Pheasants Forever and many partners have permanently conserved wildlife habitat and added valuable public hunting access with a 148-acre land acquisition project in Iowa’s Cerro Gordo County. To be owned and managed by the
Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board, the new, to-be-named wildlife area will serve as critical habitat for pheasants, waterfowl and other wildlife.
Spearheading the project was the local Iowa Pioneer Chapter of Pheasants Forever. “This acquisition makes a great addition to our wildlife areas and better yet, it is open for public enjoyment by Iowa residents,” stated Mike Webb, executive director for the Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board and long-time member of the Iowa Pioneer Chapter of Pheasants Forever. “I want to personally thank Mr. and Mrs. Marius Floy as willing sellers of this property. Their vision for the future of wildlife habitat conservation in Cerro Gordo County is a benefit to our whole community.”
A stand-alone acquisition - located a mere three miles from the existing
Union Hills Wildlife Management Area - the 148-acre property has a diverse landscape consisting of 11 wetland complexes intermixed with diverse grasslands. Previously enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program, the new public area will undergo continued restoration efforts in future years, including prescribed burning and volunteer tree removal, to help the property retain its wildlife value.
With the recent completion of the Cerro Gordo County land acquisition, Pheasants Forever chapters in Iowa have now contributed to over 86,000 acres of public hunting access throughout the state. Currently, Iowa ranks 49th in the nation among all states for public land ownership (by percentage) and 47th for conservation spending. “The fundraising efforts of our local chapter and others in the area have contributed a great deal of financial resources to make more public lands available in northern Iowa,” added Webb, “We are proud to support publicly-accessible lands in our state.”
Partners involved in the project include Pheasants Forever, the Iowa Pioneer Chapter of Pheasants Forever, the Northern Prairie Chapter of Pheasants Forever, the Mitchell County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, the Floyd County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, the Chickasaw County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, the Iowa State Council of Pheasants Forever in Iowa, NAWCA funding, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, and Iowa Habitat Stamp funding.
Directions to the new wildlife area: From Thornton, Iowa, head west for a half-mile on County Road B-65. The newly-acquired property is located on the south side of the road and will be open for public use once signs have been posted around the perimeter of the property. Users are prohibited from shooting within 200 yards of the occupied residence located on the area’s northern boundary.
Pheasants Forever in Iowa
Iowa’s 100 Pheasants Forever chapters and three Quail Forever chapters account for 19,574 members statewide. Those chapters have spent over $47 million to complete 114,566 habitat projects since the first Iowa chapter was formed. Those projects have improved over 1.1 million acres for wildlife habitat conservation throughout the state.
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 140,000 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 $577 million on 475,000 habitat projects benefiting 10 million acres nationwide.
Media Contact
Jared Wiklund
(651) 209-4953
jwiklund@pheasantsforever.org