McLeod County is Forever dedicated

HUTCHINSON, MINN. -- A biting breeze blew across the frozen white landscape here last week.

Most of the country is an endless expanse of plowed, snow-drifted farm fields -- a seemingly inhospitable place for wildlife.

But Mark Reinert and three friends stood in a field of golden prairie grasses and frozen wetlands -- an oasis of wildlife habitat that they helped create in McLeod County.

Just a few years ago, the 500 acres was corn or soybeans or, in winter, black earth covered with snow. And there were no wetlands.

Now, the land attracts pheasants, waterfowl, songbirds, deer and other wildlife.

"Oh yeah, the pheasants are out there," Reinert said, scanning the frozen field.

The 500 acres has been transformed for wildlife, and eventually will be open to the public to hunt, hike or bird watch.

Reinert, 47, of Glencoe, is president of the McLeod County chapter of Pheasants Forever -- a group of about 450 who have raised and spent more money for wildlife habitat than any of the other 73 state chapters. They have spent $4.2 million since they formed in 1986 -- among the tops in the nation.

With that money, they have purchased about 2,200 acres -- including the parcel that Reinert and friends visited last week -- and converted them to wildlife habitat. All those lands either are, or will be, state or federal public lands.

While Pheasants Forever celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, the McLeod County chapter celebrates the near-completion of the 500-acre complex, located between Hutchinson and Glencoe. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to buy the land from the group.

"We'll take that money and buy more land," Reinert said.

Talk to the chapter leaders, and their infectious enthusiasm at least partially explains their success.

"It's not only about pheasants, it's about all wildlife -- the deer, the ducks," Reinert said. "It's about preserving wetlands, protecting groundwater and water quality. We need these green spaces."

Mary Mueller, 47, of Winthrop, has been habitat coordinator for the chapter since near the beginning. She bubbles with enthusiasm over the group's ability to alter the landscape.

"We're excited about what we do, really excited, and we enjoy it a lot," she said. "We enjoy seeing the land converted into cover, and seeing people using it. We're volunteers, but we work pretty hard."

Focusing on acquisition

The chapter supports conservation several ways: It has 30 acres of food plots on private lands, it has planted shrubs and trees for pheasant cover and it offers a youth hunt to encourage youngsters to take up hunting -- and conservation. It also will put out 1,500 bushels of corn this winter to feed pheasants.

But since its inception, the chapter has focused primarily on acquiring land, restoring wildlife habitat on it, and then selling it to the state Department of Natural Resources or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for state wildlife management areas or federal waterfowl production areas.

The chapter has spent about 84 percent of its habitat dollars on acquisition, compared to about 74 percent for chapters statewide. Nationwide, Pheasants Forever spends about 18 percent on acquisition.

"People just felt acquisition was the way to go; it wasn't temporary, it was permanent," Mueller said.

It's also progress people can see.

"We're getting people beyond pheasant hunters," she said. "We're getting bird-watching enthusiasts who are making contributions; they see the benefits."

Most of the public hunting lands in the county are the fruits of their labor.

"We don't have big state parks or anything like that around here," Mueller said. "So having these areas is a place, even beyond hunting season, to get out and enjoy seeing birds and flowers and wetlands."

PF chapters have a lot of autonomy.

"Each chapter focuses on what they want to do in their local communities," said Rick Young, Pheasant Forever's vice president of field operations.

Some might focus on youth programs; others might contribute to the national group's legislative action fund.

"The general rule of thumb is, if there are long-term benefits, it's probably a pretty good use of their money," he said.

Raising big bucks

So what's the secret to the McLeod County group's success?

"It takes a lot of passion for what you're doing, and it takes a team," Mueller said.

And it takes dollars.

Like other conservation groups, the chapter holds an annual fundraising banquet, usually attended by more than 400 people. That brings in roughly $30,000. But the key is that early on, members formed a separate nonprofit group -- the McLeod County Wildlife Habitat Conservation Society -- which sells pull-tabs at a local bar-restaurant. Charitable gambling brings in twice what the banquet does, Reinert said.

And a local corporate sponsor, Waste Management Inc., has donated $200,000 over the past 10 years.

Reinert said his chapter decides which lands to buy, but normally consults with state and federal officials or PF regional biologists to ensure they are getting key property. Conservation groups can move much more quickly to buy lands than either the DNR or Fish and Wildlife Service.

"They have been great partners with us," said Scott Glup of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Litchfield office.

The enormity of the task -- there are 314,000 acres in the county and they've bought and restored 2,000 acres -- doesn't discourage the group.

Said Reinert: "It's important for us to preserve land for wildlife and for future generations of hunters."

Doug Smith • dsmith@startribune.com