Hammond, Ind. – February 26, 2008 – Conservationists in Indiana’s Lake and Porter Counties have formed the state’s newest Pheasants Forever (PF) chapter, the Kankakee River Chapter of PF. The new chapter will work to improve wildlife habitat conditions and engage youth in the outdoors.
Lake and Porter Counties are located in northwest Indiana, where development is eating up wildlife habitat at an accelerated pace. “We see the pheasant population declining every year,” said Ben Martin of Cedar Lake, the chapter’s newly-elected president, “We’ve got to take a stand. If we do nothing, it’s only going to get worse.”
One existing opportunity to improve habitat is the federal Conservation Reserve Program’s Conservation Practice 33, or CP-33. Also called upland bird habitat buffers, CP-33 is a conservation practice targeted at improving upland bird habitat through the creation of habitat buffers along row crops. Indiana has been allotted 20,000 acres, and currently, nearly 9,700 acres have been enrolled. The Kankakee River chapter will work with landowners in the education and implementation of such buffers.
The Kankakee River chapter also recognizes the need to engage the future generation of conservationists. That’s why the chapter plans on holding youth hunts and hunter education courses. “For people to care about conserving our natural resources, they first need to be involved. That’s why youth involvement will be a main focus of our chapter,” Martin said.
The Kankakee River Chapter of PF has also elected John Hansen of Munster as treasurer, Greg Baisden of Wanatah as habitat chair and Greg Bialata of Munster as secretary. The chapter will hold its next meeting on Thursday, February 28th at the Cabela’s retail store in Hammond, Indiana. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM. The public and media are invited to attend. For more information about the chapter, contact Ben Martin at (219)374-8841or via email at iniraq05_06@yahoo.com.
For more information on PF in Indiana, to start a chapter or join one of the state’s existing chapters, contact Brian Grossman at (502)538-7656 or via email at bgrossman@pheasantsforever.org.
There are 19 PF chapters and over 3,000 PF members working on wildlife habitat projects across Indiana. In fact, Indiana PF chapters have spent $2.2 million dollars to complete 5,850 habitat projects during the organization’s 25-year history. Those projects have benefited 49,716 acres for wildlife in that time. There are also six Quail Forever (PF’s quail division) chapters in Indiana.
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 120,000 members in 750 local chapters across the continent.
-30-
For additional information about Pheasants Forever, please visit www.pheasantsforever.org
