Pheasants Forever prepares for another full house at fundraiser

Those who attend the 24th annual Pheasants Forever banquet on March 7 will learn that the organization is about more than hunting. Pheasants Forever is a national grassroots, nonprofit organization devoted to conservation and habitat.

Last year's banquet was such a success that those planning the event including the local chapter's president, Brad Lines are prepared for a packed house again this year.

"If I were to say one thing to people it would be, hey, we're ready this year, we're ready for the crowds," Lines said.

This year's banquet will take place next Friday at the Cheyenne County fairgrounds. The night will be filled with food, libations, raffle prizes and auction items including guns, prints and various packages.

Last year the group struggled to deal with a record attendance of around 600 people, when the group was only prepared for around 450. The facility was not equipped with enough tables or chairs and those coordinating the event had to buy extra beer during the festivities.

"It was a great problem to have but still a problem, so we're anticipating 600 people through the door," Lines said.

The group's 2013 banquet was the largest wildlife fundraising event in the panhandle last year. The annual banquet is the local chapter's only source of funding.

Proceeds from the banquet will go toward the group's habitat preservation efforts as well as its annual youth mentor and wounded warrior hunts.

"We have taken out over 140 youth on their first pheasant hunt in the last 13 years," Lines said. "That's a big milestone for us. We believe strongly in getting youth reintegrated back into the outdoors."

Exposing kids to hunting, even if those young people don't continue to hunt, gives them an understanding of the pastime. Some of the kids, ages 12-15 have been hunting before, but for many the Pheasants Forever hunt is their first experience with the pastime.

All proceeds stay local, helping the organization with habitat projects including tree planting and the development of food plots. The organization also helps out those participating in national conservation reserve programs in which the government pays landowners to set aside grass area for habitats.

Pheasants Forever assists these landowners by providing them with grass seeds that are beneficial to wildlife.

"When I say habitat and wildlife, I don't just mean pheasants," Lines said. "It's also gonna benefit deer, grouse, turkey, rabbits. We're talking all the way down to different song birds to the insects. The whole ecosystem is going to benefit from the things that we're doing."

Lines emphasized that Pheasants Forever was focused on habitat preservation, foremost.

"That's probably a misnomer that Pheasants Forever is only for hunters," Lines said. "It's really a habitat organization."

One of the items for auction at the event will directly benefit the group's second annual wounded warrior hunt, in which the organization takes veterans who were injured in combat on a hunt. Five veterans participated in the hunt last year, which was a collaboration with U.S. Warriors Outdoors. Also included for auction and raffle at the banquet are around 20 prints, 16 other mid sized items and 22 firearms. There will also be a package just for ladies.

"The female segment is a huge growing piece of the outdoor industry," Lines said. "About 20 percent of outdoors people are ladies, so we want to cultivate that and get more ladies to our banquet."

Another package for auction will include a football autographed by Tom Osborne, former head coach of the Huskers football team. Every attendee who signs up for a Pheasants Forever membership will be eligible to win a Ruger American .270 caliber rifle.

Since 1990, Pheasants Forever has planted around 1.1 million trees in Cheyenne County. Since 2011 the group has helped to plant around 2144 acres of grass in the county.

The reasons to attend the banquet are many, Lines said.

"It's a great chance to support a non-profit organization that 100 percent of the profits go right back into the community through the habitat programs, through the youth programs that we're doing and also to help out the disabled veterans," Lines said.

He attributes the huge increase in attendance last year to many factors including better marketing.

"Honestly, at the end of the day it just goes to show how much people believe in our organization and believe in the grassroots efforts that Pheasants Forever does," Lines said.

Some of the items to be auctioned or raffled at the event can be found in the front window at the Moose and Goose Gallery on Illinois St. in Sidney. Tickets are available at the door or at the Moose and Goose Gallery. Happy Hour starts at 5:30 and dinner begins at 7.

There are more than 100,000 national members of Pheasants and Quail Forever, and more than 10,000 in Nebraska alone. The national organization has spent more than $34 million on habitats and education since 1986 and has conserved more than 8.5 million acres in that time as well.