Pheasants Forever Hires Dan Bailey as New Montana Regional Representative
Pheasants Forever 06.04.13
Dan Bailey of Missoula, Montana was recently hired as Pheasants Forever’s (PF) regional representative in the “Treasure State.” Bailey will work at raising and expending funds on wildlife habitat and conservation education with local, state and federal natural resources agencies on behalf of Montana Pheasants Forever.
Prior to joining Pheasants Forever, Bailey was a senior consult/field coordinator for Montana Hunters and Anglers Action! where he worked to promote Montana’s hunting heritage and outdoors future. In his new position, Bailey looks to grow Pheasants Forever’s presence in Montana, which is currently home to 16 Pheasants Forever chapters and over 2,000 members.
“We are delighted to see Dan join the PF family. He brings a strong background in resource management and is well-versed in Montana’s habitat challenges as well as working with conservation partners. Dan’s enthusiasm will be an asset to the existing PF volunteers in Montana, and we look forward to his strengthening of the Montana program,” said Sam Lawry, Pheasants Forever Western Regional Director.
“The world-class pheasant hunting that we enjoy in Montana is facing changes. With the loss of more than 500,000 acres of CRP land in 2012 alone shows that new and innovative methods will be needed to ensure quality habitat,” says Bailey. “Fortunately, programs such as Continuous CRP, State Acres for Wildlife (SAFE), Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), and Highly Erodible Land Initiative (HELI) all have been developed to safeguard against losing productive habitat in Montana. I look forward to continuing this trend of conservation awareness, working with partners across the state to protect and enhance Montana’s natural resources.”
Bailey grew up in Casper, Wyoming in a family of hunters and anglers. At a young age Bailey was exposed to hunting all of Wyoming’s great game species, but his favorite trips were to northwest Iowa to hunt pheasants on his grandparents’ farm. Growing up on the famed North Platte River inevitably led to an early career as a fishing guide, which Bailey started at the ripe old age of 16. His love for hunting and fishing led him to Bozeman, Montana where he completed a B.S. in Land Resources Analysis and Management. It was there that Bailey was first introduced to working in Mongolia where he spent 7 seasons working as a fishing guide for the world’s largest trout, the taimen. His interest in fisheries conservation sparked a desire to work on a comprehensive taimen conservation project which he completed for a master’s degree from the University of Montana in 2012. Bailey has a great passion for bird hunting of any kind, and he along with is griffon, Junger, can be found chasing birds all over the West.
Pheasants Forever empowers county and local chapters with the responsibility to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds will be spent – the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure. As a result, chapter volunteers are able to see the fruits of their efforts locally, while belonging to a larger national organization with a voice on federal and state conservation policy.
For more information, please contact Dan Bailey at (406) 586-8137 or email Dan. For all other inquiries, please contact Rehan Nana, Pheasants Forever public relations specialist, at (651) 209-4973 or email Rehan.
Pheasants Forever launched Quail Forever in August of 2005 to address the continuing loss of habitat suitable for quail and the subsequent quail population decline. Bobwhite population losses over the last 25 years range from 60 to 90 percent across the country. The reason for the quail population plunge is simple - massive losses of habitat suitable for quail. There are five major factors leading to the losses of quail habitat; intensified farming and forestry practices, succession of grassland ecosystems to forests, overwhelming presence of exotic grasses like fescue that choke out wildlife, and urban sprawl.
