by Don Beman

A dream was realized on a rainy Saturday three miles east of Canby on the St. Leo road where family, friends and donors, including a list of organizations, stood under umbrellas and in rain gear to dedicate the Benjamin Thovson Memorial Wildlife Management Area.
Among the organizations was the Yellow Medicine chapter of Pheasants forever.
“When my stepson, Benjamin Thovson, was killed in a tragic accident, our family started to look at different options for creating a memorial for Ben,” wrote Tim Hayden, chapter president, wrote in a letter sent out to those involved in the project.
“After much consideration, we decided that the most fitting memorial would be the creation of a wildlife management area in his honor,” Hayden said.
Thovson, 26, of Sioux Falls, S.D., formerly of Canby, died Nov. 11, 2005, in a work accident near Chandler. He was an avid outdoorsman, He loved to hunt, fish and work in the pits during stock car racing activities. He was a skilled athlete; lettering in basketball in college and mastering skateboarding, golf, trick bicycle riding, softball, and many water sports.
Thovson graduated from Canby High in 1998.
The new wildlife area consists of 153 acres, which includes 120 acres of CRP land and 33 acres of creek line and wetland. The total cost of the project was $312,298. Half came from family and fundraising by individuals and organizations and the other half came through government matching funds.
The plan for the area was developed by Pheasants Forever and the Marshall office of the Department of Natural Resources. The plan calls for 115 acres of native grass, five acres of hardwood trees on the north side of the creek, four acres of shrubs and a conifer shelter belt on the south side of the creek and a three to four acre food plot.
Contributing groups included the Thovson Memorial Fund, the Pheasants Forever Minnesota Habitat Fund, Yellow Medicine and Lyon County Pheasants Forever chapters, Alan Geiwitz, Southwest Sportsmen’s Club, Thovson Fundraiser and the Canby Sportsmen’s Club.