McLeod Pheasants Forever - Habitat Page
Local Habitat Efforts
McLeod Pheasants Forever's members are truly passionate about creating, preserving and restoring habitat that benefits pheasants, quail and other upland wildlife. This unique model empowers local chapters with the responsibility to determine how 100 percent of their locally-raised conservation funds will be spent.
Whether it's through improving habitat, informing the public about land management or educating future generations of hunting enthusiasts, conservation is the underlying principle in all we do at the grassroots level.
2015 Habitat Projects
Recently completed are 5 tree removal projects on WMA's in McLeod County. The McLeod PF chapter wrote a Conservation Partners Legacy (CPL) grant through the MN DNR for $50,000 to remove volunteer and invasive tree species from Pebbles, Kohl’s Slough, Deutsch East, Crow Wing, and Rich Valley WMA's.
On Pebbles and Rich Valley WMA's, numerous volunteer trees were removed from the grassland, volunteer trees were removed from the field windbreaks allowing the planted spruce and shrubs to thrive, and buckthorn was removed from the woods to allow the deer and turkey hunters better access to their preferred habitats.
On Kohl's Slough and Deutsch East WMA's, black willow and cottonwood trees were removed from the wetland fringes. This will remove the predator perches giving the wintering pheasants more security from avian predators.
On Crow Wing II, the volunteer ash and boxelder were removed from the willow thickets. Again, this removes the predator perches from the wintering areas and now that the volunteer trees are removed, the willows can grow thicker and provide better winter cover.
Along with the tree removal, 6 acres of brome conversion was also completed at Deutsch East WMA.
Glenco-Silver Lake High School Outdoor Classroom
The chapter has partnered with the Glencoe-Silver Lake School on restoring 6.2 acres of their outdoor classroom to a native prairie with rich diversity focusing on pollinator friendly plants. The highlight of the project happened on Thursday, May 21st with the pollinator field day. On this day, we had 185 kids participate in hand broadcasting seed over 2.0 acres of the site, they will get to plant 600 native flower seedlings, and there will be several presenters there talking about bees and how we can do our part in their habitat support and survival.
Food Plots
Do you want to add a food plot to your property. Contact Mark Reinert 320-510-4944 about obtaining seed for your food plot.
Do you own land adjacent to a WMA or WPA? Do you want to receive a payment of $200 per acre for leaving a food plot all year for the wildlife?
Contact Mark Reinert 320-510-4944 to find out more information. The McLeod chapter is offering landowners who own land adjacent to a WMA or WPA $200 per acre to leave unharvested crops in the field until spring. The chapter also has food plot seed available for the landowner to use on this food plot. The food plot must touch the WMA or WPA and be a direct benefit to the wildlife.
Corn Give Away
If you are a member of McLeod Pheasants Forever, you should receive a postcard in the mail every fall. This post card entitles you to one 50# bag of corn twice a month. Pick up days are on select Saturdays December through March. The pick up location is Cenex West on Highway 7 in Hutchinson. Jerry Notch is the main contact for this event.
Walk-In Access
The DNR is once again offering landowners of 40 acres or more the opportunity to be compensated for allowing the public to hunt on their property. The landowner still retains ownership of the land. The landowner is merely leasing out the hunting rights of their property. Currently McLeod County has 2 Walk-In-Access sites. If you would like more information on enrollment, please contact your local Soil & Water Conservation District, 320-864-1214, or your local Farm Bill Biologist Kayla Blocker, 320-864-5177.
