New Regional Rep was Integral to Success of February's National Pheasant Fest in Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa - May 5, 2010 - Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever announce Jared Wiklund as the organization's new Regional Representative for central Iowa. A graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, Wiklund has been with "The Habitat Organization" since January 2010 as a public relations and marketing intern at Pheasants Forever's national office in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Wiklund will work to start new Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters in central Iowa and assist existing chapters with raising and expending funds on wildlife habitat and conservation education. He will also work with local, state, and federal natural resource agencies on wildlife habitat initiatives. In addition to serving as a point person for local Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters, Wiklund will assist in Pheasants Forever's Reload Iowa campaign, created last year to raise $11.5 million to establish and improve 1 million acres of wildlife habitat on private and public land in the state.
During his four month internship, Wiklund's wildlife habitat and hunting pieces appeared in the organization's signature publication, the Pheasants Forever Journal of Upland Conservation, at www.PheasantsForever.org, and in the form of press releases. Wiklund also helped market and publicize Pheasants Forever's recent National Pheasant Fest, which drew more than 20,000 hunters and conservationists to the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines this past February. He was Master of Ceremonies for the event's Bird Dog Parade kickoff, and also did online video reporting from the show floor for the 11,000-plus viewers on Pheasants Forever's Facebook page.
"Wiklund has an enthusiasm for the outdoors that is guaranteed to rub off on others," says Pete Berthelsen, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Senior Field Coordinator, "Our tools to improve habitat for wildlife are only as good as the passionate people who oversee them, and Jared has a spirit that matches perfectly with our chapters and members in Iowa."
A native of Duluth, Minnesota, Wiklund has had a strong connection to the outdoor world since an early age. He particularly enjoys hunting pheasants, deer and turkey, as well as fishing. "Next to my wife, hunting is what I love the most," says Wiklund, "After attending college in Iowa and hunting throughout the state, I recognize the hardships standing in the way of conserving wildlife habitat there. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters and members, and for that matter, all Iowans, can count on me to work tirelessly in the name of conservation."
Wiklund earned a B.A. in environmental studies and exercise science from Luther College, and is nearing completion on a Master's degree in sustainable natural resources from Oregon State University. His previous conservation experience also includes work as an assistant to the fisheries specialist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, an internship with Northeast Iowa Resource and Conservation, Inc., and a stint as an environmental guide for the Alaska Center for the Environment in Anchorage, Alaska. He and his wife, Kari, will make their residence in Ankeny, Iowa. Wiklund can be reached at (515) 423-4747 and JWiklund@pheasantsforever.org.
Pheasants Forever has conserved, restored or permanently protected more than 1 million acres for pheasants, quail and other wildlife since the creation of Iowa's first Pheasants Forever chapter in 1984. Today, Iowa is home to 100 Pheasants Forever chapters, 3 Quail Forever chapters and 19,000 Pheasants Forever and/or Quail Forever members. Visit www.IowaPF.org for more info.
Pheasants Forever and its quail division, Quail Forever, is dedicated to the conservation of pheasants, quail and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies and programs.
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