PHEASANTS FOREVER CHAPTERS & PARTNERS EXPAND MONTANA'S FLAXVILLE WATERFOWL PRODUCTION AREA

February 26, 2021 by Chad Harvey

Pheasants Forever and partners recently purchased 40 acres in northeast Montana as an addition to the Flaxville Waterfowl Production Area (WPA). The acquisition, spearheaded by Pheasants Forever chapters in Montana, expands Flaxville WPA to 148 acres and provides improved upland habitat for pheasants, prairie grouse, waterfowl, and a myriad of grassland songbirds. The property is now owned and managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service out of the Northeast Montana Wetland Management District.

Pheasants Forever, the Montana Fish & Wildlife Conservation Trust, and Ducks Unlimited-Montana partnered to protect upland pasture and marginal cropland for the benefit of wildlife and public hunting. The acquisition expands the existing WPA by 37 percent and adds permanent nesting cover adjacent to 436 acres enrolled in Montana’s Open Fields Program, resulting in an improved complex of wildlife habitat. The cropland is being restored to native grasslands and will provide public hunting opportunities in the fall of 2021.

“We are pleased to have been a partner in this project to conserve habitat and provide more public access in northeast Montana,” said Trent Kleppen, president for the Northeast Montana Chapter of Pheasants Forever. “This project really illustrates how vital partnerships are when it comes to conservation projects and enlarging the public access footprint in Montana, which is what makes our state so special in the first place.

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