The organization’s Legislative Action Fund helps bring our voice for wildlife habitat conservation to the nation’s capital. This group of members and employees were in Washington, D.C. this week to meet with U.S. senators and representatives about the North American Grasslands Conservation Act, Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, and the 2023 Farm Bill’s conservation title.
North American Grasslands Conservation Act a Major Focus in 2022
It takes good habitat to produce abundant wildlife — and producing that habitat takes solid funding and sound national and state conservation policy.
A handful of federal legislation initiatives shape conservation and wildlife programs that direct billions of dollars and impact hundreds of millions of acres. The policy efforts that originate in Congress and are approved by the White House create legitimate conservation impacts nationwide, enacted by state and federal agencies, partner organizations and the grassroots volunteer efforts of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever members. These funding mechanisms help manage wildlife populations, provide hunting access and ultimately shape our hunting experience on both public and private lands.
Advocating for these policies takes hard work, time and money. Thanks to grassroots funding through Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Legislative Action Fund, upland hunters and conservationists nationwide are well represented in Washington.
“We’re working on several really significant pieces of legislation right now, including the North American Grasslands Conservation Act (NAGCA) and the Recovering America Wildlife Act (RAWA),” said Bethany Erb, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s director of government affairs. “If signed into law, these efforts will positively impact millions of acres of habitat and help preserve threatened species, while expanding public hunting access across the country as well. Our ability to promote these projects in Washington is in part thanks to the legislative action fund and donations from local chapters. This money results directly in tangible changes on the landscape to preserve the habitat we all care so much about.”
The North American Grasslands Conservation Act in particular has major implications for the future of the uplands. Years in the making, the bill was introduced to the U.S. Senate this week by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. NAGCA would help kick start the voluntary protection and restoration of grasslands and sagebrush shrub-steppe ecosystems – and the livelihoods and wildlife that depend on them – by creating a landowner-driven, voluntary, incentive-based program to conserve these imperiled landscapes. If passed, the bill will be one of the most significant steps for grassland conservation efforts in the 21st century.
Contributions to the Legislative Action Fund are imperative to groundbreaking efforts like NAGCA. Donations come from chapters nationwide, and every dollar counts. The following is a list of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters who contributed more than $10,000 in 2021.
Pelican River (MN) - 0690
McKenzie County (ND) - 0248
Grand Valley (MI) - 0100
Clayton County (IA) – 0078
Heartland (NE) – 0983
High Plains (NE) – 0278
James Valley (ND) - 0891
Llano Estacado (TX) - 3231
Macomb County (MI) - 0549
McLeod County (MN) - 0007
Mile High (NE) - 0209
Nicollet County (MN) - 0763
Northern Colorado (CO) - 0395
Northern South Dakota (SD) - 0077
Pheasant Country (SD) - 0872
Phillips County (CO) - 0371
Pikes Peak (CO) - 0247
Pipestone County (MN) - 0062
Plymouth County (IA) - 0037
Republican Valley (NE) - 0497
Rock Creek (NE) - 0721
Saline County Uplanders PF/QF (KS) - 0500
Sheridan/Johnson County (WY) - 0542
Southeastern Wisconsin (WI) - 0190
Southwest Indiana (IN) - 3172
Stearns County (MN) - 0009
Tri-County (MN) - 0004
Washtenaw County (MI) - 0151