Behind seemingly every American game bird or animal is a hunter-funded conservation group working to ensure that it not only survives but thrives. These organizations harness the passion millions of American sportsmen have for their favorite game species and transform it into a currency to fund habitat protection and restoration efforts. It’s a genius model that has been the private sector engine for North American conservation since the 1930s when many continental wildlife populations were on the brink of collapse following the infamous Dust Bowl.
The approach has raised billions of dollars to conserve tens of millions of acres from the Canadian prairies to the piney woods of South Georgia. While the motivation is to produce a future with more game, hundreds of non-game species benefit as well—including many threatened and endangered animals—all the while the work also improves air, water, and soil quality. You may not want to hunt, but there’s no denying the incalculable benefits of hunter-funded conservation to all manner of North American fish and wildlife.
Over 25,000 will attend the 3-day event focusing on wildlife conservation, upland game bird hunting, bird dogs, wildlife habitat management, pollinators and more. VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
For St. Paul, Minnesota-based sister organizations Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, bringing their flock together annually to celebrate the upland life is a chance to showcase the riches of the lifestyle and to connect like-minded conservationists from across North America. From March 7-9, the two organizations expect more than 25,000 members and supporters to make the pilgrimage to Kansas City to transform it into a Mecca for gun dog lovers and game bird aficionados.