheasants Forever or upgrade to a Lifetime membership.

Pheasants Forever is the only national organization with a model of chapters keeping 100% of the funds they raise. While belonging to a larger national organization that has a voice on federal and state conservation policies, chapters are tasked with finding projects for their funds. Minnesota takes full advantage of this model using funds raised for projects locally as well as other areas in the state of Minnesota.

Go to https://www.pheasantsforever.org/Participate/Why-Participate.aspx

andhttps://www.pheasantsforever.org/getdoc/91f8dfad-47ad-46d6-af54-5649db42671f/Membership.aspx help us grow!

BROWN COUNTY PHEASANT’S FOREVER ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
FOUNDED 37 YEARS AGO and SPENT OVER $4 MILLION in Brown County for HABITAT.
OVER 500 HABITAT PROJECTS benefiting OVER 5,000 ACRES on PRIVATE land.
PRESERVED OVER 3,000 ACRES for PUBLIC ENJOYMENT & HUNTING. Brown County has OVER 35 WMA/WPAs encompassing OVER 4,800 ACRES.
PARTICIPATED in OVER 3,000 ACRES in Brown County land ACQUISITIONS that are now WMA/WPAs.
HOSTS AND PARTICIPATES IN ANNUAL MENTORED YOUTH HUNTS with more than 200 KIDS PARTICIPATING
SUPPORT our LOCAL TRAP SHOOTING TEAMS.
PARTICIPATE in MN DNR Adopt-a-WMA program. Planting food plots, replacing signs, removing trash & barb wire, creating parking areas, and more.