Public land dedicated at governor’s opener
140 acres will likely be used for pheasant hunting, officials say
SLEEPY EYE — Pheasant hunters have their sights on Sleepy Eye this weekend as the community hosts the 2024 Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener.
The pheasant opener began with a serious of media events promoting Sleepy Eye, including a Sleepy Eye FFA trap shooting demonstration in the morning, a serious of community tours and a public land dedication ceremony in the evening. The dedication ceremony was attended by Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan.
The dedication was for the addition of 140 acres of public land to the Rosenau-Lambrecht Wildlife Management Area (WMA).
The new additions were added in two parcels. One parcel is 100-acres in size and is on the north end of the Rosenau-Lambrecht WMA. The second parcel is 40 acres and is located east of the WMA. This land will likely be used heavily for pheasant hunting.
Klobuchar said the idea for The Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener was hatched 14 years and she was pleased the tradition was still going strong.
“We all know how important pheasant hunting is to our state,” she said “and to celebrate on top of that, the addition of 140 acres in Brown County couldn’t be more exciting.”
As the ranking members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Kloubchar said she will use this event as reminder to that committee how important conservation is to the Farm Bill, which she hopes to get done this year.
Klobuchar praised the work of Pheasants Forever in helping preserve and maintain public land.
“We are the land of 10,000 lakes; 1,500 wildlife management areas, 12 million acres of public lands and 600,000 licensed hunters,” Klobuchar said. “This creates 12,000 jobs to this state. This is about the economy, but is is about a tradition in our hearts.”
Flanagan also thanked Pheasants Forever for their work.
“It’s really crucial to have public lands available for the future,” she said. “Whenever we come to one of these ceremonies, I truly think it is the best of Minnesota. It is all of us working together.”
She believed the land dedication kicked off the hunting opener in the best way.
Flanagan will be participating in Saturday morning’s pheasant hunt. She said Gov. Tim Walz told her she would need to learn to pheasant hunt for the opener if she was going to be his lieutenant governor. During past hunts she borrowed a shotgun from Walz. This year she was proud to announce she purchased her own shotgun for the hunt. It is a 20-gauge Benelli that she hopes will bring her good luck.
Flanagan said she is excited about the hunt and is passionate about getting others involved.
“It is great to have so many people are excited about the sport and find joy in it,” she said.
She gave special praise to Sleepy Eye for hosting the event. She said it was a tall order to put on an event like this but said they had done a wonderful job.
Following the dedication ceremony, the party including Klobuchar and Flanagan returned to the Pix Theatre, home of Sleepy Eye Brewing to sample a special beer called “Bird Shot” in honor of the pheasant opener.