The Mower County Pheasants Forever set lofty goals for this year’s banquet in Austin, and it almost reached them.

The organization set its goals at $20,000 for the banquet, which took place Feb. 26 at the Austin Holiday Inn. It fell just $1,000 short. However, the $19,000 total is more than it has raised in the past, according to Sue Olson, president of Mower Pheasants Forever.

“We had about 278 people there,” she said. “It was actually a sellout twice.”

Pheasants Forever sold all the tickets before the banquet; however, Holiday Inn allowed another 40 tickets to be sold at the door. Those also sold out.

The main draw this year was the format for prizes, according to Olson. Two of the silent auctions automatically entered bidders into raffles for new shotguns.

“That was kind of a good deal,” Olson said. “When there’s only 10 tickets or 20 tickets for a gun, your odds are pretty good. We’re definitely going to do that again next year.”

Proceeds from this year’s auction will go toward a 32-acre extension of the Schwerin Wildlife Management Area near LeRoy.

Pheasants Forever also hopes to buy more acreage outside of Austin for wildlife management; however, land may be getting too expensive.

“Unfortunately, land prices have been skyrocketing the last year or two,” Olson said. “If it’s tillable land, it’s about $5,000 to $7,000 an acre. That’s a lot more than it was when we started, when land was $2000.”

Whether more wildlife management becomes a reality, the Pheasants Forever is waiting for spring. Once all the snow is gone and flooding is not a concern, members will remove trash from the Ramsey-Mill Pond Wildlife Management Area. Olson said she will give three to four weeks notice before they organize the cleanup.