Will initiate landscape sagebrush restoration and improve wildlife habitat
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are proud to announce Kaelie Peña has been hired as the first Nevada State Coordinator. Peña will now drive habitat programs, lead an already talented team of field staff and work closely with partners, local chapters and other stakeholders. This work will ensure habitat continues to be recognized as a critically important driver of abundant wildlife populations while supporting sustainable agriculture, healthy soil and clean water.
“I am extremely excited about Kaelie joining the west region’s leadership team,” said Al Eiden, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s director of field operations for the west region. “She brings an extensive background in public land management and collaboration with partners which will be critical to the goals we have for upland bird habitat restoration in Nevada.”
Prior to joining Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, Peña worked as a rangeland management specialist for the Salmon-Challis National Forest through the USDA Forest Service for six years. She has a B.S. in rangeland resource science from Humboldt State University and is in the process of earning a master’s in environmental science from the University of Idaho. In her free time, Peña enjoys hunting, fishing, live music, reading and knitting.
In this position, Peña will coordinate and lead state level habitat efforts in Nevada. She is the first ever State Coordinator in Nevada and will be focused on initiating landscape scale sagebrush restoration on both private and public lands, seamlessly improving habitat for sage grouse, chukar, deer, elk and a wide variety of other wildlife species. This position would not be possible without the support of the Nevada Department of Wildlife, Natural Resources Conservation Service of Nevada and the Intermountain West Joint Venture.
“I am very passionate about collaborating with others on resource management and conservation,” Peña said. “I have a special place in my heart for the Great Basin and I am an avid outdoorswoman who truly loves the state of Nevada. Being in a position that will allow me to do this fulfilling and much needed work is a dream come true.”
For more information about Quail Forever in Nevada, contact Kaelie Peña at kpena@pheasantsforever.org.