Ohio Native Returns Home as PF/QF’s New Regional Wildlife Biologist
Bensman Joins Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever following service as Missouri Private Lands Conservationist
Rushsylvania, Ohio – November 5, 2007 – Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever announce that Douglas A. Bensman of California, Missouri, has been named the organization’s new regional wildlife biologist in Ohio. Bensman joins PF/QF after spending the past two years as a private lands conservationist with the Missouri Department of Conservation. He succeeds Jim Inglis, who after six years in the position moved to the newly-created position of PF/QF farm bill biologist coordinator.
Bensman’s primary duties with PF/QF will include starting and servicing chapters in Ohio. He will work with chapters in raising and expending funds on wildlife habitat and conservation education, as well as work with local, state, and federal natural resource agencies on behalf of all PF/QF chapters. Bensman has been an active committee member of the Moreau Valley Chapter of QF, his local chapter in Missouri, and is familiar with PF/QF having worked diligently with chapters and representatives in the past at various levels.
“For the past seven years I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work at a professional level capacity with four different government agencies in three different states following my dream – integration of fish, forest and wildlife for all landscapes and preservation of our outdoor heritage,” Bensman said, “The quote ‘home is where the heart is’ has become all too evident to me within the past few years. I want to bring my education, experience and desire home to Ohio where I intend to leave not just a thumb print but a legacy.”
“Doug has the experience and the skills, but more than anything, he has a true passion for conservation and the outdoors,” said Howard Vincent, PF/QF National President and Chief Executive Officer, “Ohio’s wildlife will be better off with Doug heading our efforts there, and our members and chapters there will find Doug to be a valuable asset to their local conservation efforts.”
A native of Logan County, Ohio, Bensman obtained a degree in Recreation Wildlife from Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. Doug and his wife Shawna have three children – Parker, Ryder and Emarie – and reside in Rushsylvania, Ohio.
As the new farm bill biologist coordinator, Inglis manages and oversees all aspects of the Farm Bill biologist program, which is designed to educate farmers and landowners about the benefits of conservation programs, as well as assist those farmers and landowners after programs have been implemented. PF/QF first began employing Farm Bill biologists in 2005, and now has 33 Farm Bill Biologists working in six states – Ohio, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Missouri and Wisconsin.
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 115,000 members in 700 local chapters across the continent.
