June 27, 1982: A look back shows where this all began

Editor's note: In 1982, Dennis Anderson, writing for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, produced a series of columns about the plight of Minnesota pheasants. In one, dated March 21, 1982, he founded Pheasants Forever. That column, along with reader reaction to the idea published in the same edition, can be read at startribune.com/outdoors. The annotated Anderson column below, published June 27, 1982, beneath the headline "Pheasant restoration group moves ahead," was a follow-up that named a founding board of directors. Both columns appear here on startribune.com with permission of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Although June isn't a month commonly associated with pheasants, the birds were foremost on the minds of a dozen or so people who met recently to discuss the ringneck's future in this state.

The group was the board of directors of Pheasants Forever, a newly formed organization with a twofold purpose: to support passage of a pheasant stamp during the next meeting of the state Legislature (the proceeds from which would be used for a pheasant restoration program), and to ensure that pheasants are restored to respectable numbers in Minnesota, and that they remain so forever.

By way of background, I wrote a column in March urging something be done about our rapidly diminishing Minnesota pheasant population.

A number of factors has brought about the bird's decline, the most significant, of course, is its loss of habitat.

...

So in my March column I posed the question: What do we do? The choices were -- and remain -- obvious. Either we continue what we've been doing, namely complain, or we begin to turn things around.

Well, we finally have something to report.

First, a group of us met earlier this month in what turned out to be the initial meeting of the board of directors of Pheasants Forever. I chose the group and I think it's a good one, though I wish that, rather than 13 members, the board consisted of 100 or more -- that many interested and qualified people are willing to serve.

On the board of directors, in addition to myself, are:

Dave Vesall, retired Minnesota DNR chief of fish and wildlife; Bob Naegele, president of Major Media Inc., in Minneapolis, an avid hunter, conservationist and longtime supporter of wildlife causes; Cecil Bell of Wayzata, whose family was instrumental in the establishment of the Delta Waterfowl Research Station in Manitoba, and who retains an active role in that and other wildlife causes; Bud and Ted Burger, hunters, conservationists, supporters of wildlife causes and owners of Burger Brothers Sporting Goods; Chuck and Loral I Delaney of Anoka, champion trap shooters, dog trainers, hunters and longtime supporters of wildlife and sportsmen's groups; Bob Larson of Wayzata, the board's attorney, a conservationist, supporter of wildlife groups and a principle organizer of TIP, the anti-poaching program.

Russ Anderson, a farmer from Clinton, Minn., who has long been active in pheasant restoration causes, and who is one of many farmers who actively practices wildlife conservation; Jeff Finden of White Bear Lake, Dispatch-Pioneer Press national advertising director, an avid hunter, conservationist and supporter of wildlife groups, particularly Ducks Unlimited; Norb Berg, deputy chairman of Control Data Corp., an avid hunter, layman naturalist, sporting-dog fancier and supporter of wildlife causes; and Walt Bruning, a vice president of Control Data Corp., a former vice president of the University of Minnesota, an avid hunter and skeet shooter.

Nonetheless, because no group exists solely for the benefit of pheasants, and after hearing Bremicker, of the DNR, say that any restoration program the DNR would undertake would likely need the ongoing help of a support group (much as the Minnesota Waterfowl Association and other groups help the DNR now), we decided we would organize formally.

Bob Larson, the attorney, then said it would best suit us to organize as a nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation, a status he has since applied for.

It was agreed that, sometime in early to mid-August, we would seek members, primarily by an active public awareness campaign.

Bremicker said the DNR is now laying the foundation of a pheasant restoration program, in hopes that the stamp passes the Legislature next year, and the program can be put into effect.

A hundred other things could be said about the group's intentions, but space doesn't permit.

We only want to help pheasants.