VISIT THE FOX R IVER V ALLEY CHAPTER WEBSITE : WWW.FOXVALLEYPHEASANTS .COMPOWERED BY THUNDERA MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTIONS

VITALE’ S FALL SOCIAL A SUCCESS

INSIDE THIS ISSUE :

FOX VALLEY CHAPTER 2

FRVC DONATION 3

TREE-SHRUB UPDATE 3

DU FESTIVAL 4

PHEASANT FORECAST 5

LAND PURCHASE 6

RAFFLE W INNERS 10

HABITAT UPDATE 8

REQUESTS 10

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT 9

CALENDAR 11

ROOSTER TALESSEPTEMBER 2006FRVC NEWSLETTER

By, Jerry MathusekThe FIFTH annual Vitale's/Pheasants Forever Fall Social held at Vitale's Italian Restaurant on MondayAugust 28th was once again a huge success for the Fox River Valley Chapter of Pheasants Forever.The event was well attended and all those who participated had a wonderful time. As usual, the beerwas cold, the food was fabulous, and the prizes were outstanding!!! The only disappointment of theevening (other than plastic silverware, which will NOT happen again) was the lackluster play of ourbeloved Green Bay Packers. Their performance did in fact leave a lot to be desired, but we will notgive up on them yet. The game was viewed on two large screen TV's which were brought in andhosted by Kossel's TV and Appliance, in addition to the two TV's located in the Vitale's bar area.This annual event is casual, laid-back and comfortable. It was rewarding seeing so many peoplemaking new friends, creating new contacts, and asking so many interesting questions.Our membership manager, Ryan Seeley, reported to me that we signed six new members that night.This is in addition to the twenty-four new members we had sign up at the DU Great OutdoorsFestival. Our chapter continues to grow and strengthen with each event we offer.

The evenings lucky winners, and there were many, are listed below:

Winners of the Door PrizesGrand Prize.........Gregg Witte of WinneconneSecond Prize........Jim Ryf of WinneconneThird Prize..........Denise Landolt of OshkoshFourth Prize.........Mark Grahn Sr. of NeshkoroFifth Prize........... Fran Sedlacek of Oshkosh

Winners of the Silent Auction ItemsMike Skoglind, wine refrigeratorDiane Fowler, Bath and Body arrangementJay Klinger, David Maas custom printPaul Fowler, fall arrangementGus Hollo, cocktail basketBrian Wilke, Makita cordless drill set

Winner of the 42 Square Gun BoardJesse Washkoviak

On behalf of the Board of Directors of your Fox River Valley Chapter of Pheasants Forever, Isincerely THANK everyone who attended and so graciously support us in our united cause forimproved habitat, continued education, support of our youth, and all of the other worthwhileactivities in which we engage ourselves.THANK YOU to each and every one of you!

PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIESPlease contact the committee chairperson (in italics)

if you would like to participate.

CROWING COUNT-Start 45 minutes before sunrise. Drive 10 mile routes, stoppingevery 0.5 miles to listen and record location of crowing roosters onplat book maps. Finish 1 to 1.5 hours after sunrise.Jim Ryf (920) 582-9619

YOUTH HUNT-Members and their dogs pair one-on-one with youth who have passedthe gun safety course to have a group field day hunt for youths toexperience pheasant hunting.Leo Kolaszewski (920) 426-0498 or pheasantsforever@gmail.com

MEMBERSHIP-To recruit the avid pheasant hunters who are not members to join andparticipate. Committee would meet occasionally to discuss and act onways to increase membership in our chapter.Ryan Seeley (920) 235-9712 or pheasantsforever@sbcglobal.netJerry Mathusek (920) 235-5610 x 11 or jdm972@cs.com

ADOPT A DNR PLOT-Clean up of a specific Winnebago County areas 4-5 times a year.Jim Ryf (920) 582-9619

FUNDRAISING-Assist in selling tickets to raffles, help out at the sponsor banquet,attend fall social etc. during the year.Jerry Mathusek (920) 235-5610 x 11 or jdm972@cs.com

LAND ACQUISITION-A planning/work committee for our chapter to initiate landacquisition programs. These programs are funded and executed usingfederal and state grants, Pheasants Forever national and local funds,easements and land trust cooperation.Jack Doemel (920) 231-1096 or buglejack@hotmail.com

