Pheasants Forever- SCAM or do they help upland hunters?

Whether or not you think it's a scam, or you think conservation groups are worth helping, you have a choice. I've made the choice to never donate to them ever again.

A significant portion of my licenses every year go to the state DNR fund so every time I participate, they receive revenue.
 
SPUR60 said:
Break it down then. Show us where the scam is.
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Yep, if you're going to say something, back it up. It's not very insightful when people say it's a scam or they won't donate again. I've seen complaints about the quality of public lands (PF posted lands or not) but imagine not having those lands to hunt in the first place. And, before people complain, volunteer on a habitat day. If we care about hunting, let's care for the land and do what we can.

I don't get the hate. Sure, their might be specific properties that people have access issues with or what not.I haven't seen that but people should reach out and confirm what the deal is. PF's motto is literally "the habitat organization". They fight for habitat, our interests, and public lands. Win, win, win.
 
PF does hire biologists to work with NRCS to write CRP plans, all on private lands.

Also provide lobbying efforts in Washington DC to influence congress to implement habitat friendly farm bills which benefit all wildlife and consumptive/nonconsumptive users.

You might want to give the organization some quarter. Better to have with us than against us, as many organizations are not in favor of hunting.
 
Goosemaster said:
Some pheasant forever projects get turned into private hunting ranches that charge money.
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Please share some examples.

DU ... well, well, well ... I was a Greenwing and a member for over 40 years ... that ended several years ago ...

DU has a record of having acquired properties that are optimized for habitat and then sold off. I do not see that PF is doing this also.

DU is the organization that offers free hunts to high end donors and DU state leaders at exclusive clubs.

DU is the organization that moved away from nesting habitat as their primary if not sole priority and moved to supporting moist soil management in the mid-states ... these properties are manipulated to hold ducks and are most often private and hunted !
 
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Goosemaster said:
I agree, they do do some good projects, that do benefit the public, but those projects get hammered by hunters, and you're lucky to get a bird in one of their projects.
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KsHusker said:
The title may be a little scandalous - guess it depends on the eye of the beholder. I've been a member - was a member and volunteered for about 2-3 years for a local Quail Unlimited then Quail Forever chapter. Lived in KS all my life save for a couple years side tracked in SW Florida, deep dove into bird hunting once I was 20 or so and see no signs of letting up...where I want to live geographically is ruled by how close to upland hunting I can be.


What prompted this is in another topic on the KS forum someone was discussing in a reply that Pheasants 4ever buys land, develops the habitat and then gives it away so the public can enjoy. ( I actually think this should be their mission, but it is NOT in the least, no different than the Sham Nature Conservancy that has a couple large pieces of land locked up in western KS and SEVERELY limits the access and DOES not allow any hunting) I call BS -- I've never seen anything they've done in KS that benefits the public. Only thing I've seen or witnessed in their sister chapter (QF) was people donating money with no justification where it went and it being spent on habitat projects at an individuals hunting operation (I wont give away anymore than that but he's been on TV many times on shows and is in KS -- this may have been QU money - I dont remember but either way the same) to some of their friends private land who were members, or PF signs up on private land but the private land was plastered with no trespassing or leased signs all over it.


I like the idea of QF and PF - but do not think they execute in the least -- one of my other friends works for some very very wealthy folks that have bought a lot of large tracts of land and some very large ranches (I'm sure they have been recipients of PF grant money and in exchange it appeared the PF higher ups would request to hunt the property for free at least by his telling as he'd have to deal with them and act as a proxy guide or deal with their requests.

Anyways I'd love for them to change. I do believe they have in my mind completed some "Token" habitat projects on public lands where I've seen their signs in KS - but they are on overused public piece of crap properties where it made no difference. KS is less than 2% public lands if I recall.

I'm aware of a ranch that I heard through the grapevine someone is purchasing for a pittance - as it's almost worthless for ag at this point due to things that have been done to it and some financial maneuvers the present owner made -- but with small changes could be a pheasant/quail and lesser prairie chicken haven (I hunted the neighbor property and the general area a LOT) -- an org like PF could buy a place like this and enroll the whole thing in WIHA (I think it's tens of thousands of acres) but I dont think this org has it in them. I'd be curios how much the PF non profit execs are making and how much money is being sucked into overhead. Probably LOTS of waste!


Anyways - can anyone sway my mind that they are not really scamming us all? I'd love to know if they really are executing a mission that benefits the hunting public but I've not seen one shred of evidence that is the case. Just "token" projects and a bunch of patchwork jobs to pay back donors or benefit another business etc. Makes no sense. I think they'd get more buy in if they'd change.

Ducks Unlimited for my money to my knowledge has completed more of the aforementioned projects and does more for pheasants and quail than PF or QF seems to do. At least in my opinion and my observations in KS.
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Is the state of Kansas or the individual counties even open to the idea of land being put into public ownership? I see very few wildlife management areas on onx compared to what we have in western MN. Maybe thats why your not seeing the projects we are. PF has added alot of acres to the areas I'm near. If it's not public in our county it's drained or mowed to the road.
 
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