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Saint Paul, Minnesota - Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have expanded its Farm Bill Biologist program into the state of Iowa with the hiring of four new positions. The new Farm Bill Biologist positions cover nine counties and will improve how conservation programs are delivered to landowners and producers. The positions come at an especially critical juncture for Iowa, where over 450,000 acres have expired from the wildlife-friendly Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the past five years.

Pheasants Forever's Farm Bill Biologist program is designed to educate farmers and landowners - through one-on-one consulting - about the benefits of conservation programs (such as CRP), as well as assist those farmers and landowners after programs have been implemented. Pheasants Forever first began employing Farm Bill Biologists in 2003 and now has over 40 Farm Bill Biologists working in seven states - Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Farm Bill Biologists have contacted and consulted over 28,000 landowners, resulting in the improvement of over 1.3 million acres of land for wildlife.

Iowa's first Farm Bill Biologist positions are the initial results of Pheasants Forever's "Reload Iowa" campaign, a three-year statewide effort to improve 1 million acres of wildlife habitat on private and public land in the state. Pheasants Forever plans to establish 50 such positions across Iowa in the coming years. "Many times, landowners don't even know what conservation options are available to them," said Jim Inglis, Pheasants Forever Farm Bill Biologist Coordinator, "These four new biologists - all Iowa State grads - care about the state's natural resources and will work for what's in the best interest of landowners and wildlife."

Tyler Bass - Adair and Madison Counties. Bass joins Pheasants Forever after a year as a private lands wildlife habitat specialist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. A native of Madison County, Iowa, Bass earned his B.S. in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University. Contact Bass at tbass@pheasantsforever.org.

Matthew Allen - Pottawattamie and Harrison Counties. Allen joins Pheasants Forever after working previously as a private lands wildlife specialist and a natural resource aide with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Allen earned his B.S. in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University. Contact Allen atmallen@pheasantsforever.org.

Josh Divan - Winnebago and Hancock Counties. Divan joins Pheasants Forever after working previously with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Iowa's Boone and Green Counties. Divan grew up on a family farm in Winnebago County, and holds a B.S. in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University. Contact Divan atjdivan@pheasantsforever.org.

Robert Patterson - Lyon, Osceola and Dickinson Counties. Patterson has been a habitat specialist with Pheasants Forever and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources since 2007. He earned his B.S. in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University. Contact Patterson at RPatterson@pheasantsforever.org.

For more information on Pheasants Forever's Farm Bill Biologist program, contact Jim Inglis, Pheasants Forever's Farm Bill Biologist Coordinator, at (419) 569-1096 or via email at jinglis@pheasantsforever.org

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are non-profit conservation organizations dedicated to the protection and enhancement of pheasant, quail, and other wildlife populations in North America through habitat improvement, land management, public awareness, and education. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever has 125,000 members in 700 local chapters across the continent.