HABITAT/PREDATOR-A planning committee to work on improving habitat and controllingpredation.Paul Fowler (920) 688-5123 or paulefowler@charter.net

YOUTH BOARD-Sign up to participate and get youth involved.Leo Kolaszewski (920) 426-0498 or pheasantsforever@gmail.com

BANQUET -Attend planning meetings before next year’s banquet.Jerry Mathusek (920) 235-5610 x 11 or jdm972@cs.comAl Heidl (920) 231-0860

VOLUNTEER OPPROTUNITIES -Sign up to participate in various activities announced throughout theyear. Get on the e-mail or call list to be contacted about upcomingevents.Ryan Seeley (920) 235-9712 or pheasantsforever@sbcglobal.net

NEWSLETTER-Contribute articles, photos, or ideas to the newsletter.Krissy Seeley (920) 235-9712 or kr1ssyann@sbcglobal.net

OFFICERSCHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

STEVE HARNITZ

PRESIDENTJACK DOEMEL

VICE PRESIDENTAL HEIDL

SECRETARYLEO KOLASZEWSKI

TEASURERJOHN MANION

DIRECTORSRACHEL FOSTER

M ARK LEWISJERRY MATHUSEK

J IM RYFR YAN SEELEY

TERRY ZAWACKI

NEWSLETTERKRISSY SEELEY, EDITOR

LEO KOLASZEWSKI, MANAGING EDITORJERRY M ATHUSEK, P UBLISHER

COMMITTEE STRUCTURECOMMITTEE DIRECTOR/C HAIRMANBANQUET AL HEIDL/J ERRY MATHUSEKBURN CREW JOSH JACKLFINANCE JOHN MANIONFUND RAISING JERRY MATHUSEKHABITAT PAUL FOWLER/JOSH JACKLLAND ACQUISITION JACK DOEMELMEMBERSHIP RYAN SEELEYNEWSLETTER KRISSY SEELEYPREDATOR CONTROL PAUL FOWLERPUBLIC RELATIONS MARK L EWISWEB-SITE MARK L EWISVOLUNTEER COORDINATOR RYAN SEELEYYOUTH PROGRAMS LEO KOLASZEWSKI

L IFE MEMBERSP AUL FOWLER

JERRY MATHUSEKB ILL MILLER

T OM PUPETERTOM RUSCH

PHEASANTS FOREVER FOX VALLEY CHAPTER

PAGE 2 R OOSTER TALES

PF DONATES GUNS TO OSHKOSH HUNTERS SAFETY PROGRAM

PHEASANTS FOREVER TREE-SHRUB SALE RESULTSBy, Paul FowlerIn April we had over 90 orders for our tree-shrub package, which is a 20 % gain over the prior year.I was really surprised to see where some of the orders came from, like Michigan, Middleton, GreenBay, and many from Fond du Lac. We had close to 80% of the people ordering the prior year comeback again. Many of you had 90-100 % of your trees survive. Next year everyone who has orderedwill be contacted by letter in early 2007.Also, we will be expanding our advertising over a widerarea. The Blue Spruce have been especially popular and as most of you know they make great wintercover for birds with their special branch structure. Suggestions would be appreciated if any of youhave comments on the varieties included in this years package.Paul Fowler- Paulefowler@charter.net

PAGE 3FRVC NEWSLETTER

9712 or pheasantsforever@sbcglobal.net5610 x 11 or jdm972@cs.com

5 times a year.

By, Leo KolaszewskiOur chapter recently donated twoHenry .22 rifles to the Oshkosh HunterSafety program for training andeducation. Pictured are Bill Akan, HeadInstructor of the Oshkosh Hunter SafetyProgram and Leo Kolaszewski,YouthChairman of Pheasants Forever-Fox RiverValley Chapter. Besides firearms, theprogram needs instructors andclassrooms for the many upcominghunter safety classes. The Oshkoshprogram is one of the top hunter safetyprograms in the Midwest.

