St. Paul, MN – Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever is proud to announce the hiring of Jason LeVan as the organization’s range and wildlife conservationist stationed in Lander, Wyoming. In his new role, LeVan is responsible for delivering range and wildlife technical assistance to farmers and ranchers on behalf of the Sage Grouse Initiative in the state’s southwest region.
LeVan’s work within the Sage Grouse Initiative (SGI) is aimed at conserving at-risk wildlife and America’s western rangelands through voluntary landowner cooperation, incentives, and community support. Launched in 2010, SGI is a partnership-based, science-driven effort that combines the work of more the 40+ organizations to help deliver Working Lands for Wildlife, a United States Department of Agriculture program administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. To date, SGI has partnered with 1,856 ranchers to conserve more than 7 million acres across 11 western states.
“I’m very excited to be a part of the Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever team working towards landscape-level conservation successes that will positively impact sage grouse, mule deer, and other iconic western species,” commented LeVan. “Although we are in the middle of a pandemic, conservation efforts cannot be placed on hold. I look forward to helping farmers and ranchers achieve their conservation goals in southwest Wyoming.”
Raised in north-central Pennsylvania, LeVan attended Pennsylvania State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. Between academic years at Penn State, he worked as a seasonal field technician collecting sage grouse and vegetation data in Wyoming. LeVan continued to develop a strong working knowledge of sage grouse biology and ecology while obtaining a master’s degree in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management at the University of Wyoming in 2018. His thesis research focused on the response of sage grouse to habitat treatments in Wyoming big sagebrush. Outside of work, he can be found hiking, camping, fly fishing, or hunting in Wyoming’s backcountry.
LeVan’s position was made possible through partnerships with the Intermountain West Joint Venture, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Popo Agie Conservation District, Bureau of Land Management and Pheasants Forever.
For more information regarding technical assistance as part of the Sage Grouse Initiative or associated Farm Bill conservation programs in southwest Wyoming, please contact Jason LeVan at 307-206-3200 or jlevan@pheasantsforever.org.
About Pheasants Forever
Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 132,000 members and 760 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Since creation in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent over $900 million on 550,000 habitat projects benefiting 19 million acres nationwide.