Pheasants Forever, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and Clarke County Conservation Board have permanently conserved 197 acres of wildlife habitat with the creation of the new Oakwood Grassland Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Spearheaded by local chapters of Pheasants Forever, the property is located a mere 30 minutes from the Des Moines metro area and permanently protects important habitat for pheasants, quail, and other wildlife.
The Oakwood Grassland was made possible, in part, by a long-standing partnership between
Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and Pheasants Forever. The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation – a statewide, private nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and restoring Iowa’s land, water and wildlife – can assist public agencies by purchasing and holding land while grants and other sources of funding are secured. The Oakwood Grassland was originally identified as a priority landscape for wildlife and purchased for holding by the Foundation until transferred to Clarke County for public ownership.
“Partnerships were the key to making Oakwood Grassland a public property,” said Ross Baxter, land projects specialist for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. “The funding support from local Pheasants Forever chapters, the Pheasants Forever state council, and Clarke County made it possible to secure the grant funding necessary to make this project viable.“
The Clarke County Conservation Board will own and manage the Oakwood Grassland, a much-needed addition to the existing 800 acres of public land in Clarke County (of which only 500 acres is open to public hunting). The addition of the Oakwood Grassland equates to a 25 percent increase in the county’s public land holding, and a substantial addition to pheasant habitat that is managed under the jurisdiction of the Board. The Oakwood Grassland will be open to public hunting once signs are posted - the property is located approximately four miles northeast of Osceola, adjacent to highway 69.
"The Clarke County Conservation Board is excited to acquire and begin actively managing the Oakwood Grassland WMA for pheasants and other wildlife,” stated Scott Kent, director of the Clarke County Conservation Board. “The ample amount of diverse plant and wildlife species there will provide the public a great area to recreate and create outdoor memories to last a lifetime."
With over 75 percent of Pheasants Forever members rating habitat preservation on public land as a main benefit of belonging to “The Habitat Organization,” local chapters of Pheasants Forever have made land acquisition a priority since 1982. In fact, Pheasants Forever chapters in Iowa alone have contributed $11.3 million to 746 land acquisition projects helping to create over 87,000 acres of public land that is open to hunting and other recreational pursuits.
Funding for the Oakwood Grassland WMA was provided by: Clarke County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, Warren County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, Northern Polk Chapter of Pheasants Forever, Iowa Capitol Chapter of Pheasants Forever, State Council of Pheasants Forever in Iowa, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Clarke County Conservation Board, and the Iowa Wildlife Habitat Stamp Fund.
About Pheasants Forever
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 149,000 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. Since creation in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent $634 million on 502,000 habitat projects benefiting 14.1 million acres nationwide.
Media Contact
Jared Wiklund
(651) 209-4953
jwiklund@pheasantsforever.org