Mississippi Longtails PF Hosting Memorial Sporting Clays Classic for Minnesota Build a Wildlife Area
OutdoorHub 04.08.12
The Mississippi Longtails Pheasants Forever chapter will host the Fifth Annual Build a Wildlife Area Sporting Clays Classic on Saturday, April 28th at the South St. Paul Rod & Gun Club. The event is open to all interested shooters with all proceeds being donated to Minnesota’s Build a Wildlife Area campaign, which helps acquire land for public hunting and outdoor recreation activities.
Started in 2008, this shooting event is a memorial for Randall L. Johnson and Kevin J. Foley, longtime Pheasants Forever supporters who both lost their battle to cancer at an early age.
The Build a Wildlife Area campaign is unique in that all donations are tripled through matching grants from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Once matched, those dollars will be used by Pheasants Forever to acquire land critical as wildlife habitat. The land will then be turned over to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources or the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for management, and opened to the public.
Since its inception in 2003, the Minnesota Build a Wildlife Area partnership has generated approximately one million dollars and acquired nine new public wildlife areas in Minnesota totaling over 2,800 acres, all of which have been transferred to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources or the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and are now open to the public. The Anoka County chapter of Pheasants Forever, Game Fair, and Outdoor News partnered with Pheasants Forever to develop the concept. Gander Mountain, Apple Auto Group, Federal Premium Ammunition, Ron Schara and Minnesota Bound have also been large financial contributors during the ten years of the campaign.
Accomplishments to date include the 185-acre Randall WPA (Johnson/Foley tract) near Sunburg, MN (2011), 65-acre Pelican Lake WPA (2010), 1,036-acre Roger M. Holmes WMA in northeastern Douglas County (2007), 159-acre Buck Family Memorial WMA in Goodhue County (2006), 126-acre Teal Lake WMA in Jackson County (2005), the 310-acre Winter WMA in Pipestone County (2005), the 240-acre Chetomba Creek WMA in Renville County (2005), the 400-acre Hunters’ Paradise WMA in Traverse County (2004), and the 318-acre Mud Lake WMA in Morrison County (2003).
To obtain a registration form and for more information about the Fifth Annual Build a Wildlife Area Sporting Clays Classic, contact Dan Richmond at 651-730-4434 or Email Dan. For all other inquiries, please contact Rehan Nana, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Public Relations Specialist, at 651-209-4973 or Email Rehan.