By, Ryan SeeleyOnce again the Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoor Festival was very successful for Pheasants Forever. This event was successfuldue to Pheasants Forever National purchasing the booth and the Fox Valley Chapter staffing it, however, this year we alsoreceived help from the Waupaca Chapter. Volunteers are on hand throughout the weekend to answer questions, promotehabitat, and sign up new members. With that said, we were able to sign up 24 people, a few were for other chapters, but themajority wanted to join the Fox Valley Chapter. Considering the numbers were down overall for the Festival, we were still ableto keep up with previous years in signing up new members.A special thank you to the following people for taking time out of their busy schedules to help work the booth: Jeff Gaska, TerryZawacki, Brian Gibbs, Leo Kolaszewski, Pedro Valdez, Josh Jackl, Al Heidl, Mike Jansen, Russ Carpenter, Jon Kellerman, JackDoemel, Randy Steeno, Steve & Renee Harnitz, Ryan Seeley, Rick Schmude, Mike Zellner, and Jim Ryf. Without you folks,things would not have run as smoothly as they did. THANK YOU for supporting Pheasants Forever and the Fox Valley Chapter.

DUCKS UNLIMITED FESTIVAL

PAGE 4 R OOSTER TALES

PAGE 5FRVC NEWSLETTER

DNR’S RING-NECKED PHEASANT FORECAST

DID YOU KNOW ?

THE RING-NECKEDPHEASANT WAS

INTRODUCED AS AGAME BIRD TO

WISCONSIN ASEARLY AS THE

LATE 1800’S .

- WISCONSIN DNR WEBSITE

Hunters heading out to Wisconsin’s fields in search of ring-necked pheasants will find this year’s pheasant hunting regulationsincluded in the 2006 Wisconsin Small Game Hunting Regulations. In previous years, the pheasant regulations had been publishedseparately.

Hunters visiting the DNR Web site will also find a new 2006 Pheasant Stocking Information Sheet that identifies which publichunting grounds are slated for pheasant stocking. Game farm managers report that they will release approximately 52,000pheasants into public hunting grounds this fall. That number is up sharply from the 34,000 that were stocked in 2005.

Please check the 2006 Wisconsin Small Game Hunting Regulations and be aware of the counties in which a pheasant stamp isrequired and which public hunting grounds have a 2 p.m. closure and/or allow hen pheasant hunting.

Results from the rural mail carrier pheasant survey indicate a 17 percent decrease in the number of pheasants observed by ruralmail carriers per 100 miles driven when compared to 2005. The spring crowing count survey also indicates a 10 percent decreasein the statewide average of roosters per square mile. Brood survey information for this year will be available late this summer.

“Generally, it appears that the population has shown little change over the past three years,” says Andrea Mezera, assistant uplandwildlife ecologist, “Even though surveys indicate a slight decrease in the pheasant population hunters can expect a fairly good fallpheasant season.”

Areas within the pheasant management counties that contain adequate winter cover (cattail and shrub-carr marshes, and thickswitch grass fields) and have more than 15 percent of the landscape in idle grassland will have the highest pheasant densities saybiologists. In Wisconsin research has shown that wetlands are one of the most important year-round cover types for pheasants.

“Over the long-term throughout the Midwest, pheasant populations have shown a decline,” says Mezera. “Changes in pheasantpopulations have coincided with changing agriculture and land use patterns. Pheasants once relied on small grain and hay fields fornesting and brood rearing. These areas are now being replaced with larger row crops of corn and soybeans. It will be importantfor hunters to identify areas with high quality habitat and concentrate hunting efforts in that area.”

A pheasant stamp is required to hunt pheasants in pheasant management zones.

From Oct. 14-15, the daily bag limit is one cock and possession limit is two. For the remainder of the season the daily bag limit istwo cocks and the possession limit is four. Some public hunting grounds have both hen and cock pheasant hunting (requires freepermits and tags) and /or 2 p.m. closure times.

Season open: Oct. 14 (noon) – Dec. 31.

