Middleton, Wis. – June 16, 2009 – Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) announce Kevin Wallenfang of Middleton, Wisconsin, as the organization’s new regional field representative for the state of Wisconsin. Wallenfang’s primary duties with PF will include starting and servicing chapters and members in the region to enhance the organization’s wildlife habitat mission.
Wallenfang will advise chapters in raising and expending funds on wildlife habitat and conservation education. He will also work with local, state, and federal natural resource agencies on behalf of PF chapters. Wallenfang succeeds Jeff Gaska, who served as PF’s regional wildlife biologist in Wisconsin for 10 years before leaving the organization in May to concentrate on farming full-time. Gaska is still actively involved with PF at the chapter level with the Dodge County Chapter of PF.
“It’s not easy to fill the shoes of a dedicated conservationist such as Jeff Gaska, but we’ve done that with Kevin Wallenfang,” said Rick Young, PF/QF Vice President of Field Operations, “He brings a great deal of conservation expertise and talent to the table. It’s been a big year for Pheasants Forever in Wisconsin already, where we held our National Pheasant Fest in Madison in February and recently acquired the first tract of land through the Wisconsin Build a Wildlife Area campaign. We know Kevin Wallenfang has the ability to keep that momentum going forward.”
Wallenfang brings a significant amount of conservation experience to PF. Over the past 20 years, he has worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – Bureau of Wildlife Management, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and a variety of other conservation-related businesses and organizations.
“The most intriguing thing about Pheasants Forever is the organization’s local model,” Wallenfang said, “That’s the real backbone, and I’m hoping to use my own fairly diverse conservation background to help strengthen it in Wisconsin any way I can.” PF empowers local chapters with the responsibility to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds will be spent – the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure. As a result, chapter volunteers are able to see the fruits of their efforts locally, while belonging to a larger national organization with a voice on federal and state conservation policy.
A native of Green Lake, Wisconsin, Wallenfang earned his B.S. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He currently resides in Middleton with his wife and two daughters. Wallenfang can be reached at (608) 798-2466 or via email at kwallenfang@pheasantsforever.org.
Wisconsin is home to 30 PF chapters and over 8,600 PF members. Since the first Wisconsin PF chapter formed over two decades ago, Wisconsin PF has completed over 16,000 projects benefitting over 116,00 acres.
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are non-profit conservation organizations dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant, quail, and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, and education. PF/QF has more than 130,000 members in 700 local chapters across the continent.
