Lake Agassiz MULEY Day
Bismarck MULEY Day
North Dakota
MDF Projects
North Dakota’s M.U.L.E.Y. Day Camps
By Ryan Krapp, Steve Zarr, Marshall Johnson and Brandon Mason
To those who are in the field of wildlife and fisheries management, there is no secret about the alarming trend that is facing the future of hunting and conservation. Our country is seeing numbers of hunters and anglers declining exponentially across the country. Many state agencies, federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations are keenly aware of what kind of implications this could have on the horizon for wildlife and fisheries management. Sportsmen have the best record of habitat improvement of any other group of people in this country. Without sportsmen to fund critical conservation programs, the future looks bleak.
In addition, the need for our young people to get engaged and stay engaged in the outdoors is vital to preserving the way of life that many of us cherish. Many problems in our society today would be remedied if more youngsters were taught the values that are learned when going into the field with a firearm, fishing rod, trap or snare, or archery equipment. There is a couple of great sayings that other sportsmen’s groups have had printed on bumper stickers that seem funny at first, but ring true when you stop to think about what they are getting at. They are, “Hunt With Your Kids, Not For Them”, and “Kids Who Learn To Hunt, Trap, and Fish Don’t Grow Up To Mug Little Old Ladies.” For those of us who have been blessed with families and friends that have ‘initiated’ us into the sporting traditions, these sentiments ring true. However, not everyone is blessed with the same opportunities that we have had and it is our duty to keep the spirit alive in those around us.
In 2007 the North Dakota state legislature included in the North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGFD) budget $100,000 to carry out a grant program to encourage hunting by youth. What ensued was “Encouraging Tomorrow’s Hunters: A NDGFD Grant Program to Enhance the Recruitment of the Next Generation of Hunters and Shooters”. Anyone applying for a grant was eligible for up to $3,000 for youth activities. The Northern Badlands Chapter (NBC), the West Dakota Chapter (WDC), and the Lake Agassiz Chapter (LAC) presented grant applications for the full $3,000 to help support M.U.L.E.Y. (Mindful, Understanding, Legal and Ethical Youth) Day Camps that would be hosted by the individual chapters. Each chapter was awarded the full $3,000. Below is a write up from each of the chapter chairman on their specific M.U.L.E.Y. Day Camp. They are in chronological order of when the events took place in 2008. A special thank you goes out to the NDGFD and the North Dakota state legislature for the funding to do such wonderful events and also to MDF member Dave Cole for coming up with the M.U.L.E.Y. acronym.
Northern Badlands Chapter, Event Held on June 14, 2008
By Chapter Chair Ryan Krapp, Bismarck, ND
The M.U.L.E.Y. Day Camp was held at the NDGFD’s Maclean Bottoms Wildlife Management Area and public shooting range in June. Volunteers from the NBC committee, MDF RD - Brandon Mason and the local Nishu Bowmen Archery Club manned the event stations consisting of seminars on gun safety and appropriate rifle calibers for deer hunting, opportunities to shoot center-fire rifles, mule deer and white-tailed deer life histories, 3-D archery shooting, and deer hunting tactics and equipment display.
The response was tremendous with a turnout of over 60 youth (2-15 years of age) and 40 parents and grandparents that shared the day with them! Each youth attendee received a hunting and gun safety package consisting of ear plugs, shooting glasses, blaze orange vest and cap. Each attendee also had the opportunity to win additional deer hunting related prizes such as hunting backpacks, MDF T-shirts and caps, binoculars and the grand prize of a youth .22 caliber riffle. Everyone also enjoyed a great hot dog lunch and cool refreshments on a hot sunny day.
The NBC of the MDF has for the last few years been trying to figure out a way to hold a youth event. This grant from the NDGFD, our generous donors consisting of local and national sponsors, and hard working volunteers finally made this possible. All helped instill a sense of appreciation and enjoyment of the outdoors and participating in shooting and hunting activities in these youth. It was a tremendous day focused on youth and family participation in hunting and the great outdoors. It’s these youth that will be the recipients of the very thing we are fighting to conserve. The NBC challenges all MDF chapters to strive to pass the values and traditions we hold close to our hearts to youth for the prosperity of all wild things and places.
West Dakota Chapter, Event Held on September 5-6, 2008
By Chapter Chair Steve Zarr, Minot, ND
The West Dakota Chapter Mule Deer Foundation group was the second chapter started in North Dakota and even with our small committee of five we had big plans for what we could do for Mule Deer.
After a successful and stressful first banquet our thoughts turned to our youth day. What in the world could we do to show our kids what our conservation efforts are for and how can we make it fun for them to learn about mule deer and their habitat. All five of us stared at each other blankly. Then boom it hit us…….the Badlands!
