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WELCOME TO THE BROWN COUNTY PHEASANTS FOREVER NEWS
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We are Brown County Minnesota Pheasants Forever Chapter #166 (BCPF), a nonprofit conservation organization founded in 1987 dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasants and other upland bird populations in North America.
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OVERVIEW & PRESIDENTS REPORT
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As summer fades and autumn is nearly upon us the cackle of the roosters is now calling us to enjoy the fresh fall air. Dogs are being readied and opening day of pheasant season is only a few weeks off. To many of us, it is our favorite time of year.
We hosted three Adopt-a-WMA habitat days this summer and added numerous new parking areas to the WMAs in Brown County for all to use and enjoy. We want to thank all the participants and hope you enjoy the fruits of our labors.
The 2024 MN Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener (GPHO) is taking place this year out of Sleepy Eye. We have been participating in meetings with the Sleepy Eye Chamber of Commerce as well as the MN Department of Natural Resource (DNR) to support Sleepy Eye in this event as it relates to hunting on opening day. Below are more details surrounding this event and our activities.
This year’s Nicollet Conservation Club (NCC) Youth Day, which was held on July 20th, we had over 200 future hunters and conservationists attend. This is by far one of the best regional events in our area. If you have not been to one, we encourage all kids between about 7-13 to come out and attend next year.
This year’s MN DNR Annual Roadside Count shows that the mild winter but wet spring did not impact the pheasant hatch very much. It says south central MN has increased its pheasant count about 10% over 2023s count. That’s encouraging news for us for this Fall’s hunt.
Mark your calendars for the 2025 BCPF Annual Banquet to be held March 22, 2025, at the Sleepy Eye Event Center. More to come as the event gets planned later in the year.
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Thanks, Tim Kraskey,
President Brown County Pheasants Forever. His Dogs; Nellie & Billie (over the Rainbow Bridge)
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2024 MN Governor's Pheasant Opener
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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. Several folks (including maybe 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 (GPHO Events and Registration):
Friday, October 11: Many activities are planned in the town and surrounding area. Some of the activities Pheasants Forever will be supporting are:
- Brown County Pheasants Forever will be hosting a land dedication ceremony at one of the recently acquired parcels of land. We will be dedicating two parcels of land to the same WMA complex. A total of 140 new acres will be part of this complex. This dedication will be at 4:30 pm and buses will be departing from the Sleepy Eye Event Center starting at 3:30 pm for attendees at this event. Attendees are asked not to drive vehicles to this event. There is no parking, and we need to leave any room on the road for farm vehicles to get by. Registration is free at: Free Registration Link . We want to thank our friends at Martin County Pheasants Forever for bringing their trailer with the PA system we will be using at the event. You will also see our new BCPF trailer we have acquired for supporting our activities. Check out more Pheasants Forever Land Acquisitions at: Pheasants Forever Land Acquistions .
- After the land dedication, at about 5:30 pm, the Sleepy Eye Brewing Co. will be hosting visitors and have graciously asked BCPF to help raise funds for habitat at the brewery. BCPF will be having the Scheel’s Banner Raffle going so anyone who wants to take a chance at winning prizes can help our cause. All monies raised will be donated to BCPF. We thank Sleepy Eye Brewing Co. for their support. BCPF Pint Night
Saturday, October 12: Opening day for MN pheasant hunting. Some of the activities Pheasants Forever will be supporting are:
- There will be a hunter’s breakfast for registered attendees at the Sleepy Eye Event Center. After the breakfast many of the registered hunters will be led by a “Hunter Hosts” and be hunting mostly on public land at a MN Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) or in some cases private property. We have several BCPF members participating as “Hunter Hosts” for the actual hunt.
- After the hunt, everyone will be invited to come back to the Sleepy Eye Sportsman’s Club for lunch and bird cleaning. BCPF will be leading the bird cleaning efforts.
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 on opening day.
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The 2024 MN DNR Roadside Count shows numbers are up in our area about 10% over 2023 count. This is very encouraging after all the May rains. Observations by many of our members show two sizes of birds; some are nearly full grown with colors and other birds are about the size of softballs.
