Grand Island, Neb. – February 18, 2008 – Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) has recognized Jim Lott, Resource Conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in St. Paul, Nebraska, with its 2008 Nebraska Wildlife Professional of the Year award. Lott was recognized at the Nebraska PF/QF state habitat meeting with the 12th annual award, given to a wildlife professional that goes beyond the scope of their normal work duties to help PF/QF achieve its mission.
As a Resource Conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Lott strives on a day-to-day basis to incorporate wildlife and wildlife habitat into his conservation planning with landowners. Lott is the lead person on Wetland Reserve Program projects in one of the largest natural resource districts in the state. When a new conservation program is announced, Lott is always one of the first resource professionals to seek additional information and ask how the program can benefit the producers he works with. Because of that passion and dedication, both wildlife and producers have benefited.
“Jim has volunteered his time and energy to assist Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever by serving as a past PF chapter president and now a current committee member of the Loup/Platte Ringnecks Chapter of PF,” said Pete Berthelsen, PF/QF Senior Field Coordinator in Nebraska, “Jim also works closely with PF/QF Farm Bill Wildlife Biologists and Coordinating Wildlife Biologists. The support, guidance and passion of resource professionals like Jim are major reasons why Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have been successful in Nebraska.”
Lott has been with the NRCS since 1988. A native of Fairmont, Neb., Lott currently resides in Grand Island, Neb., is married and has two boys.
Last year’s PF Nebraska Wildlife Professional of the Year was Mark Feeney, also of St. Paul, Nebraska, a Fish & Wildlife Biologist with the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission (NGPC) at Sherman Reservoir.
Nebraska boasts 60 PF chapters and 3 QF chapters accounting for 11,000 of the organization’s 120,000 members. For the past 4 years in a row, chapters have spent over $2 million each year in the state on habitat projects and youth conservation education. Historically, Nebraska PF/QF has spent over $20.6 million on wildlife habitat conservation. Those funds have translated into 69,770 habitat projects, benefiting 2,244,946 total acres for pheasants, quail and other wildlife. For more information on PF and QF in Nebraska, log onto www.NebraskaPF.com .
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 700 local chapters across the continent.
For additional information please visit www.PheasantsForever.org and www.QuailForever.org
