Month: August 2016

Introduction

In an effort to remember the legacy of wildlife artist James Meger, the Lyon County Pheasants Forever, East Medicine Pheasants Forever and Yellow Medicine Pheasants Forever chapters are undertaking a substantial fundraising effort to create a WMA in his memory.  As you may be aware, James passed away in 2011 after a battle with cancer.  As a native of Lyon County, James’ death impacted many people not only within our chapters of Pheasants Forever and our local communities, but also across the country.  This loss was felt by the national conservation community due to the fact that James managed to improve habitat across our region – and the entire country – with a simple brushstroke.

 

James spent most of his life capturing the beauty of nature through hundreds of wildlife paintings.  He is one of only a handful of artists to be awarded the Minnesota DNR Waterfowl Stamp and Pheasant Habitat Stamp in his career.  To his credit, James’ works have served as the Pheasants Forever Print of the Year an unprecedented six times.  It is likely that conservation or sportsmen’s groups in your area have benefitted from James’ works by auctioning or raffling his many impressive prints.  Our chapters haveprominently awarded his artwork at our annual banquets. Through his paintings, James has helped raise millions of dollars for habitat projects, even after his death.

Please help us honor James’ life and all he did for conservation by contributing to the James Meger Memorial WMA Fund, which will establish a WMA in his memory.  You can support our project by completing this donation form and returning it via mail with your payment.

About James Meger

James was a graduate of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn., earning a bachelor of fine arts degree and the University of Minnesota where he earned a master’s in art education. For nine years, he taught art before quitting to paint full time.

 

“I told him, ‘We don’t have any kids yet, so if you want to quit teaching, go ahead,'” his wife, Laurene, said, “just a few months later, in 1980, he won the Minnesota state duck stamp contest.”

Born in Lyon County, Minn., James relayed through many of his paintings a love of, and fascination with, rural Americana, especially the farmsteads and wildlife — pheasants in particular — that dotted the landscape. An excellent wingshot, James was an avid hunter whose time afield inspired his art. When he won the state duck stamp, wildlife art was big business, with established and even new painters often selling hundreds of limited-edition prints.  James was prolific in his artwork, and dozens of his prints are available to the public, capturing moments afield and preserving the memories of the area where he grew up.

“He painted six of our ‘Prints of the Year,’ more than any other artist,” said Bob St. Pierre, Pheasants Forever’s marketing vice president, “and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for habitat.”

James taught art from 1973-1979. During this time he consulted with his mentor, artist Les Kouba.  From the time of this tutelage under Kouba, James has been known as the artist who paints “More than Meets the Eye” by hiding a number of other species in his artwork.

About the Meger Memorial WMA

Through Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment, which provides funding for projects fostering clean water, lands and air, Lyon County Pheasants Forever and Minnesota Pheasants Forever have closed on two tracts of land approximately 10 miles from Minneota, Minn., James Meger’s hometown.

Your contribution will go toward restoring and enhancing the WMA which will benefit upland game, waterfowl, deer, small game and watchable wildlife and will protect a natural creek from runoff and siltation through the establishment of grasslands which will buffer the flow from sedimentation and improve water quality downstream.

Throughout 2016, a number of projects on the WMA will be carried out to benefit local wildlife. Conversion of marginal acres on the property to grasslands will provide not only nesting cover for upland game, but also a wide variety of native flower species to sustain local populations of pollinators such as honeybees and monarch butterflies.  The existing tree cover will be improved to benefit local deer and turkey populations and to provide winter cover for a variety of songbirds and other wildlife species.

 

It is anticipated that the parcel will be open to public hunting and dedicated to James’ memory in the fall of 2017, when the habitat work has been completed and the expansive restored and improved areas on the WMA have become established.

Your donation will help make the James Meger Memorial WMA a place which will honor his legacy, be a home to the wildlife he celebrated, and create a public hunting area which will inspire generations to come with the same sights and experiences that fueled James’ passion for the outdoors and his artistic accomplishments.

