January 14, 2025 Comments (0) Home Page, Hunting Notebook

Congratulations Clay County Pheasants Forever

By Steve Weisman

On Saturday, February 15, the Clay County Pheasants Forever chapter will hold its annual banquet. This banquet will be the 40^th Anniversary of the chapter which originated in 1985. It is both a milestone and a source of achievement for the chapter devoted to making a positive impact on the local habitat and community.

According to JP Knutson, Pheasants Forever Regional Representative for northwest Iowa, “Clay County Pheasants Forever has had a tremendous impact on their county and the state of Iowa. Whether it’s putting on a banquet, hosting their ladies hunt, or performing prescribed burns, they execute at a high level. Their passion and commitment to building more birds has been exemplary.”

Paul Daniels, who has been president of the local chapter for the past three years, says, “This is a great time for Clay County Pheasants Forever and is a chance to look to the past and the original founders of this organization and the bright future for years to come. We are proud to celebrate this milestone and at the same time make plans for the future. Clay County Pheasants Forever began with a dozen members, of which Jim Montgomery and Kevin Massen were original members. They along with Phil Kohrs and Dan Ellis have all been named to the Iowa Pheasants Forever Hall of Fame for their exceptional volunteerism.”

Daniels reflects on the growth since 1985. “We have grown now to have a 21-person board and an annual banquet with more than 300 members in attendance.”

On this 40^th anniversary, both Jim Montgomery and Kevin Maassen discussed the origin of the chapter. According to Montgomery, “That first year we began with 12 members, and we had no money for funding any projects. We met that spring at the cabin located at the Clay County Conservation property.”

Maassen agrees, saying, “We reached out to the community with our ideas and received great support. That support has continued to grow, and the community support has always been there for us. One of our first major projects was raising $10,000 toward the purchase of the Ocheyedan property. This $10,000 became the seed money to be matched with several other partners that today has become a 340-acre project.”

As a national organization, Pheasants Forever is one of those unique organizations that is about both conservation and the people that are part of this conservation organization. There is a reason that it is nicknamed “The Habitat Organization”. Since 1985, Clay County Pheasants Forever has helped secure over 1,000 acres of public hunting ground through chapter donations and collaborative partnerships including with the Iowa DNR and the Clay County Conservation Board.

A recent opportunity for betterment in Clay County came with the opportunity to help fund the $2,000,000 Oneota Outdoor Learning Center. According to Daniels, “Our chapter gave $100,000 toward the new learning center.”

In addition to funding for land acquisition, Clay County Pheasants Forever understands the importance of involving members in the outdoors. An important part is involving youngsters.

According to Montgomery, “For the past 20 years, we have hosted a Youth Pheasant Hunt with 20-30 youngsters each year.” Youngsters aged 9-15 are welcome to attend and enjoy the activities; however, the live hunt is only available to those age 12 and older and for those who have completed a hunters safety course.

Daniels notes, “We offer a variety of activities, safety tips and the chance to hunt a few birds on some quality upland habitat.” It’s an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors with family and friends and end up enjoying pizza together after the event.

Maassen adds, “Over the last few years, we have begun to have single parents bringing their child to learn more about the proper use of firearms, to learn firearm safety and to experience activities such as trap shooting. Our chapter volunteers have been very important in making this annual event a success.”

The local chapter also regularly donates to shooting sports like GTRA Bulleyes, Spencer Archery, BVU Shooting Sports and Special Youth Challenge Ministries. In March of 2024, the local chapter received news from the national organization that Clay County Pheasants Forever was second in the entire nation of over 700 plus chapters in supporting education and outreach projects and also 21st for habitat! Daniels says, “That’s only possible in a county this small by having tremendous individual and business supporters, along with having volunteers donate countless hours of their time to burn thousands of CRP acres. These funds raised help us support habitat and outreach/education projects.”

Another hugely successful outdoor opportunity began eight years ago with the first annual Ladies Pheasant Hunt. Daniels reflects, “Over the past eight years, growth has been phenomenal, beginning with 15 participants the first year to the current cutoff limit of 64 ladies. Participants range from 16 to 64 years of age and the hunt takes place Bill and Debi Muller’s land. Bill and Debi have been incredible hosts for years and their beautiful property is the ideal set up for an event like this.”

The Ladies Pheasant Hunt is designed to showcase the many reasons that make hunting such a great pastime. The hunt is open for all ladies – whether they have a hunting background or not. Daniels says, “Yes, we’re here to help the ladies get a chance to bag some roosters, but it’s also about community and relationships. Once again, we have so many chapter members who donate their time and also our Fall Mentored Hunt Sponsors to help make this event become a reality.”

A new event in November of 2023 was the first annual Heroes Hunt hosted at Bill and Debi Muller’s property. A total of 10 area veterans and first responders joined Clay County Pheasants Forever volunteers for a day of comradery and hunting. Daniels reflects, “Our goal was to show our appreciation for all that these people have done for us. Our chapter appreciates their service and sacrifices for our area and beyond!”

Where the money comes from

All of this can’t be done without the loyalty of the membership and the organization and leadership of the board. According to Daniels, “Our board has grown to 21 members, of which four are women. Board members divide up responsibilities and work together somewhat like putting together a large jigsaw puzzle.”

Certainly, the annual banquet is a major fundraiser with the cost of membership going to the national headquarters, while the money from raffle and auction items going to the local chapter. Daniels explains, “The national organization and the state organizations provide a voice regarding state and federal conservation policies. Most importantly, the local chapters retain 100 percent decision-making control over their locally raised funds. What this does is allows local chapters and their volunteers to develop wildlife habitat projects and conduct youth conservation events in their own communities. So, the money and the efforts stay right there in that community.”

Hard work and volunteer efforts are huge keys to the chapter’s fundraising success. One major effort is helping landowners with controlled/prescribed burns used to meet land management objectives, for instance on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands. This is an area that the Clay County Pheasants Forever chapter has become greatly involved. There is a huge calling for controlled burns with very few individuals or groups willing to spend the time to complete the job correctly. So, this has become the perfect niche both in giving back to landowners in the county and for the chapter to make needed funds to complete our other projects.

According to Maassen and Montgomery, “It takes a lot of volunteers to become fire certified. We do have insurance through Pheasants Forever. The local chapter has burned over 8,000 acres in the past 15 years. It began years ago with very little equipment, but now we have the right equipment to handle our burns. five rigs, two six wheelers, two 4x4s and several 150-gallon tanks, several water systems, walkie talkie systems and a group of volunteers willing to get fire certification.”

It takes developing a controlled burn plan that meets the land management objective that will be followed by the volunteers who complete the burn. According to Daniels, “We charge $40 per acre in Clay County, and if landowners in adjacent counties reach out to us, we charge them $50 per acre.” It most certainly becomes a win-win for both landowners and the Clay County Pheasants Forever chapter.

In addition, the local chapter also helps find landowners wild seed for re-seeding and will offer landowners a no-till drop seed drill and only asks a donation for its use. The chapter also helps secure seed for food plots from local seed dealers.

This is what the national headquarters has to say about chapter volunteers like those with the Clay County Pheasants Forever chapter. “Chapter volunteers are the backbone of our organization. They represent our boots on the ground, the pointy end of the spear, and provide the energy and passion that make our grassroots model and overall mission of upland habitat conservation thrive. That’s why we’re humbled and proud to share ‘The Next Generation of Forever’.”