Pheasants Forever 2012 Annual Report: $50 Million Toward Wildlife Habitat Mission
Pheasants Forever 02.01.13
For the second consecutive year, Pheasants Forever spent more than $50 million on its wildlife habitat conservation mission. In 2012 – the conservation organization’s 30th anniversary year – those mission dollars helped “PF” accomplish 17,406 wildlife habitat projects spanning more than 940,000 acres, and put 44,000 youngsters through mentored hunts and shooting sports events. Pheasants Forever maintained strong program efficiency, 91.23 percent, continuing to be one of the most efficient national upland conservation organizations in the country.
Program efficiency means Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, spends 91.23 cents of every dollar it raises directly on mission work, with the remainder utilized for fundraising and administrative functions. In 2012, Pheasants Forever was recognized as a 4-star charity by Charity Navigator, the largest charity evaluator in the country.
“Every year, the pressures on the landscape in pheasant country increase, so it’s imperative for pheasants and quail that this organization makes annual improvement in its conservation delivery,” says Howard Vincent, President and CEO of Pheasants Forever, Inc., “Pheasants Forever’s volunteers, chapter leaders, members, donors and outside partners are proving that even in bleak conservation times, their commitment to improving wildlife habitat remains steadfast.”
Wildlife Habitat Projects
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapter projects accounted for 285,374 acres of wildlife habitat improvement in 2012. Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists – who educate landowners about the benefits of conservation programs – made 21,600 landowner contacts in 2012, resulting in 656,702 acres of wildlife habitat improvement.
Land Purchases / Permanent Habitat Protection
Because of 34 land purchases in 2012, 7,640 acres of wildlife habitat have been permanently conserved by Pheasants Forever. Nearly a quarter of Pheasants Forever’s 2012 program expenses were directed at purchasing land, and all these properties have or will be turned over to state or federal natural resource agencies and opened to public hunting and outdoor recreation.
Youth, Education & Public Awareness
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters held 937 youth events in 2012, nearly doubling the organization’s previous high mark. In the last year, 44,614 youngsters participated in chapter sponsored mentored youth hunts, target shoots or other youth/conservation events. Chapters invested heavily into the organization’s FOREVER Shooting Sports Program.
Land Management Policies and Programs
Pheasants Forever’s push for a strong conservation title in a new federal Farm Bill has carried into 2013. Pheasants Forever is calling for a 5-year Farm Bill with strong conservation provisions, one that restores the strength of the Conservation Reserve Program so it can compete in the modern agricultural marketplace.
Pheasants Forever is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Pheasants Forever’s full Annual Report will be published in the Spring 2013 issue of the Pheasants Forever Journal of Upland Conservation. Pheasants Forever will officially celebrate its 30th anniversary at its upcoming National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic event, which runs February 15-17 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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.
