Pheasants Forever Hires Izzy Franks as Regenerative Agriculture & Conservation Specialist in Southeastern Michigan

 

Outdoor enthusiast brings passion for conservation and land stewardship to the role

July 18, 2025 – Michigan – Pheasants Forever (PF) is proud to introduce Izzy Franks as the new regenerative agriculture & conservation specialist covering southeastern Michigan. In her new role, Franks will work with farmers from Saginaw Bay to the Western Lake Erie Basin and everywhere in between to identify and implement conservation practices that address sustainability concerns in a profitable and ecologically beneficial manner.

This position is made possible by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Sustain Our Great Lakes Program, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and General Mills.

"We're thrilled to welcome Izzy to the team,” said Ben Beaman, PF’s Michigan state coordinator. “She has extensive experience helping farmers navigate USDA programs, and will be an excellent resource for producers that want to grow more pheasants and other grassland wildlife on their working lands."

Franks is a Michigan native with an extensive background in conservation, agriculture, and restoration ecology. She has held several positions through organizations such as NRCS, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, and the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium. Franks is an avid birder, hiker, and gardener with a strong passion for protecting Michigan’s unique and diverse ecosystems.

“It’s been a dream of mine to work for an organization like PF due to its habitat-oriented mission, and I’m looking forward to joining a team that shares my enthusiasm for conservation and land stewardship,” Franks said.

About Pheasants Forever

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever make up the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. This community of more than 480,000 members, supporters and partners is dedicated to the protection of our uplands through habitat improvement, public access, education and advocacy. A network of 754 local chapters spread across North America determine how 100 percent of their locally raised funds are spent — the only national conservation organization that operates through this grassroots structure. Since its creation in 1982, the organization has dedicated more than $1 billion to 580,000 habitat projects benefiting 28.8 million acres.

Media Contact

Mikayla Peper

715-294-0688

mpeper@pheasantsforever.org

Senators Introduce Legislation to Strengthen the Conservation Reserve Program

 

Bipartisan bill aims to modernize and enhance one of America’s most effective wildlife habitat programs.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is one of the nation’s most important federal programs for supporting wildlife habitat. Introduced in the 1985 Farm Bill, the Conservation Reserve Program incentivizes landowners to put a portion of their land into conservation cover, particularly on acres that would be more productive as wildlife habitat than they are for crops. It is currently responsible for creating, maintaining, and enhancing nearly 27 million acres of habitat across the U.S. But due to lack of progress in passing a full, five-year Farm Bill, the program hasn’t had a policy update since 2018. 

Thankfully, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are showing their support for strengthening the CRP. On July 31st, Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced the CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act (S.2608).  

The CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act would: 

• Reestablish cost-share for CRP mid-contract management, encouraging the management that is best for the habitat instead of the cheapest way to comply. 

• Finally raise the CRP’s 40-year-old payment limitations to reflect inflation and modern land values. 

• Support grassland management through managed livestock grazing by providing cost-share for grazing infrastructure like fencing and water development. 

• Permanently establish State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) as a practice under CRP’s Continuous Enrollment option. 

• Change CRP emergency haying provisions to provide better quality forage for livestock producers in times of drought while preventing damage to wildlife habitat both within and across growing seasons. 

“The CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act is an excellent example of lawmakers working across the aisle and among multiple stakeholders to find practical solutions,” said TRCP’s director of private lands conservation Aaron Field. “We are grateful to Majority Leader Thune, Ranking Member Klobuchar, Senator Moran, and Senator Smith for their leadership and pragmatism on improving this critical program for hunters.” 

“Ensuring that CRP continues to be an effective option for producers and landowners is critical to South Dakota’s agriculture industry,” said Senator John Thune (R-S.D.). “As a longtime supporter of CRP, I’m proud to lead this commonsense legislation that would help advance the multiple-use benefits of this conservation program, including wildlife habitat and livestock forage potential.” 

“The Conservation Reserve Program helps equip our farmers with the tools to conserve and improve soil, water quality, and wildlife habitat,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). “This bipartisan legislation makes commonsense improvements to CRP that will strengthen conservation practices and landowner enrollment in this vital program.” 

The Conservation Reserve Program has been one of the nation’s most important conservation programs for nearly 40 years. Many of the species we love to pursue find habitat in farm country thanks to the CRP. Without the CRP, pheasant numbers would plummet, the northern plains states would lose much of their best duck breeding habitat, sage grouse in the West would be at even greater risk, and brook trout would decline in Eastern headwaters. Put simply, without the CRP, millions of sportsmen and women would lose hunting and fishing opportunities across rural America.  

