IDNR Announces Spring 2019 State Pheasant Fund Project Grants

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today announced the approval of more than $193,000 in grants for two pheasant habitat projects through the Illinois State Pheasant Fund Special Wildlife Funds Grant Program.

The program aims to enhance game and non-game wildlife habitat through projects developed by not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities. Funding for the Illinois State Pheasant Fund Special Wildlife Funds Grant Program comes from the sale of Habitat Stamps to sportsmen and sportswomen.

The Illinois State Pheasant Fund Advisory Committee this spring approved $193,198 in funding for the two grant projects below.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever (PF&QF)
$100,397.24 for a State Coordinator position (two years)
The PF&QF state coordinator plays a key role in partnering with the IDNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish and Wildlife (USFWS PFW), the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), and other agencies, non-government organizations and private sector partners on expanding and enhancing habitat.

Projects across the state support the implementation of the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan (IWAP), which works on public and private lands with the intention of increasing restored acres of grassland especially beneficial to pheasants and their multi-seasonal needs.

The coordinator also supervises a five-person Habitat Strike Team that conducts habitat projects on private lands enrolled in the Illinois Recreational Access Program, and on state-owned Wildlife Management Areas and Heritage sites.

The Pheasant Fund grant will cover 60 percent of the cost of the state coordinator position for a two-year period. Matching funds are provided by IDOT ($78,000 in-kind), USFWS PFW ($1,950 in-kind), and Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever ($66,931.49).

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever (PF&QF)
$92,801.23 for an Outreach Coordinator position (two years)
The PF&QF outreach coordinator will expand outreach efforts while helping the IDNR and other partners develop and implement the Recruit, Retain, and Reactivate (R3) concept to create new participants or increase participation rates of current or lapsed outdoor recreationists.

Using seeding standards and messaging for expanding pollinator habitat through partners including Ameren and IDOT, the outreach coordinator will continue to promote and educate the public about brood rearing and nesting habitat for pheasants.

The Pheasant Fund grant will cover 60 percent of the cost of the outreach coordinator position for a two-year period. Matching funds are provided by Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever ($45,867.48) and Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters ($16,000, plus $35,300 in-kind).