When most of us think of mule deer in North Dakota we think of the Badlands, and when most of think of the Badlands we think of Theodore Roosevelt National Park (TRNP), both the south and the north units. These two parks are what inspired my soul to catch fire and fall in love with its rugged beauty and ultimately become as passionate as I am about mule deer, so this is where I wanted to bring our kids.
We started to plan an overnight stay and a backcountry hike in the North Unit of the TRNP. The potential problem was of course how does a committee of five plan for 30 kids to camp and maintain control of the situation…..hmmmm, well let’s begin!
First things first…
We needed to set a date, no problem we thought, the summer is always tough so we decided to look into a fall date. This way the bucks would still be in bachelor groups and a good number may still have velvet left on their racks before the junipers and sage started to feel the wrath of these muleys utilizing them as a scratching post for rubbing off the beautiful velvet that had now become a nuisance. No doubt a bachelor group of bucks is a spectacle to see when you are a kid, heck even as an adult. I imagined ten bucks stotting together up to the crest of a butte and almost like clockwork they all stop at the top and give us one more glimpse of their magnificence before disappearing into the rugged draws and breaks below. Man, I was getting excited for this trip.
We were a little short on time when our committee got together in late summer to put this event together, so we picked the weekend after Labor Day, September 5th – 6th; a perfect time to see the badlands in all its wonder, as long as the weather would cooperate.
What next….
Second, we needed to pick the campsite and get camping essentials, and with one phone call to the TRNP we reserved the Juniper camp site for our group. The Juniper camp site was huge. It sounded perfect for our group. Now only the amenities left and we could check this off of our to do list as well. I truly thought this was going to be the most difficult part, but it ended up being the easiest - go figure. Between the five committee members we had all the essential camping items: tents (almost enough), utensils, coolers, lanterns, grills, etc… We compiled the list in an afternoon, assigned everyone responsibility for their items and Whamo! Insert black check mark on to do list.
We ended up purchasing a 12’x20’ tent to make sure we had enough room to house 30 kids and it ended up being the perfect fit. I love it when a plan comes together. Well now we had the date set, the camp site, all of the essentials, but we still had to find someone to give us the grand tour of the Badlands. Who in the world could do this? No one in our group could. We would be busy making sure kids aren’t getting pricked by cactus, or looking at a snake and wondering if it was a rattler or a bull snake, or better yet running off into the river bottoms because they saw a big kitty (mountain lion) and just wanted to pet it. It is amazing the things that run through your mind when you have all of these kids to think about.
Even more important to me was that we needed to find someone to educate as well as entertain the kids while hiking through the hills. Kim Fundingsland, Outdoors Columnist for the Minot Daily News, told of a legendary ranger, (slight stretched) who has forgotten more than most people know about the Badlands and knows every nook and cranny is his territory. I immediately had a picture of this rugged and wise man, a little beaten up and weathered from a life of hoofing it through the hills A cross between Steve Irwin and Matthew Quigley - that kind of knowledge and ruggedness. Well, little did I know I was almost right. In comes John Heiser. One phone call and he was in and seemed eager to do it even if our group was going to be about 40 strong. That was it, signed sealed delivered: date set, ranger and camp site booked, food and drink ordered, all gear assembled………ohhhhh, we need kids.
Slow down, Ok stop!
I believe it was August 26th, 2008 when Kim Fundingsland ran the ad in the Minot Daily News. Our date for the event was September 5th -6th. We did not exactly give ourselves a huge amount of time to get all the kids we needed and my wife sure could tell my frustration My wife always asks me why in the world I procrastinate so much and I keep telling her I will get back to her later. That is about the extent of my humor, so I digress.
We had four kids signed up on August 26th, 2008, my three kids, Regaen, Jackson and Owen and Jake Hansen’s (committee member) daughter Taylor. Was I worried? Yes!, but only on the inside. My procrastinating days had finally caught up with me and we were in trouble. Do we cancel? Downsize? Reschedule? I really thought I was up the creek without a paddle however, two days later I called the committee and said we were full. That’s right full in just two days. We had 30 kids signed up and 10 adults. Saved again by the grace of God.
Here we go!
We left the parking lot on September 5th at 4:00pm, two vans and two trucks loaded with gear. There is no doubt I was nervous, as was the rest of the committee but we got everyone loaded and we were off. Steve Fundingsland and Kim Fundingsland went down earlier to set up the tents and get the food ready for our arrival.
On the way down I decided to pass the time by asking trivia questions between the vehicles. We had great participation but there was no doubt that the son on Jerry Chavez, Taylor Chavez was the hands down winner. I am not sure but I think that Dad may have had some input on some of the answers.