Learn more about the Conservation Reserve Program and other Farm Bill conservation programs HERE. 

Get to Know Jacob!

 Hello! 

My name is Jacob Northuis, and I am very excited to be introducing myself to you all as the new Regional Representative for Michigan. 

A little bit about me and my background; I grew up SW of Grand Rapids in a little town called Jamestown. I went to college at Lake Superior State in Sault Ste. Marie where I majored in Fisheries and Wildlife Management with an emphasis in Wildlife. From there I lived and worked all over the state until I landed in a position with the Blue Water Conservation District in Sandusky, working for the Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative. This is where I really began to get involved with Pheasants Forever and fortunately it lead to my first job with the organization. In 2019 I started as a Range and Wildlife Biologist in Eastern Idaho working with the Sage Grouse Initiative. I spent 5 years in that role and in 2024 was promoted to a Farm Bill Manager where I supervised 5 of PF/QF's biologists across the state of Idaho. I am returning to Michigan with an amazing fiancée Maddie, who is also a Michigan native, and our 2 dogs Gunner an 11 year old yellow lab and Aves a 9 month old Gordon Setter. 

Through my almost 7 years of working for PF and another 2 years of volunteering I have been able to see this company holistically and a few things kept being glaringly obvious. 1) we have the best volunteers and supporters 2) we have the best model for our chapters and 3) we are the best wildlife organization in the country.  All of this was built off of the work of our amazing chapters and volunteers such as yourselves, so when the opportunity to get involved with our volunteers and chapters back in my home state opened, I couldn't pass this up. 

I have also been fortunate to have been involved with 5 different PF chapters over my years and have learned that each one is unique in their interests and passions. As a way to start to know a bit more about your chapter, I would like you all to let me know what your chapter's primary interests are. Is it habitat projects on public/private lands? Is it youth engagement? Beginning hunters? Making sure our wildlife and hunting rights are guaranteed by the state/federal governments? Or something else? Also, I have attached a chapter officer update form. Please fill this out and return it in the email with your chapter's primary interests so I can make sure I have the correct and most up to date names and contact information for your chapter! 

I cannot express enough how excited I am to be in this position and to get to meet you all. Please feel free to reach out to my email or phone number below at anytime. 

Thank you all for what you have done so far, and I look forward to all the things we will get to do in the future!

Jacob Northuis

Regional Representative - Michigan

Pheasants Forever

Phone: (616) 635-1834

Email: jnorthuis@pheasantsforever.org 

Website: pheasantsforever.org

TRCP Applauds DOI Action to Expand Hunt-Fish Opportunities on Public Land

 

Increased opportunities will benefit hunters and anglers beginning Fall 2025    

The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership joined hunters and anglers in celebrating the announcement by the Department of the Interior to expand hunting and fishing opportunities across the National Wildlife Refuge and National Fish Hatchery Systems.   

“TRCP thanks Secretary Burgum for prioritizing expanded hunting and fishing opportunities at the Department of the Interior,” said Joel Pedersen, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. “These new opportunities will help Americans get outside to enjoy the great outdoors just in time for the fall hunting and fishing seasons.”  

The final rule for the 2025–2026 season creates 42 new hunting and sport fishing opportunities on more than 87,000 acres of public lands across 11 states. These new opportunities will be available starting September 2, 2025.    

The National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 prioritizes compatible wildlife-dependent recreational use on wildlife refuges and specifically identifies hunting and fishing as priority uses. This most recent expansion will increase sporting opportunities by opening more acres and units to hunters and anglers. For hunters and anglers, this means: 

• New Access: Inaugural hunting opportunities will be offered on public lands such as Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge and the Grasslands Wildlife Management Area, and new sportfishing access will be available at North Attleboro National Fish Hatchery. 

• Broader Alignment: Regulations are being streamlined to better match state fish and wildlife rules, helping reduce confusion and making it easier for hunters and anglers to enjoy these places. 

• Conservation Benefits: By engaging hunters and anglers, these opportunities generate critical funding for habitat restoration, wildlife management, and local economies through license sales and excise taxes on gear and ammunition. 

The final rule will be published in the Federal Register on August 28, 2025, and is available at regulations.gov (Docket FWS-HQ-NWRS-2025-0031). Updates take effect for the 2025–2026 hunting seasons beginning September 2, 2025. 

These expanded opportunities reflect progress worth celebrating. Learn more about TRCP’s work to safeguard and improve hunting and fishing access by clicking HERE. Together, we can ensure that access, conservation, and America’s sporting traditions remain at the heart of our shared future. 

Top Photo: Josh Metten