Pheasants Forever- SCAM or do they help upland hunters?

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.

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.
 
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