-Article reprinted with permission from the DNR website; http://www.dnr.state.wi.us

FRVC NEWSLETTER PAGE 6

By, Tim LizotteThis summer the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Fox River Valley Chapter of Pheasants Forever (PF)partnered together to purchase a 44 acre parcel of land in Poygan Township, Winnebago County. The property will becomepart of the DNR’s Glacial Habitat Restoration Area (GHRA), a landscape scale project aimed at restoring grassland and wetlandwildlife habitat within a 24 township area spanning Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Dodge, and Columbia Counties. The land islocated off the east side of 37 th Avenue and is kitty corner to the Ertmer GHRA and the Deppe Wildlife Area. This property willcomplement the existing DNR land to form a 375 acre block of contiguous wildlife habitat that is open to the public for hunting,bird watching, trapping, hiking, and other non-motorized outdoor recreation. Funding for the acquisition came from theWisconsin Stewardship Fund, the North American Wetland Conservation Act Grant, and the Fox River Valley Chapter of PF.

The property will be known as the Pelz GHRA and currently consists of upland grass cover, wetland sedge meadow, and severalagricultural drainage ditches. DNR staff will be busy restoring the cover on this property over the next few years by filling in thedrainage ditches to restore the wetlands and converting the non-native grasslands to native prairie. The restoration process willtake up to three years and some of the land may be farmed during that time to facilitate the conversion to native grasses. If youare interested in assisting with habitat work on this property or other DNR land in the area, please contact the local DNRWildlife Biologist in Oshkosh at 920-424-7886. For more information about the GHRA program, including a complete listingof properties open to the public, see the DNR website at: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/wildlife/ghra/. Custom maps of allDNR public lands may be accessed at: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/facilities/dnr_lands_mapping.html. The DNR would liketo thank the chapter for their support of this important land acquisition.

FRVC NEWSLETTER PAGE 7

By, Jack DoemelIn June of 2006, Chapter dollars helped to purchase a 44 acre parcel in Winnebago County, which will be open for public accessby this fall. The Town of Poygan parcel had been marketed for sale and the FRVC took an immediate interest in obtaining theproperty.

Dept. of Natural Resources Biologist, Tim Lizotte along with Chapter President, Jack Doemel inspected the site in early fall of2005, when it first came available. A combination of existing upland habitat and drainage ditches filtering toward a year roundwaterway along the southerly portion of the property already supported a variety of wildlife, making it a highly desirable piece ofland.We were able to utilize the remaining $15,000 that had been pledged in obtaining a North American Wetland & ConservationAct (NAWCA) grant. In essence, the matching grant raised our total to $30,000 which was then matched with a WisconsinStewardship Grant. The remaining balance once again, came from Stewardship funding bringing the total purchase price to$112,500.

Located along the Winnebago/Waushara County line, the site was ripe for development as a residential housing start and hadbeen off limits to hunting. However, the previous land owner was delighted to find out it would be forever protected as wildlifehabitat and agreed to work with PF and the WDNR. Along with pheasants calling it home, you’ll find deer and turkeythroughout the year. Wood ducks and mallards appear to be utilizing the cover for nesting and in early spring, frogs wereputting on quite a chorus.

The FRVC Chapter committed a total of $50,000 over the past two years toward land acquisition projects. When coupled withthe matching NAWCA and Stewardship Grants, we brought the total dollars available to $200,000 and since the lands acquiredwere located within a Glacial Habitat Restoration Area, another $52,500 was secured through the Wisconsin Stewardship funds.This translated into approximately 94 acres (when combined with the Sullivan Acquisition in 2004), of premium upland habitatbeing restored and protected in Winnebago County in a 14 month period.

