Why this Somerset County group has invested nearly $900K into local water, wildlife conservation work
SOMERSET ― Over the last 25 years, members of Somerset County Chapter 603 Pheasants Forever have planted many seeds that are producing positive results by improving the local environment and mentoring area youth.
The organization plans to celebrate its quarter-century anniversary at its annual banquet on Saturday at Oakhurst Grille & Event Center, 2409 Glades Pike. Doors to the event open at 5 p.m.; for tickets, contact Mike Mikolich at 814-233-6022 or mikemikolich@gmail.com.
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Kurt Bond, the mid-Atlantic regional representative for the national Pheasants Forever organization, is scheduled to attend the banquet, and there will be displays and photographs highlighting the Somerset County chapter’s work over the last 25 years.
What do they do?
Pheasants Forever’s mission is centered on conservation, preserving wildlife habitats and on youth education, said Mike Maurer, secretary of the local chapter.
The local chapter’s members raise money and volunteer their time to improve the area’s wetlands, streams, watersheds and other natural resources to create a healthy environment for all forms of wildlife to flourish, as well as hosting youth education programs that teach and encourage respect for the environment to the next generation.
Maurer said that in the last 25 years, the Somerset County chapter has raised nearly $900,000 and completed over 1,700 habitat projects covering 14,000 acres – and all of it has stayed within the county.
“A lot of people poured their heart and soul into the habitat in this county, to support it,” he said.
“It was a lot of hard work, and we didn’t get paid, but everybody benefits because the hunting quality is better and there are better streams for fishing.”
Teaching conservation to the next generation
The chapter’s youth education programs include hunter’s safety classes and pollinator classes, teaching area youth how trees, flowers and plants attract pollinators like bees, birds, butterflies and other wildlife, which carry pollen and seeds to sprout in new locations. They also work with other organizations and individual property owners to plant new pollinator fields within the county.
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Those youth mentoring programs have made a positive difference by teaching the next generation of Somerset County residents to be good stewards of the land in which they live.
“Some of the kids that did this (took the classes) now work in the outdoors for engineering companies,” Maurer said. “It’s nice to see they’ve continued to work there (for the environment), and to see these kids become good hunters and trappers, too.”
Still more work to do
The chapter’s work also includes partnerships with other local environmental and sportsmen’s organizations, such as the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Stonycreek-Conemaugh River Improvement Project (SCRIP), the Somerset Conservation District, Somerset County Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, the Jenner Rod & Gun Club and the Jenner Community Sportsmen Association.
Those combined efforts have restored local waterways like the Quemahoning Creek and parts of the Stonycreek River, where fish, aquatic life and waterfowl are once again thriving after decades of pollution from acid mine drainage.
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And yet, as the members of Somerset County Chapter 603 Pheasants Forever celebrate this milestone anniversary of successful work, they know there’s still more work to do.
“We are constantly looking at places to fix acid mine drainage and what is the best way to fix it,” Maurer said.
“The good support is nice. We thank those who stand up with us and support us.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset County Chapter 603 Pheasants Forever marks 25th anniversary
