Quail Forever Announces DuPont Pioneer to Fund $75,000 for Habitat Mission in Iowa

Iowa Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) announced $75,000 in funding from DuPont Pioneer to help Pheasants Forever improve Iowa’s landscape for pheasant, quail and other wildlife through habitat improvements while simultaneously improving Iowa’s air, water and soil quality.

“DuPont Pioneer is a global business that cares about what happens in local communities,” says Tom Fuller, Pheasants and Quail Forever north region director and Iowa native. “Our goals are to help producers provide wildlife habitat while increasing water quality, air quality and limiting soil erosion. All of these goals resonate with Pioneer; they like what our organization is accomplishing, and we thank them for their generosity and conservation mindset.”

Funds will in part be used to pay for the habitat work being completed by Pheasants Forever and the Iowa Department of Natural Resource (DNR) to reverse Iowa’s pheasant and quail population declines. In 2012, Pheasants Forever announced its 105 PF and QF chapters, PF and DNR employees and private landowners would work in tandem, utilizing a blend of public and private land initiatives to create the quality habitat necessary to accelerate population rebounds during times of ideal weather conditions. In addition, these initiatives will mitigate significant population declines during times of habitat loss and severe weather conditions. The bulk of this work is being accomplished on over 100 large tracts of public upland wildlife habitat in Wildlife Management Areas or County Conservation Board Areas.

“Guided by our core value of environmental stewardship, DuPont Pioneer is committed to being a leader in preserving our natural resources and our environment for generations to come. The production of food, feed, fuel and materials can be and is consistent with a safe and viable natural resources environment,” said Nancy DeLong, DuPont Pioneer director of sustainable agriculture systems.

In addition, these funds will help further PF’s Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist (FBWB) program in Iowa. These biologists educate farmers and landowners about the benefits of conservation programs, as well as assist those landowners after programs have been implemented. Farm bill wildlife biologists add wildlife technical assistance in USDA offices to assist the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA) and other conservation partners with delivering conservation programs to landowners. Iowa is currently home to 10 farm bill wildlife biologists located throughout the state.

Since 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent over 43 million dollars on its habitat mission in Iowa, and completed over 109,000 habitat projects, improving over 1.1 million acres of habitat for pheasant, quail and other wildlife. For more information or to make a donation in support of Pheasants Forever's Iowa conservation efforts, please contact Tom Fuller at (319) 321-9775 or TFuller@pheasantsforever.org.

About Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever

Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 135,000 members and 740 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent, the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure.

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Rehan Nana (651) 209-4973 or email Rehan