PF and DNR to Celebrate 25 Years of MN Pheasant Stamp with Event on April 15

By: - Pheasants Forever
Published: Apr. 08, 2008

Stamp has raised $14.6 million for habitat enhancement

PF and DNR to Celebrate 25 Years of MN Pheasant Stamp with Event on April 15 PF's first-ever goal was passing the Minnesota Pheasant Stamp to help raise funds for pheasant restoration. Stamp has raised $14.6 million for habitat enhancement Saint Paul, Minn. - April 08 -

Pheasants Forever (PF) and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are hosting a celebration event recognizing the people, the accomplishments and the significance of 25 years of the Minnesota Pheasant Habitat Stamp on Tuesday, April 15th at the Prom Center in Oakdale. The event will take place 25 years to the day at the exact venue of PF's first banquet at which then-Governor Rudy Perpich signed the stamp into law.

Speakers will include former DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife Director Roger Holmes, Star Tribune Outdoors Editor and Columnist and PF's principal founder Dennis Anderson, current PF President and CEO Howard Vincent and the chief author of Pheasant Habitat Stamp legislation, former state senator Steve Novak. Each person attending will also receive a 25th anniversary special collector's poster which features all 25 Minnesota Pheasant Habitat Stamps from 1983 to 2007.

PF's first-ever goal was passing the Minnesota Pheasant Habitat Stamp to help raise funds for pheasant habitat restoration. PF's first publication, a newsletter entitled "Rooster Tales," encouraged the then 500 PF members to push for passage of the Stamp.

The support worked, and today the Stamp is required of all Minnesota pheasant hunters ages 18 through 64. Stamp sales generate money for habitat enhancement efforts on both public and private lands in the pheasant range of Minnesota. In its 25 years of existence, total sales of the Minnesota Pheasant Habitat Stamp have surpassed 2.6 million, and the Stamp has raised over $14.6 million for habitat enhancement impacting over 200,000 acres of private & public habitats.

"We've come a long ways in 25 years," said Dennis Simon, Wildlife Chief for the DNR. "In 2007, pheasant hunters purchased more than 129,000 Pheasant Habitat Stamps generating nearly $1 million in revenue for pheasant-related efforts. We thank all pheasant hunters for their contributions and Pheasants Forever for a powerful vision."

In addition to the habitat funding the Stamp creates, it also provides an outlet for some of the nation's finest artists to showcase their work. Twenty-one artists have had their work appear on the Minnesota Pheasant Stamp; including Minnesotans such as Scott Storm, James Meger and the three Hautman brothers – James, Robert and Joseph.

Cost for the event is $40, and is limited to 250 attendees. The event begins with a social hour at 6 PM, followed by dinner at 7 PM and a program at 8 PM. For tickets or more information about the event, contact Matt Holland, PF Senior Field Coordinator, at (320)894-5391 or via email at mholland@pheasantsforever.org.

Since its first project in 1984, Minnesota's 74 PF chapters and one Quail Forever (QF) chapter (PF's quail division) and 23,000 PF/QF members have completed over 21,500 projects affecting more than 184,000 acres of wildlife habitat. In fact, Minnesota PF chapters have spent more than $33.7 million on habitat and conservation education in the state.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are non-profit conservation organizations dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant, quail, and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, and education. PF/QF has more than 120,000 members in 700 local chapters across the continent.

Anthony Hauck (651)209-4972