Pheasant Habitat Being Created North of Saybrook

May 29, 09:42 PM

Current Headlines: By Scott Richardson;srichardson@pantagraph.com

The McLean County chapter of Pheasants Forever and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources have teamed to provide hunters with hundreds of more acres of suitable habitat to support their favorite birds and other wildlife.

The department's role was to purchase 520 acres known as the Thelma Nardin Estate property four miles north of Saybrook.

The land will become the hub of the fourth parcel in the Pheasants Forever's Habitat Wheel Initiative, a far-sighted project that was the brainchild of Paxton's Gerald Rodeen, a longtime member of the organization's national board.

The concept begins with the acquisition of a large area of land suitable to develop as pheasant habitat. Pheasants Forever and government biologists then encourage surrounding landowners to participate in government projects, such as the Conservation Reserve Program, to set aside and develop even more habitat.

The first parcel becomes the hub, and the others become the spokes in a public/private partnership that's a win-win for everyone.

Though pheasant numbers have plummeted since modern production- oriented agriculture methods replaced crop rotation, wildlife managers have proved that if you create habitat for the birds, they will thrive, said David DeHaan, president of the McLean County Pheasants Forever chapter.

"The neat part about Central Illinois is that pheasants respond amazingly well to habitat changes in this area," DeHaan said. "It doesn't take a whole lot of pheasants and a whole lot of habitat to make incredible improvements in numbers."

The Nardin farmland was paid for with $2.45 million from the Hunter Heritage Fund Program, the Illinois Habitat Fund and the State Pheasant Fund.

"Due to high land rent costs, high land values and highly productive farmland, McLean County faces difficult challenges in putting habitat on the ground," DeHaan said.

"These 520 acres are located in a target area for land acquisition that is part of the comprehensive wildlife action plan for Illinois due to its high percentage of CRP (Conservation Reserve Program) eligible land. This will serve as the hub of a new habitat wheel initiative," DeHaan said. "With the partnership of adjacent landowners, we now have the opportunity to impact a very large area positively for upland habitat in McLean County."

DeHaan said portions of the site could open for hunting as early as 2009. The Department of Natural Resources will manage the hunting opportunity as it does a nearby 80-acre, state-owned site.

"This Habitat Wheel Initiative continues to be a great partnership with Pheasants Forever," said Connie Waggoner, Illinois Department of Natural Resources manager for the division of realty and planning. "Now the restoration effort will begin, and it couldn't have happened without the work of the McLean County Chapter of Pheasants Forever."

The partnership also includes the Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts and federal agencies such as Farm Service Agency and Natural Resource Conservation Service, said Tom Schwartz, Illinois Conservation Director for Pheasants Forever.

"We are very pleased with the partnership that continues to grow as we develop the Habitat Wheel Initiative," Schwartz said. "Now that we have purchased the hub for this focus area, the work with the surrounding landowners begins."

DeHaan said a town meeting will be held later this year, when landowners will receive specific recommendations on what habitat programs may apply to their property.

The three other Illinois Habitat Wheel Initiatives are the 313- acre Cranfill property in Montgomery County acquired last year, the 635-acre Sibley property in Ford County and the 118-acre WhiteField property in Marshall County.

-The McLean County chapter is one of 45 Pheasants Forever chapters in the state. There are also 11 Quail Forever chapters in Illinois. Together, they boast more than 7,600 members.

The McLean County chapter alone has raised and spent more than $400,000 for habitat in the two decades since it organized. The Illinois Pheasants Forever chapters combined have done 25,000 habitat projects which have provided 200,000 acres for wildlife.

More land for nature

The Sugar Grove Nature Center recently received $2.5 million from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to purchase 476 acres of prairie grove at Funks Grove. The land was endangered because two trusts that held it were offering it for sale, said Angela Smith, director of the nature center.

The parcel is a portion of a larger, 1,100-acre natural area which was previously designated as a National Natural Landmark for its biological diversity, which includes rare, threatened and endangered species.

"It's part of what people see when they come visit. They automatically think it was protected, but it wasn't," Smith said.

The Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation was also a major player in helping the ParkLands Foundation to protect the Letcher Basin along the Mackinaw River in southeastern Woodford County. ParkLands recently announced it had acquired 21 more acres of the floodplain south of Secor.

The 129-acre Letcher Basin Nature Preserve is contiguous to ParkLands Foundation's 58-acre Wyatts Ford Nature Preserve. Earlier this year, Sherri Thornton, Matt Fraker, and Greg and Christie Kennett also donated a conservation easement on the contiguous 52- acre tract they own within the basin.

The entire block, which now totals 260 acres, is part of the Mackinaw Bluffs Corridor Project. The restoration involves nearly 1,100 acres on the Mackinaw River about 12 miles northwest of Bloomington-Normal.

Sturgis moved?

No, Sturgis is still in South Dakota. Never mind that I moved it to North Dakota in a story in last week's GO!

Scott Richardson is Pantagraph outdoor editor. Phone (309) 820- 3227 or email srichardson@pantagraph.com Read past outdoor and fishing columns or take part in online discussions at www.pantagraph.com/blogs.

Read past outdoor and fishing columns or take part in online discussions at www.pantagraph.com/blogs.

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