SIDNEY -- The 4-H Building at the Cheyenne County Fairgrounds was crowded with Pheasants Forever supporters at the March 1 banquet.

The annual banquet is held as a fundraiser for the local chapter.

Chapter 278 President Sandi Bybee explains what Pheasants Forever is, and its impact.

"We are an organization that's non-profit. We are a national organization and there's 61 or 62 chapters in Nebraska and we are one of those," Bybee said.

The annual banquet brings a packed house to the Cheyenne County Fair Grounds 4-H Building.

'With our chapter, with our banquet, as you can see how many people are here we are if not the top in the top five for fund raising for putting habitat in," she said.

Chapter 278 also does youth education, and hosts veterans hunts every year.

Pheasants Forever Chapter 278 also works with local organizations in preservation efforts.

In addition to the dinner, the night included several opportunities for youth and adults, firearms and hunting trips.

At the heart of Pheasants Forever is the unique grassroots system of fund raising and project development that allows members to see the direct result of their contributions. Pheasants Forever and its quail division, Quail Forever, empower county and local chapters with the responsibility to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds will be spent – the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure, according to the Nebraska Pheasants Forever website.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever members are a diversified group of hunters, non-hunters, farmers, ranchers, landowners, conservation enthusiasts and wildlife officials. Pheasants Forever is for those who want to make a difference for wildlife by creating habitat, restoring wetlands and protecting prairies.