[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 26 (Monday, February 25, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E175-E176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF PHEASANTS FOREVER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 25, 2013

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to the 
founders, members and staff of Pheasants Forever on the occasion of the 
30th anniversary of the organization.
  The Minnesota roots of this organization go back to day one and its 
500 original members in the early 1980s. Residents of Minnesota's 
Fourth Congressional District share great pride that for most of those 
years, the organization has worked to protect the habitat for this 
beautiful bird throughout North America from its home base in White 
Bear Lake. Today, Pheasants Forever boasts more than 125,000 members in 
more than 600 chapters in both the U.S. and Canada, from Pennsylvania 
to Washington and Minnesota to Texas.
  Minnesota has a long and distinguished history of wildlife 
conservation, and is the birthplace of several organizations dedicated 
to protecting wildlife and other natural resources. Born out of a 
crisis when our state suffered a dramatic decline in pheasant numbers, 
Pheasants Forever is a vital part of this proud tradition. The 
organization first took flight when a group of conservation minded 
hunters rose to meet the challenge presented by Dennis Anderson, St 
Paul Pioneer Press outdoor editor, as he wrote about the devastation of 
grassland habitat in Minnesota.
  The grassroots origins of Pheasants Forever have remained critical to 
its success, and each chapter is empowered to determine how their funds 
are used. Members directly participate in the decisionmaking process 
and see firsthand the conservation impact of their contributions. Over 
the years, this strategy has produced real progress in protecting 
habitat.

[[Page E176]]

  In 1985, members of Pheasants Forever helped form the Conservation 
Reserve Program, CRP, as part of the Department of Agriculture. The CRP 
implemented a land set-aside program that paid landowners to keep their 
environmentally sensitive areas unused, creating more natural habitat 
for pheasants and other wildlife.
  To this day, Pheasants Forever continues to work closely with the 
Department of Agriculture, partnering with USDA service centers and 
local landowners to create and improve vital habitat on private lands. 
More recently, Pheasants Forever launched the ``Build a Wildlife'' 
program to create public hunting grounds and outdoor recreation areas. 
In 2005, Quail Forever launched to focus on improving habitats for 
quail populations. To date, Pheasant Forever's various initiatives have 
protected and improved more than 8 million acres of wildlife habitat. 
These significant achievements have reversed the trend toward vanishing 
grasslands, and made Minnesota a premier example of upland habitat 
conservation.
  Mr. Speaker, I honor the 30th anniversary of Pheasants Forever and 
the hunters and outdoor enthusiasts who make this organization 
successful.

                          ____________________