Livingston County Pheasants Forever Chapter 39th Annual Banquet set for March 11, 2024 at the Pontiac Elks Club
Memberships are the blood line of this organization in order to pursue getting habitat in the ground to allow wildlife to flourish in our area. The Livingston County Chapter of Pheasants Forever will be holding its annual fund-raising banquet on Monday, March 11, 2024 at the Pontiac Elks Club. The doors open at 5:00 and dinner will begin being served at 6:00.
“When it comes to conservation, there are a lot of people out there who would like to make a positive difference in the restoration and preservation of farmland wildlife, but just don’t know how to go about doing it,” Doug Wessels said. Doug is the Chairman of our local Chapter. “Attending our local banquet goes a long way in getting things accomplished to create the habitat needed for our wildlife to flourish.”
“Since its inception in 1982, Pheasants Forever’s wildlife habitat projects have benefited more than 15.8 million acres across the continent. In that time, PF has participated in over 1,675 different land acquisitions totaling over 187,000 acres. Those land acquisition projects have been completed in conjunction with local, state and federal natural resource agencies, and all of those projects are today open to public hunting. Our chapter has been one of the leaders in the state in raising dollars and getting seed for habitat back in the ground. Since our inception, the Livingston County PF Chapter has been responsible for investing nearly $600,000 in seed, equipment, trees and education projects to increase the habitat necessary to increase local pheasant populations.” The Livingston County Chapter was recognized at the State Meeting in 2020 for surpassing $500,000 in projects. The Chapter has also supported efforts to involve youth in our activities. Our support for the Prairie Central High School Trap Team helped them compete at the Illinois State High School Tournament & advancing to the National Tournament in Michigan a few years ago. We are currently conducting youth hunter safety courses and will continue to do this going forward. Our youth are our future.
“Pheasants Forever is a unique organization because the funds raised here, stay here and are used in Livingston County. It’s Pheasants Forever’s vision that current and future generations of hunters along with conservationists are able to enjoy abundant populations of wild pheasants, quail and other wildlife. Over 90% of the funds raised go into seed & projects right here in Livingston County.”
“Wildlife habitat faces monumental challenges in an ever-changing world. Agricultural expansion, a growing population, water wars, urban sprawl and oil and mineral exploration are all threats to the habitat pheasants, quail and other wildlife call home. If there are to be places for wildlife going forward, we will have to work harder, to be more creative, and build more partnerships than ever before.”
“Attending a Pheasants Forever banquet is an excellent way to contribute to a good cause because your county chapter retains all of the money (exclusive of membership fees) we raise and use this money for habitat work with farmers and landowners in our immediate area,” Wessels said. “We also are working to create more opportunities for the youth in our county to get involved with Pheasants Forever through programs geared to the younger generations. This last year we have conducted three hunting safety courses and have more on our schedule.”
According to Wessels, Pheasants Forever committee members will soon be calling on conservation minded individuals in the county to help support the banquet. Mailings will go out to current and past members in the near future. For more information on the banquet or Pheasants Forever, contact: Steve Weeks at (815) 692-2302; Doug Wessels at (815) 657-8682, Bob Condon at (815) 674-1370 or Mike Oughton at (815) 529-3306.
If you need an order form for Banquet tickets, you will be able to print from our web page. Check our web page often as we maintain our meeting schedule & other activities on our web site. We hope to see you Monday, March 11.
Livingston County PF Web Page: http://livingstoncountypheasantsforever.org/
National PF Web Page: http://pheasantsforever.org/
