The Crowing Post:  2/18/08

Frontier County Landowner Recognized with Nebraska Master Conservationist Award

Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) have awarded Stan Pilcher, habitat chairperson of the Medicine Creek Chapter of PF, the 2008 Nebraska Master Conser-vationist of the Year award.  Pilcher was recognized at the Nebraska PF/QF State Habitat Meeting on February 2nd.   He is the sixth recipient of the this award which is given annually to a landowner in the state that has worked diligently in support of PF and QF, wildlife habitat, and landowner education.

Pilcher has been involved with PF as a habitat chairperson in Colorado and Nebraska for over 20 years.  An entomologist with the Colorado Extension Service for 35 years, Pilcher retired in 2001 and bought a 2,200 acre ranch in Frontier County in southwestern Nebraska.  Pilcher uses prescribed grazing on his land, increasing the biodiversity of the blant community and improving habitat for mixed-grass prairie dependent wildlife; plants food plots to support local populations of elk, deer, turkeys and other wildlife species; and was one of the first landowners in the Loess Canyons region to use prescribed burning on his ranch.

Pilcher has also entered into a 10-year Nebraska Natural Legacy Project agreement with the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission involving 559 acres of contracted mechanical eastern red cedar removal, and 25 acres of selective thinning of cedars in draws containing beneficial hardwood tree species.  Some of these areas will be managed to benefit bobwhite quail and mule deer through shrub plantings.

"Stan not only advocates conservation, but he practices what he preaches," said Drew Larsen, PF's regional wildlife biologist in western Nebraska.  "His holistic approach to wildlife habitat conservation makes him well-deserving of the Master Conservationist award."

The 2007 Nebraska Master Conservationist of the Year award went to Jim Bliven, habitat chairperson with the Dakota/Thurston Counties PF Chapter.

Nebraska boasts 60 PF chapters and 3 QF chapters accounting for 11,000 of the organization's 120,000 members.  For the past 4 years in a row, Nebraska chapters have spent over $2 Million each year in the state on habitat projects and youth education.  Historically, Nebraska PF/QF has spent over $20.6 Million on wildlife habitat conservation.  Those funds have translated into 69,770 habitat projects, benefiting 2,2442946 total acres for pheasants and quail.

      habitat today….pheasants forever!