Chapter News Update

Presidents Report

Well, when it rains it pours so they say. We have had more rain this year then I can remember. Numerous broods have been seen by many folks. I hope the rains did not affect the hatch this year too much. We will see in October. Summer is about half gone already and the rooster will be flying soon for us.

We still have scheduled two habitat days this summer to be held on Saturday July 27th and August 17th. We will be creating new parking areas and replacing old or worn boundary signage for several of WMA’s. I want to thank all the volunteers who have assisted in this effort. These habitat projects are part of our participation in the Adopt-a-WMA program with the MN DNR. We hope you will be able to join us in one of the activities.

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. If you are interested in participating as a “Hunter Mentor”, please reach out to us for this event.

The Nicollet Conservation Club (NCC) Youth Day is set for July 20th at the NCC facilities. This event is driven by our friends at Nicollet County Pheasants Forever. We are fast approaching this date and we hope to see the numerous young folks attend and have a great day at this event.

Our new Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist is Reva Ecker. She joined us in early May. Additionally, we have a grazing specialist who is Brock Fitzgerald. He joined us in June. Both are in the Sleepy Eye Farm Services Agency offices and are here to support farmers & landowners in the many State and Federal programs.

Mark your calendars for the 2025 BCPF Annual Banquet to be held March 22, 2025, and being held at the Sleepy Eye Event Center. More to come as the event gets planned later in the year.

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 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 still in the planning stages, but events being discussed are: a new WMA public lands dedication for recent lands that BCPF has acquired; trap shoot at the Sleepy Eye Sportsman’s Club; local business tours; educational events; and maybe some street party activities. As these plans solidify, we will update you as these become available.

The Sleepy Eye Brewing Company has graciously asked us to help support a fund-raising event for Friday night at the brewery as well. We will be doing a raffle at the event and all proceeds will be donated to BCPF. We thank them in advance for their support.

Saturday, October 12: 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 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 you are interested in helping!

After the hunt, everyone will be invited to come back to the Sleepy Eye Sportsman’s Club for lunch and bird cleaning.

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.

The 2024 Nicollet Conservation Club (NCC) MN Youth Day is set for this Saturday, July 20th starting at 9:00 am. This will be hosted again by the NCC along with the lead sponsor of Nicollet County Pheasants Forever. Brown County, Martin County and Blue Earth County Pheasants Forever organizations will also be active at this event.

Some of the Key Activities Include:

● Archery Target Shooting;

● Gun Target Shooting;

● Fishing:

● Electronic Trap Shooting;

● Paintball Target Shooting;

● Visit with MN DNR Game wardens.

Lunch will be provided and registration links will be posted on the BCPF Facebook page and the Pheasants Forever Event Center pages as they are available.

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

New Staff - Pheasants Forever has a New Farm Bill Biologist and a Grazing Specialist to Help Farmers & Landowners in Habitat Areas

We are excited to have two new team members joining us in the habitat area. They are Reva Ecker – Farm Bill Biologist and Brock Fitzgerald – Grazing Specialist. Both are in the Sleepy Eye FSA Offices and are there to support farmers & landowner on the many State and Federal Farm Programs. 

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 . 

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.

Adopt-a-WMA Program

As part of this year’s efforts to get many of the public WMAs improved for this falls MN Governor’s Pheasant Opener, we have additional dates for habitat projects that are: July 27 and August 17 (Note: August date may move to September). Locations, times and signup will be posted prior to each date on the following web pages: BCPF Facebook webpage and PF Event Center webpage. Signup for the July event at: RSVP Signup for Habitat Day . We hope you will be able to join us in one of the activities.

Tim Kraskey – (612) 298-0909 or tim@kraskey.com
Dan Braulick - (507) 227-2349 or danbraulick@gmail.com
Steve Eckstein – (651) 238-8440 or drsteveeckstein@gmail.com
Dave Huhn – (507) 276-8785 or dhhuhn@hotmail.com
Brandon Kral – (507) 217-0214 or kralerlee@gmail.com
Ben Cunningham - (507) 382-4226 or benjcunningham@hotmail.com
Reva Ecker – BCPF Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist (507) 794-7997 Ext. 110 or mailto:recker@pheasantsforever.org
Brock Fitzgerald - PF Grazing Specialist (309) 824-2553 or mailto:bfitzgerald@pheasantsforever.org

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.
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.