Pheasants Forever- SCAM or do they help upland hunters?

BRITTMAN said:
Jackrabbit - September prairie grouse and October ruffed grouse. Public land MN pheasant land is perfectly good (vast majority of years) for one or two hunters.

To be honest I killed quite a few pheasants pre-CRP in the Dakotas ... most on public land.
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Completely agree. I have great local hunts here in Minnesota and have a number of public land opportunities within a 5-30 mile radius of my home. Plus tons more if I want to drive a few hours further. I think most public land in MN is good enough for a 50/50 shot at 1 rooster plus good dog work on hens off of each parcel. Play your cards right and hit a few different spots and there are definitely pheasants in MN. I hunt public land SD every year and do quite well - it is perfect for small groups but I wouldn't expect public land limits with large groups.
 
I have never hunted KS but this is almost funny, it appears as though many think that PF is a multi Billion dollar organization that can take on state and national government and also take on big ag. PF is a small organization that tries it's best to lobby at the state and national levels with what people it has for a better farm bill and things like that. And at the local level has banquets and fundraisers to help local habitat and land acquisitions. I am a life member and a member of a local chapter, much of the money we take in from our annual banquet is put towards local habitat improvements both public and private, because it really benefits us all either way. And also a lot of youth activities, like a annual hunt and monthly shooting events. The reason you don't see a lot of land acquisitions is because land isn't cheap and local chapters don't have 10's of millions of dollars just laying around to buy, rehab and give the state the land. In MN most counties are stopping sales of land to PF because they know PF will just donate it to the state for public access and then the county looses that tax base for the land. I have been hunting MN for 30+ years, SD for 25 years and IA for the last 6 years and I have seen the really good years and the really bad years. It's all driven by habitat and weather. PF is a organization that is trying to help anyway possible and being a committee member for our chapter, it's tough to get even most state and county agencies to sign off on doing rehab work on public land, it is a process that some would rather just do without! So I fully support PF and their mission, does it need some tweaking to meet today's new hurdles absolutely! But at least they are trying, that's a lot more than can be said for state and national government! just my opinion
 
waterdog09 -
Well said.
Thanks for what you, your chapter and PF does to support, promote and sustain upland hunting, wildlife and especially pheasants.
There must be an organization that carries our message to the local, state and federal decision makers.
Number of "members" - 149,000 matters as to whether that message is heard or ignored.
PF is our best messenger.
In addition to the government relationship, the PF and QF local biologists that I have met work with private citizens to educate and assist farmers and landowners about conservation practices and programs.
I too fully support PF.
 
IsThisHeaven? said:
I am not going to try to change your mind. These days people tend to have strong opinions about most everything and rarely change their minds (and when they ask for other opinions are really just looking to argue online). I also have no experience in Kansas. What I will say is I have heard this opinion from others in Kansas and Pheasants Forever does not have nearly as large of a presence in Kansas as other states to the North.

I live in Iowa. I can tell you from my own experiences and observations they do a lot in Iowa and Minnesota. They have been part of quite a few land acquisitions around me. Land is quite expensive around here so they aren't buying up everything, but the increase in purchases and public land is noticeable. It is so noticeable around here that last legislative season the Farm Bureau tried to outlaw purchasing ground to be turned into public land.

All of the purchases around here are usually a collaboration of several Pheasants Forever chapters in the area. The local chapters raise money through local fundraising. This is the money used for land acquisition. PF doesn't have nearly the presence in Kansas as it does here. If they aren't raising enough money maybe land acquisitions aren't possible in Kansas? Maybe it is a scam in Kansas? I have no idea. But it is not a scam around here.

If you don't agree with me that's fine. I am not arguing with anyone over this as this is not a new topic. These are my thoughts and I am quite sure of my opinion. PF is a big organization and I am sure there is a percentage of it that is subpar, as there is with any organization. By and large I think it is a net positive with generally good intentions.

I am a PF member. Just a basic member and I am not active in any chapters. I am member to support the land acquisitions and for the lobbying presence. I have heard buying hunting licenses has much more impact on these issues. I do that as well, in multiple states, and I buy a duck stamp and pheasant stamp in Minnesota.

I have heard the Ducks Unlimited opinion as well. That is great. I hope they are contributing too. We need all hands on deck. I will say around here, PF has done a lot more than DU, but I would not consider DU a scam. Just be aware when you label something a scam, or anything negative, you are impuning the work of everyone in the organization, those with ill intentions, but those who have good intentions and invest a lot of time and money.

