WPA Honors Organization’s Longtime President and CEO
Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever today announced the acquisition of the Howard K. Vincent Waterfowl Production Area (WPA), a new access property acknowledging the lifetime career accomplishments of the organization’s former president and CEO. The sprawling Build a Wildlife Area® project is a multi-state effort contributing to diverse wildlife habitat and public access opportunities in a regional destination for upland bird hunters.
“Howard has left an indelible mark on America’s uplands as a passionate advocate for habitat conservation through his calm and steady leadership,” said Marilyn Vetter, president and CEO of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. “Creating and dedicating a Waterfowl Protection Area that will be restored to high quality habitat and protected forever is a fitting way to honor his legacy.”
Located on the border of Minnesota and Iowa, the 198-acre Howard K. Vincent WPA has positive implications for wildlife through a variety of habitat features including the future restoration of a previously drained 80-acre wetland, and 110 acres of restored prairie. Likewise, this landscape is paying big dividends for water quality efforts on nearby Big Spirit Lake - reducing an estimated 85 percent of phosphorus and nitrogen loading annually, along with large amounts of sedimentation.
As a future home to pheasants, waterfowl, white-tailed deer, and other wildlife, the Howard K. Vincent WPA will also deliver outcomes for numerous resource plans, including the MN Pheasant Action Plan, North American Waterfowl Management Plan, and the Iowa Great Lakes Watershed Management Plan. The property will be managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for quality habitat and outdoor recreation such as hunting, hiking, trapping, photography, and bird watching.
Vincent joined Pheasants Forever as a volunteer in 1984, only two years after the organization’s creation in 1982. He was hired as a full-time employee in 1987 and succeeded Jeff Finden to become the second person to lead the non-profit conservation organization during its 40-year history. Through his tenure, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have grown into one of the most respected wildlife conservation organizations in the country.
The Howard K. Vincent WPA is being made possible by contributions from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund (USFWS), Wildlife Habitat Society of McLeod County, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Spirit Lake Protective Association, the Dickinson County Water Quality Commission (IA), onX Hunt, Jackson County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, and others. All contributions support the Build A Wildlife Area® program which is seeking to raise funds to complete this project and pursue a second phase addition to build upon this habitat complex.
For more information about contributing to Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Build a Wildlife Area® program or the Howard K. Vincent WPA, please contact Minnesota state coordinator Tanner Bruse at (507) 865-1163 or tbruse@pheasantsforever.org.