ShopPosts Tagged ‘Build a Wildlife Area’
Vanity Plate: WELUVPF
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
Habitat Cooperators. From left, Chris Gulbrandson, Mark Gulbrandson, Les Johnson and Joe Duggan, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Corporate Relations.
Excessive pride in Pheasants Forever’s wildlife habitat mission is something Les Johnson has, so much so that the Nobles County (Minn.) Pheasants Forever chapter board member made sure his new Ford truck sported a PF-vanity plate: WELUVPF.
Johnson also made sure he purchased the truck from a Pheasants Forever supporter, that being Twin Cities-based Apple Auto Group. Over the past decade, Mark Gulbrandson, Apple Auto Group owner has contributed thousands of dollars to Pheasants Forever’s Build a Wildlife Area program, and he was named Minnesota Pheasants Forever’s Corporate Partner of the Year earlier this year. Johnson and Gulbrandson met at the Minnesota Pheasants Forever state convention earlier this year, where the pair laid the ground work for Johnson’s new truck and PF-themed plate.
Field Notes are written and compiled by Anthony Hauck Pheasants Forever’s Online Editor. Email Anthony at AHauck@pheasantsforever.org and follow him on Twitter @AnthonyHauck.
Pheasants Forever’s First Build a Wildlife Area Project in Wisconsin
Thursday, June 16th, 2011
From left, Eric Forward, Conservation Programs Manager for the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust and Kinnickinnic Pheasants Forever Chapter volunteers Tim Christensen and Mike Davis.
The new Nagel Wildlife Management Area (WMA) in St. Croix County, Wisconsin is the first project in the state completed utilizing Pheasants Forever’s Build a Wildlife Area program. Pheasants Forever and other partners recently held a dedication ceremony for the 204-acre parcel of upland grasslands and wetlands. Like all of Pheasants Forever’s Build a Wildlife Area projects, the new WMA permanently protects habitat while opening acres to public access, including hunting.
During the past 15 years, the previous landowners, Vern and Becky Nagel, restored the landscape to native grasses, shallow wetlands and superb wildlife habitat. “This work has truly been a labor of love for us and we are so pleased that through this transaction our vision that this land be conserved for the enjoyment of future generations will be realized,” Vern Nagel said.
Vern and Becky Nagel, pictured at the ribbon cutting ceremony with their grandson, worked for 15 years to improve habitat on what would eventually become a Wildlife Management Area bearing their name.
“The acquisition and permanent protection of the Nagel property is an outstanding conservation achievement that Pheasants Forever and our partners are very proud of,” said Joe Duggan, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Corporate Relations, “We thank all those who donated to Pheasants Forever’s Build a Wildlife Area campaign efforts in Wisconsin, And most importantly, the Nagel family for their incredible commitment to conservation.”
Pheasants Forever’s Build a Wildlife Area program is a wide-reaching effort to engage individual donors, corporations, nonprofits and government organizations in the creation of permanent public wildlife areas. The Build a Wildlife Area program turns each one dollar donation into three dollars through matching grants from local, state, and federal sources. Once lands are acquired, they are turned over to the state for management and opened to the public for recreation, including hunting.
Other conservation partners helping ensure the permanent protection of the Nagel property include Wisconsin’s Kinnickinnic, Indianhead, and Racine Pheasants Forever chapters, the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust, Inc. (KRLT), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s North American Wetlands Conservation Council, and Ducks Unlimited.
The 204 acre Nagel WMA contains a mix of restored wetlands and surrounding uplands.
The unique property contains 183 acres of restored prairie grasslands and more than 16 acres of wetlands. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has included the Nagel WMA in the Western Prairie Habitat Restoration Area. Going forward, the Nagel WMA will be managed to provide habitat benefitting pheasants, waterfowl, songbirds, pollinators and other wildlife, all while providing outdoor recreational opportunities to the public.
Field Notes are written and compiled by Anthony Hauck Pheasants Forever’s Online Editor. Email Anthony at AHauck@pheasantsforever.org and follow him on Twitter @AnthonyHauck.
Pheasants Don’t Drink, But They Prefer You Drink Rooster Lager
Thursday, August 5th, 2010
Rooster Lager is made with North Dakota Barley, Carpils and 2 Row Carmel Malt and finished with flecks of wheat
Beer is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea, in the entire world, although I disagree with that particular order.
There’s seemingly as many brands of beer in existence as there are pheasants in South Dakota, and picking one out of the flock can be just as challenging. But the next time you’re in the mood for a cold one, you may consider tipping back a Rooster Lager.
Meet Jason Markkula, owner of Bank Beer Company in Hendricks, Minnesota. The short story goes something like this: Man falls in love with small, prairie town. Man buys abandoned historic bank building in said town. Man turns bank into hunting lodge and inn. Man begins brewing beer.
Back in 2006, Markkula purchased the dilapidated bank building in downtown Hendricks, a town in western Minnesota where he had previously traveled for business and hunting trips. After two years of extensive renovation, the building that had sat vacant for 30 years was now a hunting lodge. Project one complete. Markkula, long a home brewer, then began his next venture of brewing beer.
Bank Beer Company was the venture’s name, and the initial product was Rooster Lager. Teamed with his second concoction, Walleye Chop, Markkula created two seasonal beers under the umbrella of “Beer for Wildlife.” Yes, people enjoy swilling his product, but his generosity goes down even easier.
A portion of proceeds from every pack of Rooster Lager and Walleye Chop sold goes to Pheasants Forever’s Build a Wildlife Area campaign, which works to acquire lands and then open them as public hunting and recreation areas. The Build a Wildlife program is set up to utilize matching state and federal grants to maximize donations, so when you purchase a 12-pack of Rooster Lager, the proceeds donated to Pheasants Forever end up being tripled. Who can’t drink to that?
Rooster Lager is available September through March and Walleye Chop is on shelves April through August. Last year, Rooster Lager was available in four states and 40 locations, but Markkula is on the move adding more distributors. I ran into him at the Minnesota Build a Wildlife Area land dedication ceremony the other night – he attends many Pheasants Forever events – and he was looking at an early morning rise and drive up to Jamestown, North Dakota, to find more places for Rooster Lager to roost.
Markkula also helped start a Pheasants Forever chapter last year, and serves as its president. Conveniently, the Hendricks Pheasants Forever chapter meets at the Bank Inn Hunting Lodge in Hendricks. Presumably, the group talks habitat and hunting over coffee, tea and perhaps even a Rooster Lager.
- Contact Jason Markkula, Hendricks Pheasants Forever chapter president, at (612) 309-2513 or via email at jasonmarkkula@yahoo.com.
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