Pheasants Forever,
Outdoor News,
Minnesota DNR, and
Game Fair have announced a new
Build A Wildlife Area campaign to create a public hunting area in southern Minnesota honoring the memory of famed outdoor writer, Gary Clancy. Fundraising efforts for the memorial acquisition – to be named the Gary Clancy Wildlife Management Area - will commence at Game Fair in Ramsey, Minn. on August 12
th. Pheasants Forever and its partners are asking the outdoor community for their support in this effort.
“Writing in Outdoor News and other publications, Gary Clancy happily shared his family’s vigorous hunting and fishing lifestyle with readers in Minnesota and across the country for 25 years,” stated Rob Drieslein, managing editor for
Outdoor News and longtime friend of Gary Clancy. “I can think of no better way to honor our old friend than creating a place where future veterans and blue-collar Minnesotans can watch a good dog flush some pheasants under a November sunset.”
A Vietnam veteran, Clancy served in the U.S. Army before returning home to Minnesota where he eventually embarked on an outdoor writing career. He sold his first article to
Fins and Feathers magazine in 1980 and became a regular columnist in
Outdoor News in the 1990s. He wrote for numerous national outdoor publications, authored eight books about the outdoors, and met with hunters and anglers of all ages at seminars and book signings around the country. Clancy, age 68, passed away on July 27
th at his home in High Forest, Minn., after a lengthy battle with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
The Gary Clancy Wildlife Management Area will be funded, in part, by contributions from the
Build A Wildlife Area program. Through a unique 3:1 funding mechanism utilizing state, federal, and other grants, the Build A Wildlife Area program puts 100 percent of the funds donated directly toward land acquisitions. Since 2003, the Build A Wildlife Area program has helped create or expand Wildlife Management Areas and federal Waterfowl Production Areas in Minnesota, opening more than 5,500 acres of habitat to public hunting, birding, hiking, and trapping. Current corporate supporters of the Build A Wildlife Area campaign in the memory of Gary Clancy include:
| Apple Autos |
Federal Premium Ammunition |
| MobileStrong |
Irish Setter Boots |
| Pheasants Forever |
Quail Forever |
| Anoka County Pheasants Forever |
Outdoor News |
| KFAN Sports Radio |
DELTA Waterfowl |
| Minnesota DNR |
Minnesota Waterfowl Association |
| Minnesota Deer Hunters Association |
Game Fair |
| Ducks Unlimited |
National Wild Turkey Federation |
| Pimushe Resort |
Archery Headquarters |
| Gary L. Clancy Family |
|
“Pheasants Forever and its partners have set a goal to raise $100,000 in the memory of Gary Clancy and we certainly encourage Minnesota hunters, anglers, and the outdoor community to contribute to the cause,” said Eran Sandquist, Pheasants Forever’s state coordinator in Minnesota. “Having left such a significant impact on the nation’s hunting and fishing community, the Clancy Wildlife Management Area is just a small testament to one of Minnesota’s largest outdoor advocates.”
Contribute to the Gary Clancy Wildlife Management Area:
- Game Fair Ticket Discount – Outdoor News subscribers who bring their paper mailing labels to Game Fair will automatically receive a $2 discount on daily tickets while contributing $2 to Pheasants Forever’s Build A Wildlife Area campaign for the Gary Clancy Wildlife Management Area.
- Anoka County Pheasants Forever Booth – All proceeds from the Anoka County Pheasants Forever gun raffle at Game Fair will be contributed to the Gary Clancy Wildlife Management Area memorial campaign.
- Build a Wildlife Area Fund – Individual contributions to the Clancy memorial can be made via Pheasants Forever’s Build A Wildlife Area program at www.pheasantsforever.org/clancy
- Speak with a Pheasants Forever Representative – For more information about the Gary Clancy Wildlife Management Area or questions about donating, please contact Eran Sandquist at 763-242-1273 or esandquist@pheasantsforever.org
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