Youth Waterfowl Hunt and Filed Day
By Warden Brek Henry

An idea that myself and Warden Robert Fleenor had been kicking around for the last couple of years finally came together in December of 2005. We wanted this event to be fun and give the kids a good chance at shooting some ducks. It really took about the full two years to work out the details to meet those two goals.

The event planning began with getting the Warden's Association to go along to foot part of the bill. As usual you guys and gals came through with flying colors and approved the money for the project. Next was getting the approval from HQ to do this on Department time. I discussed this issue with Chief Larry Manering and he helped get that part done.

We then began trying to figure out when to have it. The designated two days for youth waterfowl hunting always falls during the muzzleloading deer season. This only left two options. Having it on a weekend or over the Christmas Break from school. We decided on the Christmas Break so for one reason we could have the event during the week when there would be less hunting pressure from other hunters. This worked out even better when at Tom McKay's (USFWS agent) retirement party I met Jeff Haas the new Refuge Manager at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. The first thing I asked him after introducing myself was, "Can we have a youth hunt on the refuge during the week while it is closed to everyone else?" He said he would check on it and in just a few days the response was a "YES". This made the choice of the Christmas Break work out even better. We would not have to compete with other hunters.

The next part was just getting everything we needed together. Robert took care of the hats for the kids and even got us some free duck calls to give them. (THANKS to Ducks Unlimited!!!) He would also take care of the retriever demonstration for the kids. I secured the STEP trailer and organized details with the staff at the Refuge, got volunteers and Wardens signed on to assist, and gathered ammo, guns and food. It was a lot of work and organization and I cannot thank enough those people that helped with the event.

We began with the help of the Department in advertising the event at the Wildlife Expo. It was also sent out to the state through the weekly newsletters and emails. The youth wanting to participate sent in postcards to the Refuge Headquarters. After sending them in we selected the youth to attend through random draw. The attendees had to be 14 or 15 at the time of the hunt. This would allow them to hunt without having any license or permits. When all was said and done we sent out 22 letters inviting youth to the hunt. We had 17 come to the event.

The first day of the event was held on December 22nd and included a retriever demonstration, instruction on duck calling and decoy placement and a free lunch for all the participants and their parents. We then talked with them about firearms and water safety and they got to shoot a lot of ammo in the STEP program. That afternoon several of us went out and built duck blinds for the hunters. The second day was the actual hunt and everyone showed up ready to go even at 5:00 am. You could tell these kids were excited about the opportunity to go on this hunt. We broke up into groups and went to our respective blind locations. Myself and Warden Brady May took our group out in my boat on the lake to some islands. The ducks and weather cooperated for us and our group had some shooters in it. They began to get some ducks and by the time we left our group had killed eight. One of which was a canvasback. It was the first canvasback I had seen in over ten years. There were other things that happened while out hunting that also made this such a great event. The hunters and their parents asked lots of questions that we answered about hunting, ducks and what wardens do. While on our hunt we also had a group of wild swans land near our decoys. This was the first group ever seen on the refuge. The swans had large bands on their necks and we found out later they had migrated there from Iowa. We killed about forty ducks on the entire hunt by all groups involved including a mallard drake with two leg bands. They hunt was great and the kids got to kill some ducks as well. One of the boys in my group remarked how much fun he was having and I thought about how much fun I was having and I wasn't even hunting. It really was a great time for all involved. Events like this and the youth camp are really important to get those new hunters and keep the ones we have. Without all these hunters and fishermen we don't have a job. I hope we can do more things like these in the future.

Finally I want to thank everyone that assisted with the hunt. Wardens Robert Fleenor, Brady May, Jerry Henry, Lark Wilson, Jeff Brown, Monte Reid, and Karlin Bailey. Volunteers Chris Carter, Matt Bennett, John Hunt, Gary Gunter and Bill Falleur. The Super 8 Motel in Sallisaw for putting us all up at a special rate. David Robertson from wildlife division for taking care of the STEP trailer for me. I especially want to thank Jeff Haas and Craig Heflebower and the entire staff at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge. You all did an outstanding job!!