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A letter from our president

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are very fortunate to have such a strong Pheasants Forever chapter here in Plymouth County. After having a very hard winter and a very wet spring and summer, our pheasant numbers are way down as I am sure you all realize. The future of our pheasants and habitat all depend on our continued support and insight. We are in a situation where in the next three years there is a possibility of losing 40,000 acres of CRP in Iowa alone. To try and help prevent this, Pheasants Forever along with the NRCS and other wildlife agencies have started a Farm Bill Biologist Program . Our county, along with Sioux, Woodbury, and Cherokee were chosen to hire a specialist. In December, Randy Phelan from Le Mars was hired to fill this position. Randy comes to us with many years of experience, working for the NRCS and other state organizations. He started working in the Farm Bill Biologist Program with all 4 counties in December . This new program was funded by the NRCS , Soil and Water Conservation Board , Plymouth County P.F. and private donations. If you would like more info on this please visit with Randy the night of the banquet, read the info in our program, or see Randy at the NRCS office.

Our chapter has had the opportunity to carry out what we started last year by having the dedication of the Kohler family ground on September 17. The Kohler family was totally thrilled by the new sign and the appearance of the property. The opening of the Lloyd Property for public hunting also took place in late November. We are very pleased to have been a very integral part of both of these projects and they would not have happened without your support. Just recently the Dennis L. Sohl Center for Outdoor Learning in Hinton was finished. The conservation board approached us for some financial help. After further discussion it was decided to purchase all of the furniture for the education room at the center. Hundreds of children will use the room through out the year, therefore, fullfilling the new program in place called No Child Left Indoors that was started by Pheasants Forever. This is just one way we can impact the lives of our youth in Plymouth County.

With the leadership of Victoria DeVos, our ringneck members have participated in several events sponsored by our chapter. On September 11, we held our first annual Ringneck Rendevous, which consisted of trap shooting, a goose shoot, archery, geo-caching and animal identification. Through these events the kids had an opportunity to win Rooster Bucks. Along with Pheasant Forever, Ducks Unlimited and Plymouth County Conservation had booths with activities for the kids. After the fun and games, pizza was served and an auction was held where the Rooster Bucks were spent. On October 22nd and 23rd, we had our Youth Mentor hunt. We did something a little different this year. We split kids and parents up with PF members to hunt alone on private property. We also planted a few pen raised birds from Randy and Jeff Jelken at each place to make sure that the kids had an opportunity to see pheasants. There was a demonstration afterwards on how to clean birds and pizza was served. From the response from the kids, this was a very successful event. We have our Second Annual Ice Fishing Derby scheduled for Feb. 19, 2012. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Victoria and her crew for the great job done this year for our youth.

So as we move forward as a county chapter, we know that we are making the right choices that will improve our youth, our habitat, and our future as outdoorsman. I think this exemplifies our motto which is conservation of pheasants, quail, and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies and programs that will aid future generations.

To conclude a very eventful year, we will be holding our 27th Annual Banquet on March 3, 2012 at the Le Mars Convention Center. On behalf of the Plymouth County Pheasants Forever Board of directors, thanks again for your support and we look forward to seeing you on March 3, 2012.

Bob Puetz, President, Plymouth County Pheasants Forever