PF-FRVC SECURES 44 ACRES

DNR AND PHEASANTS FOREVER TEAM UP ON LAND PURCHASEIN WINNEBAGO COUNTY

By, Josh JacklIt has been a busy and very successful spring and summer season for pheasants and other wildlife in the FoxRiver Valley Area. With the first official day of fall only about a month away (September 22), it seems like thesummer has just flown by once again. In this seemingly quick spring and summer there have been manyaccomplishments made to benefit our trademark bird and other wildlife.I’m proud to report that this has been my best year since I came into my position nearly two and a half yearsago. When I say best year, I mean that the habitat in the area has benefited more than ever before. Prescribedburning this year was very successful, as I overtook the Burn Boss job for the Chapter. With the greatvolunteers I had helping me, we were able to accomplish burns on nine different properties in the area whichamounted to 155 total acres. In addition, I completed two other burns with my co-workers in the area to addtwo more properties and 35 acres to the total, bringing the grand total to 11 properties and 190 acres burned.These burns do an incredible amount of good for the habitat, whether it is brush reduction, weed and invasiveseradication, or just to stimulate new growth in the prairie. Thanks again to the volunteers who helped out onthe burns this year…we couldn’t have done it without you!Planting native grass and flowers this season was phenomenal!!! This is where the biggest positive impact ismade on the landscape and this was a banner year for the area. I completed plantings on 11 differentproperties, which accounted for 335 acres! This is equivalent to 335 acres of new habitat that can be used asnesting cover, winter cover, and a food source throughout the year for pheasants, songbirds, ducks, and manyother species of wildlife. A big reason why there was so much planting done this year is that the ConservationReserve Program (CRP) had a very successful sign-up last summer. CRP is the most popular conservationprogram available to landowners, so if you want to continue to build the pheasant population in the area, makesure you support CRP and its re-authorization in the upcoming 2007 Farm Bill. Call me if you would like moreinformation about this.All of the plantings that were done this spring means there is also a large amount of maintenance mowings thatneed to be done. Maintenance mowing is a very important aspect of establishing native grass and flowers. Ifdone in a timely and correct manner, the plantings will become established rather quickly. On the other hand,if mowing isn’t done or is put off too long, it may take the grasses and flowers much longer to establishthemselves as the dominant vegetation. Normally in the first year of growth, a new planting will need to bemowed 2-3 times. The second year should not need such intense attention, with only 1-2 spot mowingsneeded. As I write this, I am projecting to mow about 370 acres this summer! Since most new plantings needto be mowed more than once the first year, that is why I have more mowing to do than planting.As we head into fall, I hope to continue the banner year I’ve had. With another CRP sign-up this summer thereshould be more landowners who need to plant and maintain native grass and flowers. If you happen to be oneof these people (or know someone who is), feel free to give me a call or email. Even if you’re not in CRP andwould like to do your own project, I can help you out with management plans, site prep, and other services. Iam available to spray, plant, mow, and burn, and I also have native grass and flower seed available at verycompetitive prices. Contact me at 920-651-0659 or jjackl@pheasantsforever.org.Have a great rest of the summer and …THINK HABITAT!

HABITAT SPECIALIST SUMMER UPDATE

PAGE 8FRVC NEWSLETTER

PAGE 9FRVC NEWSLETTER

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT—RANDY STEENO

Randy Steeno is in this month’s member spotlight! Randy resides in Neenah with his wife Chris, hischildren, and his hunting partner, a Brittany, which is his favorite breed of dog. He is a gentlemanthat is not only an avid pheasant hunter, but also likes to be involved within the PF organization.Randy is a tremendous help to the Fox RiverValley Chapter. For the last three to four years he hashelped with controlled burns, youth hunt (he enjoys this so much, he’s even helping out thisSeptember in another PF chapter), crow count, food plot distribution, brush clearing/habitatrestoration, and Ducks Unlimited Festival. As you can tell, he is always eager to provide assistancewhere needed. When Randy isn’t busy helping the chapter, he is a great guy to sit down with andchat about his hunting experiences.Through these conversations, you can truly see his love for hisBrittany!

Randy, on behalf of the Fox RiverValley Chapter,THANK YOU for all you do! You have a truededication to this organization and the outdoors.

See you at the next event!

D ID WEMENTION

RANDY IS ALSOA GREATCOOK? !

We want to hear what you’re cookin’! What is your favorite way to prepare pheasant (or any wildgame)? Whether it is a recipe for the crock pot, grill, or oven– we want to publish it. Pleasesubmit your recipe to pheasantsforever@sbcglobal.net along with your name. Bon Appetit!

WHAT’S COOKIN’?

PAGE 10 R OOSTER TALES

AUGUST RAFFLE W INNERS

GunWinner..................ChetWesenberg of OshkoshTicket sold atVitale's

2nd PrizeWinner............JeffWiechman ofWinneconneTicket sold by JeffWiechman

3rd PrizeWinner.............Ed Lerner of OshkoshTicket sold atVitale’s

SUBMIT YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS

Don’t forget! Submit your e-mail address to pheasantsforever@sbcglobal.net to receive yourmonthly RoosterTails newsletter on-line and in color!

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