New Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist Lands in Wisconsin
Pheasants Forever 03.09.12
Pheasants Forever announces Josh Nemec of Spencer, Wisconsin, as its new Wisconsin Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist covering Pierce, St. Croix, Polk, Barron, Burnett, Washburn, Iron, Ashland, Bayfield, and Douglas counties. Nemec is located in Balsam Lake and is available to provide conservation and land-use consultation to area landowners.
Pheasants Forever’s Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists work to provide technical assistance to farmers and ranchers—through one-on-one consulting—regarding the benefits of conservation programs (such as the Conservation Reserve Program). By working with landowners to develop and implement individual wildlife management plans, these biologists represent Pheasants Forever’s on-the-ground efforts in ensuring landowner are aware of conservation program options. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever initiated the Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist Program in 2003 with 4 positions, and it has since grown to more than 100 partnership positions located throughout the country.
“Josh has made a solid addition to an already outstanding Wisconsin team,” said Jim Inglis, Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist Coordinator. “Wisconsin has a strong outdoor legacy, and conservation is what keeps that legacy alive. A Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist, such as Josh, is the perfect resource for area landowners looking to improve their land for pheasants and other wildlife.”
Nemec graduated from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a BS in Wildlife Ecology in May of 2011. Nemec recently worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a Plant Technician at Nicolet National Forest and for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as a Wildlife Technician. Josh’s passion for natural resources came from growing up on his parent’s dairy farm in Wisconsin, where he continues to improve the farm’s habitat for wildlife.
“It is my belief that habitat should be created or improved to have a sustainable, well-managed hunting population for people to enjoy,” said Nemec, “And it is my mission as a Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist to enable landowners in my home state to implement wildlife management practices that improve habitat for a host of wildlife.”
Wisconsin is home to 31 Pheasants Forever chapters and over 7,700 Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever members. Josh Nemec can be reached at (715) 557-0525 or Email Josh. For more information regarding Pheasants Forever’s Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist program in Wisconsin, please contact Jim Inglis at (419) 569-1096 / Email Jim.
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 130,000 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.
Pheasants Forever launched Quail Forever in August of 2005 to address the continuing loss of habitat suitable for quail and the subsequent quail population decline. Bobwhite population losses over the last 25 years range from 60 to 90 percent across the country. The reason for the quail population plunge is simple - massive losses of habitat suitable for quail. There are five major factors leading to the losses of quail habitat; intensified farming and forestry practices, succession of grassland ecosystems to forests, overwhelming presence of exotic grasses like fescue that choke out wildlife, and urban sprawl.
