Dennis Anderson: So, why pheasants?

Beginning Friday, Pheasants Forever celebrates its 25th anniversary at RiverCentre in St. Paul, where it will hold its national Pheasant Fest. Founded in St. Paul and headquartered in White Bear Lake, Pheasants Forever today has some 650 chapters and 110,000 members in the U.S. and Canada. Seventy-three chapters are in Minnesota, with about 22,500 members.

But as an accompanying column on this page that I wrote in 1982 while with the St. Paul Pioneer Press indicates, the group's organizers were unsure whether Minnesota pheasant hunters, or hunters anywhere, would support the pheasant group idea.

Four people vital to the early success of Pheasants Forever throughout Minnesota offer their thoughts below, in their words, why the group caught on and whether, in the 25 years since, it's been effective in achieving farmland conservation.

A founder of and the first president of the Stearns County Pheasants Forever Chapter, Weller, a business owner, lives in Belgrade, Minn.

"Pheasants, to me, are important because they are a local bird. It's true that pheasants were imported to this country from China. But they're local, in that they don't migrate, like ducks do. For that reason, I believe we were able to get a chapter going in Stearns County fairly easily.

"Generally, we believed we could improve our own area for wildlife by improving conditions for the pheasant. In western Stearns County in particular there is still some pretty fair habitat available. We believed we could raise money here by organizing as a Pheasants Forever chapter, and add to that existing habitat, even improve it. We could get excited about that.

"Dr. Jake Whitten, a veterinarian, and I and some other guys got the first meeting organized to form a chapter. A few people who attended said it would never work. But it has. And not just in the habitat the chapter has improved. People are involved with conservation, and that's important. They improve the land with the projects they do."

"Pheasant hunters are different than deer hunters, and that difference perhaps helped our Pheasants Forever chapter succeed. Deer hunters typically have their own personal turf they've staked out, whether it's a public forest or private woodlot. They're not particularly supportive of habitat development for a wide span of people.

"There is a longstanding love of pheasants in Minnesota. People from all walks of life, whether they're landowners or hunters or non-hunters, enjoy pheasants and like to see them. So they are willing to do what they can to help, even if it's not on their own property, or land they control.

"One reason people in Minnesota, particularly in the west-central part of the state, love pheasants is their beauty. Rooster pheasants are so gaudy and colorful. Nearly every time my dog brings one back to me and before I put it in my vest I spend a minute looking at it.

"Has Pheasants Forever had an impact in Stevens County? Absolutely. It has given a lot of people an opportunity to invest their own personal efforts and wisdom into winter feeding and nesting programs. For Pheasants Forever members, this is hands-on stuff, and I really think it has made pheasants in places where there wouldn't have been any otherwise."

A Worthington, Minn., native, Schnitker was 24 years old in 1982 when he offered to help organize chapters for the organization.

"So the local aspect of Pheasants Forever's approach was appealing. Additionally, the group intended to address the disconnect between federal farm policy and federal conservation programs and wetlands issues. It was just a complete mess, and in some respects still is. But the idea that Pheasants Forever was going to be a player in this regard held appeal.

"I initially became interested because I have loved pheasants since I was a kid. When I was 12 years old I could walk out the back door of our house and shoot pheasants. One year I shot 55 roosters within walking distance of my parents' house. But 10 years later there were no birds.

"Now, due to a combination of factors, the bird population has turned around in southwest Minnesota. Luck is one reason. But a lot of it is the result of hard work done by concerned people."

In 1982 Marybeth Block lived in Willmar, where she was manager of the Kandiyohi Soil and Water Conservation District. When the Kandiyohi County Chapter of Pheasants Forever formed, becoming Minnesota's first chapter outside the metro area, she volunteered her expertise to help connect dollars raised by chapter members with landowners. She was the first winner of the Pheasants Forever National Conservationist of the Year Award.

"For me becoming involved with Pheasants Forever wasn't so much about the bird, but the habitat. Pheasants Forever held the promise of connecting landowners with dollars. Through my work with the Soil and Water Conservation District, I knew the kinds of projects farmers and other landowners wanted to do. Members of our local Pheasants Forever chapter, meanwhile, believed they could ensure the viability of their sport by funding these projects on private land. So it was a good match.

"I think what Pheasants Forever did on the local level was demonstrate that a group of hunters, who have their own special interests, were willing to help private landowners fund good conservation practices."