We arrived at the camp site and everything was set up as expected. We assigned the kids a tent and everyone put their belongings in the assigned quarters. We could smell the campfire and the supper cooking and it was no doubt the smell of heaven. We filled our faces and retired for the evening and as we took our place in our assigned spots we were all treated to the lullaby that only mother nature can give. The sounds of coyotes howling in the distance was our sweet melody of song as we drifted to sleep, while the hoots of owls told us that the coyotes were not the only thing up at this time. 30 kids sleeping and dreaming, my mind reeling of what tomorrow would bring and no doubt both thoughts and dreams were filled with hope.
Dawn breaks…
It was an early morning filled with anticipation and excitement. We decided to take an early morning drive before breakfast to see this country and as the sun awakened the countryside with its radiant touches of light, it did not take long to see the first Muley of the day. Actually we stopped more frequently then we anticipated because of the abundance of wildlife. My best guess is that we saw well over 80 muleys that morning and the kids were elated by the time breakfast was served. This buck was presenting himself just perfectly at 60 yards.
Ready for the hike!
Remember when I said John Heiser was a cross between Steve Irwin and Matthew Quigley. Well I was right for the most part, he is also part Gazelle, Bison and Pronghorn.
John Heiser started off the hike asking me how much time we had and I said two hours at the most. Well…….4 hours later we finally crested the buttes and started our decent.
So now I knew to tell John that we really needed to be back in two hours. He was just like I envisioned: a little weathered and extremely knowledgeable. He also moved through those hills like there was a fire somewhere, leaving most of us with little ones far behind.
He was gracious enough to wait for us when something interesting was there, like red ocre that we put on our face just like the natives used too, but I sensed he may have been making fun of us for being so slow.
Mr. John Heiser was so amazing in his depth of knowledge I could even see the adults getting drawn into his wisdom of the Badlands and mule deer. He kept everyone interested in our hike even though it was two hours longer than it was supposed to be. Sorry John, I had to give you a little grief there.
We had one amazing discovery amidst the back breaking hike. I did not know that we had scorpions in North Dakota and from what I gathered no one else knew either, other than wise backcountry ranger John Heiser.
Finally…
We returned to camp, exhausted. Some food and stories of the hike and we were as right as rain. It was so neat to see everyone smiling and retelling the stories about the vegetation and habitat that John showed us. All the kids and the parents were amazing, everyone had a great time and everyone helped out so much to make this trip memorable.
Time to go!
It was really tough to see the long faces as we packed up camp, but in those frowns it told me that we created something special and that next year would even be better. The only complaint is that it was too short. Holy cow, I was just happy everyone had a good time, I never thought that time would have been the complaint, as least not lack thereof. I take my hat off to my committee members and the parents that made this trip and this event possible. I still get calls from kids and parents reminding me how amazing this trip was. Not just for a learning experience but a bonding experience between a parent and child. Well, for me that is all I needed to hear to realize that what we are doing as the West Dakota Chapter is not only building a future for our mule deer population, but we are building a future for mule deer hunters, mule deer sportsmen and women and most importantly mule deer conservationists. I feel very fortunate to be a part of the Mule Deer Foundation and I will continue to look forward to building these relationships in the future. It is nice to know that we live in a place that can bring parents and children closer together through God’s creation. It is even nicer to know that we can bring families together through something we have become to be so passionate about.
I can’t wait for next year!
Lake Agassiz Chapter, Event Held on September 27, 2008
By Chapter Co-chair Marshall Johnson, Fargo, ND
The Lake Agassiz Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation held its first Youth Event, thanks to the grant received from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. This event was held at Adventures Shooting Sports of Fargo. Involved in putting this event on were committee member Barry Freed, co-chairs Corey Adolf and Marshall Johnson as well as the Regional Director Brandon Mason.
This event was open to youth under the age of 16 and their parents to introduce youths to deer hunting, mule deer and conservation. Groups were broken up and spent time at the gun range with Barry and Corey as they were instructed on gun safety and the chance to shoot a .243 and/or a .22. Then the groups were routed to the trap range where I instructed them on shotgun safety and they each were able to shoot at clay pigeons with a 20ga youth shotgun. Afterwards, the groups got together for hot dogs, chips and soft drinks and were entertained by a presentation from Brandon Mason on conservation and the deer species.
Speaking with several participants’ fathers, the overwhelming response was positive and they hoped that we do this again next year. I was really excited when I spoke with one father who, along with his son, had never hunted and had decided that they would like to take up this sport!
We would be remiss if we did not acknowledge and thank Adventures Shooting Sports of Fargo for closing down two rifle lanes and a trap machine on a Saturday, as well as open up their clubhouse for our use. Additionally, we would like to thank Sportsman’s Warehouse for their donation of items to our prize table so that every youth that attended received some kind of gift.