We want to point out that weather can be the determining factor from year to year on the brood counts and how good or bad the pheasant numbers are. If you have planted a food plot this year we want to thank you for this effort.
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Landowners there are several active programs you should be aware of:
New RIM Riparian “Wetlands” and “Floodplain” Restoration Easement Program
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 contract 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 are being accepted for these programs.
CRP (Conservation Reserve Program)
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 at any time. Offers for continuous enrollment are not subject to competitive bidding during specific periods. Instead, they are automatically accepted provided the land and producer meet certain eligibility requirements and the enrollment levels do not exceed the statutory cap.
For “General CRP” sign ups, you should contact your local FSA representative to get the timing of current signups and the current programs.
For more information, including a list of acceptable practices, contact your USDA Service Center at visit fsa.usda.gov/crp or Reva can be reached at (507) 794-4491 or at recker@pheasantsforever.org . Brock can be reached at (309) 824-2553 or at bfitzgerald@pheasantsforever.org .
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Adopt-a-WMA Program
As part of this year’s efforts to get many of the public WMAs improved for this fall, we have added nearly 10 new parking areas on Brown County WMAs. Some of these are located at the following WMAs: Wood Lake; Meadowlark; Verona; Rosenau-Lambrecht; Coal Mine Creek; Terri; Bashaw; Rieck’s Slough and Vogel. We hope you find these convenient for you and your hunting party.
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Next spring’s banquet will be held on Saturday March 22, 2025, at the Sleepy Eye Event Center. We will be making several changes to comply with MN Gambling Commission requirements. Some of these are:
- We will not be allowed to have Rooster Bucks in any ticket packages.
- No one under 18 can play the raffles or games. We will have a separate set of youth activities.
- Guns will not be allowed to be taken home the night of the event. The ATF is making it difficult to complete any FFL type transfer at these types of events.
- Winners of some of the guns, that are won from Scheel’s will be allowed to take the equivalent cash value we paid for in a Scheel’s gift card instead of the gun. However, some of the guns are specialized purchases by BCPF and will not be allowed to be exchanged.
We hope that these changes, which are beyond our control, will not impact your decision to attend our event and support the mission. We want to thank you in advance for everyone’s participation in this event.
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Key Dates to Mark Your Calendar
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September 21, 2024 - MN Waterfowl Season Opener
September 28, 2024 - MN Fall Turkey Season Opener
October 3, 2024 - BCPF Board Meeting
October 11-12, 2024 - MN Governor's Pheasant Opener (GPHO)
October 12, 2024 - MN Pheasant Season Opener
October 17-20, 2024 - MN Youth Deer Season
November 9, 2024 - MN Firearm Deer Season Opener
November 30, 2024 - MN Muzzleloader Season Opener
December 12, 2024 - BCPF Board Meeting
January 1, 2025 - MN Pheasant Season Closes
February 6, 2025 - BCPF Board Meeting
March 22, 2025 - BCPF Banquet & Family Fun Night
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Other Conservation Organizations
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We want to let you know our friends at the MN Deer Hunters Association (MDHA) will be hosting a banquet on September 28 at the New Ulm National Guard Armory.
For ticket information please contact: Terry Alfson (507) 317-8076 or Bob Haala (507) 276-6289. Hope you can support other organization with similar missions to ours as well as Pheasants Forever. Purchase Online Tickets Here
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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.
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Again, we want to thank all our members and volunteers who do so much to help in the Brown County Pheasants Forever (PF) mission.
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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 NEARLY 40 WMA/WPAs encompassing OVER 5,000 ACRES.
- PARTICIPATED in OVER 3,300 ACRES in Brown County land ACQUISITIONS that are now WMA/WPAs.
- BROWN COUNTY HAS OVER 24,000 acres in HABITAT.
- 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.
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Brown County Pheasants Forever
1783 Buerkle Circle
St. Paul, MN 55110
United States
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