Wild fish, game key to attracting people

WOODRUFF - The wall of the classroom at Kemp Natural Resources Station was adorned with five blank boards, each headed by a different motivation for hunting: To be with friends/family; food/meat; nature; sport/recreation; and trophy.

Keith Warnke handed sticky notes to the seminar participants and asked us to identify our top three reasons for hunting.

After we slapped up our preferences and returned to our seats, it was clear the 17 of us had a lot in common - even if we weren't typical in the bigger scheme of things.

The tally showed food/meat was the leading motivator, with 17 votes, followed by friends/ family (14), nature (10), sport/ recreation (10) and trophy (1).

"You’re not normal," said Warnke, hunting and shooting sports coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, eliciting a laugh from the group. "Many national studies show a higher interest in trophy hunting. But you're at the forefront of a substantial trend, and that's great."

The gathering was an instructor training class for the DNR's Hunting for Food and Fishing for Dinner programs.

The event was held over twodays in late June at Kemp Natural Resources Station, a University of Wisconsin facility located on Tomahawk Lake near Woodruff.

Together with 16 other men and women, I participated in the course to not only learn about the latest research and techniques for mentoring hunters and anglers but provide the DNR with feedback on our past experiences as the agency molds its programs for the future.

The class fell under the broad heading of recruitment, retention and reactivation, or "R3."

If you aren't familiar with R3, get used to it.

The term has been embraced by state and federal agencies as they attempt to offset generational trends toward lower participation rates in hunting and angling.

And more specifically, the Woodruff course focused on one of the bright spots in the recruitment landscape: food.

The sessions were led by Warnke; Theresa Stabo, DNR angler education and outreach coordinator; John Motoviloff, DNR assistant hunting and shooting sports coordinator; and Ashley Van Egtern, R3 and hunter education program assistant.

The participants ranged from college professors to volunteer mentors with decades of experience to representatives of conservation organizations to new and novice hunters of the millennial generation.

To help get a perspective from another state, the group included Steve Sharp, the R3 coordinator for the Michigan DNR, and Johanna Dart, Learn to Hunt coordinator for Michigan State University.

Warnke said the course was set up for two-way learning.

"We're here to listen to what has worked and not worked for you, and make sure we are making any changes that can be helpful," Warnke said.

R3 efforts are important because hunters and anglers provide critical financial support for conservation programs, many of which benefit all Americans.

Through purchases of licenses and gear, hunters and anglers provide significant funding for staff positions at state fish and wildlife departments as well as research, public access and habitat work.

As evidenced by the first exercise of the class, there was broad recognition of the value of food as a motivation for hunting and fishing.

It's not new, of course. License buyers in the 19th century also enjoyed the fruits of their labors.

But the quest for wild, freeranging, nutritious food has in recent years attracted a noticeable set of non-traditional hunters and anglers to the fold.

About a decade ago, Wisconsin emerged as a national leader in efforts to reach these "foodies," often in urban areas.

Warnke was at the forefront as he helped create and teach a class called "Hunting for Food" at Madison College. The curriculum included indoor lectures and culminated in a deer hunt and butchering demonstrations. And of course, a meal. On the watery side, Stabo has created a series of "Fishing for Dinner" classes that teach basic fishing skills and fish preparation techniques.

To expand the reach of these efforts, Warnke and Stabo are working to "teach the teachers" so dozens if not hundreds of the courses will be offered throughout the state.

The DNR also recently partnered with the National Wild Turkey Federation and Pheasants Forever to add two positions to the state's hunting recruitment efforts.

The work is validated by many in the conservation community.

"From our earliest history to modern times, gathering for a meal has been central to our existence," Shane Mahoney told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a February interview. "The sources of protein may have changed over time, as have the means to procure it, but there is an inextricable human connection to the land and the food it produces."

Mahoney, of St. John's, Newfoundland, is widely considered one of North America's most influential conservationists. In 2015 he launched the "Wild Harvest Initiative" to measure the biomass of wild meat and fish harvested through recreational hunting and angling in the U.S. and Canada.

Mahoney said there is a growing awareness among all sectors of North American society that wild fish and game — sustainably produced, low in fat, high in protein, devoid of growth hormones or other artificial additives — is the most desirable protein on the planet.

Our gathering in Woodruff also affirmed two other important aspects of hunting and angling recruitment: for best results, it takes more than a single event to make a new hunter or angler. And second, adults, with more disposable income, the authority to make decisions and travel more easily, are excellent candidates for recruitment.

Through our class discussions, it became evident that one group - adult females - should definitely be on any list for potential "Hunt for Food" or "Fishing for Dinner" courses.

"A mother who learns to fish, we've seen, is very likely to teach her kids and get the whole family out there," Stabo said. "The connection to food in this scenario is very strong, too."

Females overall are one of the brightest spots in the Wisconsin hunting landscape.

Over the last six years, females have been joining the ranks at here-to-fore unseen rates.

From 2010 to 2016, females under the age of 20 represented the largest segment of female deer hunters in Wisconsin, followed by those aged 20-29, 30-39 and finally 40-49, according to DNR statistics.

The data reflect a healthy influx of younger hunters.

On the male side of the coin, the analysis showed the opposite, with the highest number of hunters in the 40-49 age group; the numbers declined with each successively younger group.

Developing skills in new hunters and anglers is critical to their enjoyment.

The class participants set out on Lake Tomahawk and surrounding waters on the first evening of the course to practice selective harvest.

That night's dinner, and the next day's lunch, featured freshly caught walleyes and panfish, as well as venison from a deer taken in 2016.

Motoviloff, author of a “Wild Rice Goose and Other Dishes of the Upper Midwest," lent his expertise in the kitchen.