Nobles County Pheasants Forever leader is national volunteer of the year finalist

Feb. 20—WORTHINGTON — Longtime Nobles County Pheasants Forever leader Scott Rall is among four finalists for an all-new National Volunteer of the Year honor to be announced during the National Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic next week in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Rall joined the local Pheasants Forever chapter 39 years ago — three years after the chapter was founded. He was just 24 at the time and looking to get involved in the community.

"There are a few other members of the local chapter who have been around as long as me," Rall said from his LPL Financial office last week. "They're active locally; I do lots of regional activity."

Elected president of the organization in 2005, Rall has promoted land acquisitions and helped increase the amount of public lands available within Nobles County. With the chapter's success — it will celebrate its 45th Pheasant Run during its annual banquet March 15 — Rall has since taken his knowledge to other counties to help them grow members and invest in hunting opportunities.

"I go to other chapter meetings and do how-tos on banquets, land acquisitions and veterans events — things our chapter does," he shared. "We've helped chapters move from sustaining to vibrant."

Since the first National PheasantFest was organized in 2003 he hasn't missed one, traveling to host cities in Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin over the past 21 years. Nationally, Pheasants Forever boasts approximately 140,000 members with roughly 730 chapters of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever.

For Rall to be nominated for the volunteer of the year honor was "pretty awesome," he said, but to be one of four finalists is incredibly exciting. He was nominated by several of his peers in Pheasants Forever.

"Most conservation efforts fall under the radar," he said. "You do it because you have internal motivations or conservation desires — not because there's lots of kudos to be had."

Rall said what drives him to give so much of his time to Pheasants Forever is the opportunity for others to enjoy an outdoors lifestyle. In short, he wants people to visit the public lands and enjoy the scenery — take a walk, take photos, birdwatch or hunt. Without public lands, some would not have those opportunities.

"All of the acquisitions in Nobles County are open to the general public, giving moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas a place to take their kids outdoors, including hunting," Rall said. "All of the acquisitions are perpetual — they will leave a mark in the conservation community forever."

In the past 42 years, Nobles County Pheasants Forever has acquired and transformed 3,521 acres into public lands. Rall said there are four other projects in the works to add to that total. Of the 45 parcels purchased, Rall has been involved in 35 of them.

Those acquisitions helped fuel the chapter to National Habitat Chapter of the Year titles in 2010, 2014 and 2021. The awards were based on total expenditures in the county for that fiscal year.

What the acquisitions mean for Rall, though, is a lot of hard work. As the chapter's president, he organizes volunteer labor to clean up newly acquired parcels and get them ready for the DNR or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Both the DNR and USFWS have taken over management of lands purchased by Nobles County Pheasants Forever.

Last summer, for instance, Rall organized volunteers to replace public hunting signs, remove century-old fencing and rusted steel posts from newly-acquired property near Rushmore.

"I probably spend 150 hours a summer doing noxious weed and invasive tree control on public lands," Rall said. "Being a top tier chapter in the national regularly takes lots of dedicated volunteers though, not just me."

Nobles County has approximately 250 active members, of which 90 are considered elite life members, patron members or gold patron members. The organization is led by a committee of approximately 35 people, Rall said.

He, along with Les Johnson and Terry Rotschafer each have 40 years in as active members.

When volunteers have a mission, though, 40 years doesn't seem like a long time.

"Man was put on the earth to watch over all of God's creatures, and in many cases we've done a terrible job," Rall said. "I am doing what is in my heart, which is nurturing and providing wildlife a place to exist and thrive.

"That really kind of is what gets me up in the morning," he added.

The other three finalists for the national award include Catherine Thompson of Arizona, Brian Miller of Ohio, and Sandra Bybee of Kansas.

The National Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic is from noon to 7 p.m. March 1, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 2 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 3. This is the second time Sioux Falls has hosted the national event since Pheasant Fest was first organized in 2003. The gathering includes four seminar stages, vendors, youth activities, a habitat help desk, bird dog demonstrations and more.

Tickets are now available for the 41st annual Nobles County Pheasants Forever banquet, which begins at 6 p.m. March 15, at the Worthington Event Center. With a capacity of just 500 attendees, Rall is sure they will sell out in advance — they do every year.

Tickets may be purchased at LPL Financial, 1321 Smith Ave.; Worthington Federal Savings Bank, 418 11th St.; or Culligan Water Conditioning, 1300 Second Ave., all in Worthington.

In addition to a meal, the evening includes numerous raffles, a silent auction, gun raffle, and shotgun giveaways for youths.

"We'll probably give away somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 guns," Rall said, adding that proceeds from the banquet are used to fund youth activities, the annual veterans hunt, and to provide seed money required for grants the Nobles County Pheasants Forever chapter receives.

During the annual banquet, Rall will announce the latest land acquisitions in Nobles County that expand public lands for hunting and recreational use. The chapter has completed two land purchases since Christmas, consisting of 162 acres combined. The land is located just north of the Bigelow Wildlife Management Area and was purchased from Rod Rockman. It will be signed as Pheasant Run 45.

"It builds on the existing Bigelow Wildlife Management Area complex," Rall said. "That project was in the works for maybe six years before we got it put together."

The reason it took six years? All potential public land acquisitions compete against each other.

"When we initially submitted (the project), there were other projects that took priority," Rall shared. "We stayed diligent and it stayed in the process."

Once the property rose to the top of the priority list, Rall said the local PF chapter was awarded a grant from the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.

"Pheasants Forever (statewide) generally receives funding approval of $5 million to $6 million a year for accelerating the wildlife management program," he explained. "The money goes to Pheasants Forever and is accelerated out to the counties. It's not a Pheasants Forever weight, but a (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) weight."

Rall said the Rockman property is adjacent to a drained lake basin, and any potential wetland restorations will be done on the property. The land appealed to Nobles County PF because it was already enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program and is in "world class native vegetation," Rall said.

The chapter plans a prescribed burn on the property this spring to help control invasive trees. Ultimately, the land will be managed long-term by the Minnesota DNR, which provides a payment in lieu of taxes to the county.