Robert Pore's Ag Blog

Saint Paul, Minn. - Pheasants Forever reported that last year marked its most successful year in the non-profit conservation organization's 24-year history.

During 2006, PF and its quail division, Quail Forever (QF), spent more money on habitat projects and conservation education than any single year prior. It was also the organization's most successful year in forming new chapters.

Last year, PF/QF spent more than $33.8 million on its mission. Nebraska was second leading state in PF/QF funding at $3.1 million. Minnesota was first with $3.5 million.

Those mission dollars helped PF/QF complete 23,552 habitat projects across the nation in 2006. Those projects are today benefiting wildlife on over 460,000 acres of land. Since the organization's inception in 1982, PF/QF has spent nearly $200 million to complete 4.4 million acres of habitat work. More than 113,000 of those acres were land acquisition projects. All PF/QF land acquisitions are turned over to the appropriate federal and/or state agency and are now open to public hunting.

In addition to habitat efforts, PF/QF funded 500 youth conservation education events with more than 15,000 participants in 2006. Additionally, PF's Leopold Education Project trained over 1,000 participants in 2006.

The $33.8 million total mission expenditures helped PF/QF raise their efficiency rating to 90.9 percent from 90.3 percent in 2005. In other words, PF/QF spent nearly 91 cents of every dollar it raised directly on the organization's mission in 2006. The remaining 9 cents is spent primarily on administration and fundraising functions. This high level of efficiency is tops among national conservation groups and has led Charity Navigator, America's charity watchdog, to award PF/QF with their highest rating of four stars. In fact, Charity Navigator says that PF/QF outperforms most non-profit organizations in America.

Last year also marked the organization's most successful year in forming new chapters. The PF/QF financial model is unique in the conservation world. PF/QF empowers local chapters with the responsibility to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds will be spent.

This local control allows members to see the fruits of their chapter efforts in their own communities, while belonging to a national organization with a voice on federal conservation policy in Washington D.C. Last year, 90 communities responded to this model to form new locally-based chapters. QF saw the majority of this growth with 77 chapters formed in 23 different states. In total, there are over 700 PF/QF chapters across the continent accounting for 115,000 members.

Labels: Ag News: Rural events

Washington D.C. — The National Wildlife Federation has unveiled a proposal to help farmers switch to growing a new generation of biofuel crops. The plan would enroll up to five million acres of land to promote the sustainable production of next generation biomass energy.

“Biofuels represent a big part of our energy future, and this proposal represents a groundbreaking new direction,” says Julie Sibbing, National Wildlife Federation Senior Program Manager for Agriculture Policy. “Native grasses, trees, and other plants have the potential to double energy yields per acre, with just a fraction of the energy needed to produce corn-based ethanol. As these new technologies come on line, they will be key to our future clean energy production. The use of these fuels will also help stem global warming by decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and storing carbon.”

The Biofuels Innovation Program would provide financial and technical assistance to landowners to produce native perennial energy crops and crop mixes in a manner that protects the nation’s soil, air, water and wildlife. The growing of these dedicated energy crops would help support the development or expansion of facilities that use the material for biofuels, electricity, heat, or bio-based products. The program could be enacted under the energy title of the Farm Bill of 2007.

“Farmers, hunters, and anglers will reap the benefits of this program,” says Spencer Tomb, an associate professor at Kansas State University and a National Wildlife Federation board member. ”Our native grasses which are so important to wildlife have been disappearing but this program provides an important incentive to plant mixes of natives that can do double duty for energy and wildlife.”

The Biofuels Innovation Program would support a wide variety of feedstocks and technologies. In the true spirit of innovation, while the program would support production of switchgrass for ethanol, it would also support jojoba for biodiesel, mixed prairie grasses for gasification to generate electricity, trees or grasses for “co-generation” of electricity, and other alternative energies. The plants used must be perennials native to the United States, and not have the potential to become invasive.

In order for a facility that uses biomass to be economically viable, the biomass it utilizes must be grown within a relatively concentrated area to ensure manageable transportation costs. Most experts describe this area as being within a 50 to 70 mile radius of the facility. The Biofuels Innovation Program is designed to address this issue by requiring groups of landowners to come together to apply for funding as a project, rather than as individual landowners.

“To avoid the worst impacts of global warming, we need to use energy more efficiently, and use clean energy technologies,” says Kurt Zwally, National Wildlife Federation Global Warming Solutions Manager. “The Biofuels Innovation Program provides an incentive to grow our energy future in a way that provides multiple benefits for farmers, wildlife, hunters and anglers and energy users. It’s a win-win-win plan.”

Labels: Ag News: Policy