Again, I am not arguing about this with you or anyone. I am presenting a counter-opinion based on my observations and experiences. If yours are different that's fine. Have a great day and good luck in the fields.
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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.
 
A huge dislike is them having the annual Pheasant Fest at the same rotation of cities year after year. I am in Colorado and the closest one for me is in Omaha. Last time I tried going to the one in Omaha the weather was bad so I ended up cancelling. Being they are based out of Minnesota all they seem to care about is repeating the same rotation of cities year after year. Sad-
 
Guessing they go to where the birds and bird hunters are to get good attendance turn-outs. That does make sence. Maybe Denver wouldn't pull enough attendance to attract the vendors and make it worth the effort. Seems logical. They aren't looking for 2,000 attendees, they want 32,000.
 
There are a lot of life members here in Colorado and other states near here. It does nothing in my opinion to promote it by doing the same rotation constantly. My guess is lots of people in those areas have been to it before and won't attend again for various reasons. I heard the last one they just had in Kansas City was poorly attended. Not much of a pheasant hunting destination either.
 
Bird Buster said:
There are a lot of life members here in Colorado and other states near here. It does nothing in my opinion to promote it by doing the same rotation constantly. My guess is lots of people in those areas have been to it before and won't attend again for various reasons. I heard the last one they just had in Kansas City was poorly attended. Not much of a pheasant hunting destination either.
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Exactly why they haven't had one in Denver. Im sure they would have poor attendance. Idk why so many folks are butt hurt about PF and QF on this site. They are the only org doing anything to promote upland habitat. They can't spend unlimited money in every state.
 
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Jake300win said:
Exactly why they haven't had one in Denver. Im sure they would have poor attendance. Idk why so many folks are butt hurt about PF and QF on this site. They are the only org doing anything to promote upland habitat. They can't spend unlimited money in every state.
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You don't get it. Lots of pheasant hunters here head to SD/ND every year. I am a life member but yet feel that only really care about the Minnesota and surrounding region cause it is close. I can promise you Denver has way more pheasant hunters than Kansas City does. To keep doing the same rotation of places is flat out stupid. We have the International Sportsman's Expo here in January that draws tons of people. They have PF booth that is really well attended.
 
Yep, I read that KC attendance was around 24k this past year and Sioux Falls the year before was approx 35K. Not a blanket statement, but it seems the haters of PF here are often folks from Kansas (judging by either their handle or if they bothered to add a location in their bio). Heck, we have a fella here from Kansas who said he was a PF member and didn't even know where it was last year. His dog wouldn't have even believed that crap. Sioux Fall really is well attended, but SD don't seem to be a heavy membership state, maybe due to the state's limited population. Where SF is, they would get a pile of IA, NE, and MN folks coming to it....drawing from a great habitat area. I wouldn't be surprised it it were the best attended location in the mix...there or Minneapolis.

Maybe the International Sportman's Expo is the reason they don't have one there. PF isn't a huge organization, but I am sure they are smart enough to do their homework on which locations will or won't be able to provide the attendance they need to keep the vendors coming.
 
Oh I see now it's time to rip on Minnesota again.

I went to the P/Q fest in Mpls a few years ago on free tickets and it was kinda lame IMO. Not really what I was expecting.
 
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gim said:
Oh I see now it's time to rip on Minnesota again.

I went to the P/Q fest in Mpls a few years ago on free tickets and it was kinda lame IMO. Not really what I was expecting.
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Minnesota is a fantastic state burdened with Minneapolis and to a slightly less degree St. Paul. If 1/2 of Hennepin county, and 1/2 of Ramsey county disappeared we would be a mecca 9 months of the year.

I am not going to get political but it does feel like we hit rock bottom recently and things are starting to swing in a positive direction. The media finally seems to be willing to address the fraud, dislike of George Floyd square, and property taxes. Maybe I am wearing rose colored glasses
 
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It is basically huge trade show for anything and everything related to pheasant hunting. Everything from dogs to disks, guns to boots, shells to clothing, with a bunch of seminars mixed in, plus some PF activities if you are into that. Gives you an opportunity to put hands on a lot of products that you might not be able to find locally. Vendors often have show special prices. Most don't bring inventory to the event to sell. If you are here, I think for $15, it is worth a day of checking things out, if you have the chance.
 
remy3424 said:
it is worth a day of checking things out, if you have the chance.
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Except when its in Minneapolis, right?

Funny how its a great event to attend but only when it fits the location narrative that an individual favors...
 
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