Please contact us with questions or for more information on this great effort to remember James Meger and all he did for conservation.

 

DNR Press Release

About the same number of small game hunters took to the field in 2015 compared to the year before. By species, the number of pheasant hunters was up slightly, with duck hunters stable and grouse hunters down slightly, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources annual small game survey. 

In 2015, the number of pheasant hunters was 63,350, representing an increase of 10 percent from 2014.

An estimated 76,243 people hunted ducks, essentially the same as last year.

Ruffed grouse hunter numbers were estimated at 79,058 a decrease of 5 percent from 2014.

Statewide estimates show small game hunters harvested about 243,176 pheasants (up 59 percent), 663,811 ducks (down 5 percent), and 267,997 ruffed grouse (down 11 percent) in 2015 with margins of error in the results of between 9 and 14 percent.

With the exception of pheasant, individual hunter success rates were comparable to 2014. Pheasant hunters harvested an average of 3.8 pheasants in 2015, which was 41 percent higher than 2014 when 2.7 pheasants were taken per hunter. Duck hunters harvested an average of 8.7 ducks in 2015 compared to 9.3 in 2014. Woodcock hunters harvested 3 birds per hunter, compared to 2.7 in 2014. Ruffed grouse hunters harvested an average of 3.4 grouse in 2015, compared to 3.6 in 2014.

The DNR annually surveys small game hunters to make estimates of both hunter numbers and harvest trends. For the 2015 season, 7,000 small game license buyers were surveyed of which 3,485 surveys were returned and usable.

The complete report is on the DNR website.

The Lyon County Pheasants Forever (LCPF) Mentor Hunt for youth ages 17 and under, and for new women hunters of all ages, has been scheduled for Sat., Oct. 22, 2016 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Once again, the event will be based out of the Redwood River Sportsman’s Club (RRSC) located eight miles southeast of Marshall.  The event will introduce young and novice hunters to pheasant hunting with the assistance of adult mentors and their dogs.  As with last year’s hunt, inexperienced families will also have a chance to sign up for the hunt. The event is free, thanks to the generous support of LCPF’s sponsors and members and RRSC.

“The Mentor Hunt is a great experience for new hunters; they know it’s all about them and they get first shot in that exciting moment when a rooster flushes,” said Nick Simonson, LCPF President, “participants will also get the chance to shoot trap, experience LCPF’s Young Guns package and have some fun on the RRSC range,” he continued.

Area youth, women and inexperienced hunting families can be registered for the mentor hunt by contacting Simonson at 507-829-9553 or by emailing him at lyoncountypf@gmail.com, with the subject “Mentor Hunt.”  Applicants must provide the full name, address, age, phone number and firearms safety certificate number for each participating hunter at the time of registration, and the full name, address and phone number of the parent or adult chaperone who will be attending with any youth hunter.  All participants must have completed their firearm safety course prior to the event and must possess all necessary licenses and stamps, unless exempted by law. The deadline to register for the event is October 14, 2016.

“Hunting builds family bonds that cannot be broken,” said Simonson, “some of my fondest memories are being in the field with my dad and brother, forever tying our relationships together through some great hunts; that’s why LCPF is focused on including inexperienced families in this event,” he concluded.

LCPF is also seeking mentors with trained dogs for the hunt on Oct. 22.  Those individuals interested in mentoring for the day-long event should also contact Simonson, providing their contact information along with the type of dog they would bring for the hunt.  Volunteers are also needed to help with lunch, monitor the ranges and assist with activities throughout the day.   Further, landowners anywhere in the Lyon County area who are willing to allow access to their property for the afternoon “destination” portion of the event can do so by contacting Simonson.

“While we hunt a great deal of the excellent public land in the area, private landowners provide a resource that increases our participants’ odds of seeing and bagging a rooster each year,” said Simonson, “their support of this program through access is greatly appreciated by the chapter and the participants.”

For more information regarding the Mentor Hunt, visit LCPF on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lyoncountypf, or on Twitter @lyoncountypf.