Pheasants Forever, headquartered in the Twin Cities, will be 30 years old on Sunday.

Incorporated on Aug. 5, 1982, PF will celebrate its birthday officially at its Pheasant Fest, scheduled for February in Minneapolis.

PF is unique among conservation groups, in that it allows local chapters to keep funds they raise exclusive of membership fees for local habitat enhancement and development.

"From 0 to 8.5 million acres of wildlife habitat conservation in 30 years is a testament to the passion people have for Pheasants Forever's mission," said Howard Vincent, who started as a Pheasants Forever volunteer, has been with the organization fulltime for the last 25 years and has served as its national president and chief executive officer for the last 12 years, "The challenges working against habitat protection have never been greater, but with more chapters than ever, more members than ever, a program efficiency of 91.7 percent and 225 fulltime employees - more than half of them biologists working with landowners at a local level - Pheasants Forever is poised to do even more for wildlife in our next 30 years."

Pheasants Forever, including Quail Forever, is the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 130,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada.