All-star cast assembled at the Service's Booth Complex at the 2007 Pheasant Fest. - FWS photo by Dan Sobieck

Pete Fasbender, Ecological Services, and Tim Hepola, Regional Fire, assist a landowner at 2007 Pheasant Fest. - FWS Photo by Dan Sobieck

Service staff from the Refuges, Ecological Services, Fisheries and Fire Programs hosted four booths at National Pheasant Fest in Des Moines, Iowa, January 19-21. 

Sponsored by the Region 3 Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, staff members from Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Region 6 and the Region 3 Regional Office rotated through the booths and provided information on Service programs to an estimated crowd of 25,000 over the three-day event. 

Popular topics included questions about prescribed burning, native prairie management, wetland creation, and the ever-popular "What's that fish?" inquiry.  Our special guest during the festivities was President Theodore Roosevelt (aka Roosevelt impersonator Jim Foote), who helped staff our booth complex and gave several presentations over the course of the show.