Chinook chapter of Pheasants Forever will continue to ‘build habitat for southern Alberta’ in 2023
Over 30 years protecting habitat for upland birds and over wildlife, and still kicking, the Chinook Chapter of Pheasants Forever is looking forward to a brand new year.
The Chapter’s focus has always been for Habitat enhancement for wildlife. While pheasants and upland game birds are focused, all forms of wildlife benefit from habitat enhancement and securement, said president Jeremy Rattai. The chapter works with various organizations to spearhead habitat projects, and with Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) to secure properties for public use.
“We’ve been around for just over 30 years now,” said Rattai. “We’ve been working very hard in this last year 2022; we’ve been able to contribute a lot of funds towards habitat restoration, to wetlands restoration, and our Ross Creek property, which is just east of Medicine Hat. We’re hoping to continue to do that here in 2023.”
Coming up quickly in 2023 is the chapter’s 29th annual fundraising banquet, which promises to be a fantastic evening and opportunity to support the world of securing and restoring natural areas for prairie wildlife.
“We usually have about 300 people attend. And it’s a great evening of entertainment, live and silent auction items, and a great time for people to get together and just have a fun evening with a super meal,” said Rattai.
It takes place at the Cypress Auditorium at the Medicine Hat and Exhibition Stampede grounds on March 10. Those interested can purchase their tickets online at the website at: https://pheasantsforeverchinook.ca/ pheasants-banquet/
The chapter is funded through their fundraisers, as well as donations from corporate partners, which allows for them to continue to secure land in order to rehabilitate and preserve it. This securing lands and trying to be conservationists are ongoing tasks.
“We also work with ACA on contributing funds towards securing new properties, which are accessible to the public for birdwatching, walking your dog, hunting all of those things are available to the public at these properties,” said Rattai.
2022 was a busy year for them, with several projects underway that will continue into the new year, such as the Ross Creek property.
“That project is going to be moving on to the seeding program. So we’ve done some land work there to work on wetlands restoration,” said Rattai. “There’ll be a bunch of projects there with planting of shrubs, and seeding of native prairie grasslands as well. So that’s going to be a big project this summer.”
“We’ve had fantastic support from our dedicated supporters over the years and the number of people involved,” said Rattai. “Pheasants Forever is growing; we have been reaching some record numbers, with fundraising and with attendees to our banquet. And so it’s really great to see there’s a lot of excitement about the projects, once you’ve had an opportunity to go out to some of the sites, whether you’re hiking or walking or bird watching those types of things. People really can appreciate the work that’s being done and the value of it.”
Over the years, there’s been more work to get the youth involved, something that gives Rattai hope for the future, not only for this organization, but of the prairies as a whole.
Anyone looking to get involved in the conservation and restoration of the native prairies we call home is encouraged to visit their website, at pheasantsforeverchinook.ca, for more information and to reach out.
“We’d love to hear from you. Give us a call or send us an email, and we will certainly reach out to you and get you involved in any way that you would like to,” said Rattai.