It’s official: Waupaca County’s Pheasants Forever chapter is now a landowner.
The chapter has been working for seven years to acquire 44.6 acres of land on Marsh Road, just southeast of Fremont.
Chapter officers attended the closing Monday, Dec. 12, at Wisconsin Title Co. in Waupaca with former Pheasants Forever state wildlife biologist Kevin Wallenfang and the former landowners.
The parcel borders the Deltox Marsh, 570 acres of state-owned land that runs from County Trunk II to Marsh Road. The area is rich with waterfowl, songbirds, turkeys and deer and is open to hunting and other forms of recreation.
The Deltox Marsh is part of the Wolf River Wildlife Area, 1,800 acres of state-owned and state-managed land in the town of Wolf River.
The marsh area was once a wire grass marsh that was important to the local rug industry, but was converted to a canary grass marsh with scattered stands of willow.
“Chapters, like our Waupaca County chapter, work to educate and develop land to improve wildlife habitat for nesting and sound land management practices,” chapter president Chuck Tews said. “Ultimately, this land will be turned over to the state of Wisconsin to be managed by the DNR.”
The chapter purchased the land for $115,000 from the estate of Linda Klemp. Her sons, Wilmer and Ken, attended the closing, along with Tews and chapter treasurer Brad Bailie.
Several organizations assisted with the land purchase, including the Fox River Valley and Outagamie County Pheasants Forever chapters; Shadows on the Wolf; and the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association.
Pheasants Forever is dedicated to the conservation of pheasants, quail and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies and programs.
The Waupaca County chapter’s annual banquet will be held Thursday, Jan. 19, at the Waupaca Ale House. Doors will open at 5 p.m., with the banquet to follow at 6:30 p.m.
More information and registration forms are available from Tews at 715-258-8074.