Pheasants Forever Adds Three New Farm Bill Range/Wildlife Biologist in Idaho
OutdoorHub 02.15.12
Pheasants Forever announces the hiring of three new Farm Bill Range/Wildlife Biologists in Idaho, upping the total number in the state to five. The new biologists will work with landowners, farmers and ranchers to implement wildlife habitat conservation measures aimed at increasing sage-grouse and other wildlife populations.
“The new Farm Bill Range/Wildlife Biologists in Idaho are focusing on sage-grouse habitat conservation,” said Sam Lawry, Pheasants Forever Western Farm Bill Coordinator. “They represent Pheasants Forever’s on-the-ground efforts to ensure that sage-grouse and other wildlife numbers stay resilient throughout the state.”
The biologists will work one-on-one with landowners to develop and implement individual wildlife management plans. They will also provide technical assistance to farmers and ranchers regarding the Sage-Grouse Initiative offered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Pheasants Forever began working with NRCS in 2011 to help implement the Sage-Grouse Initiative. Toward that effort, the Range/Wildlife Biologists will be providing program technical assistance, scientific information, and communication support. The Sage-Grouse Initiative targets program delivery to areas with existing sage-grouse populations to help maintain large and intact grazing lands. This approach enables NRCS to prioritize conservation program implementation in areas where they will have the greatest impact on increasing sage-grouse populations.
“The NRCS Sage-Grouse Initiative is a landscape-scale approach to keeping the sage-grouse off the endangered species list and help ranchers improve their lands. We teamed up with 30 different partners to expand our technical assistance to ranchers to provide a voluntary, incentives-based approach,” says Jeff Burwell Idaho NRCS State Conservationist. “We forged a partnership with Pheasants Forever, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and Idaho Fish and Game to expand our ability to provide technical assistance to ranchers.”
“I am really excited about these Pheasants Forever range biologists. I think the ability of having a person focused on working with landowners one-on-one, helping them to accomplish their conservation goals, is a big benefit to Idaho,” says Sal Palazzolo, Idaho Department of Fish & Game Private Lands and Farm Bill Coordinator. “This type of partnership between agencies and organizations is just what is needed to help sage-grouse, and I hope to see it grow in the future.”
Jeff Reese will be located at the NRCS office in Burley. Reese earned his BS in Rangeland Resources from Utah State University in May 2011. Having worked in various ranching and farming positions, Reese is very familiar with the farming and ranching community, making him a perfect grassroots addition to Pheasants Forever. Reese can be reached by Email / 208-678-1225.
- Michael Higgins will work out of the NRCS field office in Arco. Higgins recently graduated with a BS in Rangeland Ecology and Management from Oregon State University. Prior to becoming a Range/Wildlife Biologist, Higgins spent his summers as a Range Aid for the Bureau of Land Management, as well as a NRCS volunteer. As an NRCS volunteer, Higgins worked closely with Oregon landowners, gaining insight into the conservation programs and tools that Pheasants Forever and the NRCS use. Higgins can be reached by Email / 208-527-8557.
- Joshua White will be located at the Mountain Home NRCS field office. White earned his degree in Wildlife Ecology from Iowa State University in 2007, and since then has been employed by several state and federal agencies working on a variety of species-specific studies and management concerns across a regional scale. His most recent position was as a Waterfowl Biologist with Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Recently, Josh finished his master’s degree at South Dakota State University, assessing the potential effects of grassland loss on the abundance of ring-necked pheasants. White can be reached by Email / 208-590-9527.
- “We are thrilled to be working with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, NRCS and the US Fish and Wildlife Service to put these new biologists on the ground,” says Lawry, Pheasants Forever Western Farm Bill Coordinator. “These positions will provide a vital link between working ranches and NRCS conservation programs, benefiting the birds and sustainable ranching.”
- Idaho is home to 11 Pheasants Forever chapters and nearly 1,000 Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever members. For more information regarding Pheasants Forever’s Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist program, please contact Sam Lawry, Pheasants Forever’s Western Farm Bill Wildlife biologist Coordinator, at (406) 552-5052 / Email Sam.
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.
