Women in the outdoors give hunting a shot

 

 

 

Scenic view of Wallkill River NWR

On a warm autumn Saturday, three women gather together at Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge with their crossbows and archery equipment. Reminiscent of Katniss Everdeens’ from the Hunger Games Trilogy, these women may also inspire more youth and adult women to take up bow hunting. Mikalia, Maria, and Tanya are participating in a Women in the Outdoors hunt, and members of the refuge staff and National Wild Turkey Federation are ready to guide them in the field.

The three women are novice or inexperienced bow hunters, and the dedicated refuge hunt for women, by women, offers a unique opportunity for them to ask questions and get hands-on experience with experts. It is the second annual Women in the Outdoors hunt at the refuge, offered through a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Wild Turkey federation.

 

 

Mikalia, Maria, and Tanya pose with National Wild Turkey Federation banner

The refuge is closed this day to everyone else. In the quiet, Refuge Law Enforcement Officer Mike McMenamin looks for signs of deer. Like a biology detective, he points out a broken branch where a buck rubbed his scent, hoof scrapes on the ground, and other places where deer had left a mark.

Chelsea Utter, wildlife refuge specialist and a National Wild Turkey Federation hunt mentor, sits patiently and quietly with Mikalia. Chelsea explains the sounds to listen for to track deer. The women will spend hours through the afternoon until dark in the blind.

 

 

Hunter in the blind with her equipment

For a Women in the Outdoors hunt, each participant is paired with a more experienced mentor. This one-on-one allows for a strong personal connection and comfortable relationship for learning. Mentors provide guidance on all aspects of the sport, including hunting safety, wildlife tracking, taking a first shot, and processing a deer for food.

Chelsea was a mentor for the first time the previous year. Her first mentee aimed her bow and her arrow hit her mark, a buck. Chelsea confessed that after hunting for six years, she had yet to have a successful hunt. The hunt was a proud moment for both women.

Sitting this year with Mikalia in the blind, Chelsea hopes that today she might experience that feeling of accomplishment again. Mentoring has become her favorite part of the women’s hunt program, and she hopes that her mentees might become mentors themselves some day.

Tanya is an example of how this unique program can foster a love of hunting. On the recommendation of a friend, Tanya decided to try out the Women in the Outdoors hunt in 2016. She loved the event so much, she’s returned this year. Today, her hunt will prove successful…a milestone!

 

 

Tanya in the blind with her son during the youth hunt

Wanting to share her newfound pastime with her son, Tanya encouraged him to enroll and participate in the refuge’s youth hunt. “It can be difficult for new or non-hunters to gain access to the knowledge, guidance, places and opportunities to gain the confidence and experience to safely, ethically, and successfully go into the field. The women’s mentored hunt provided all of those resources openly and wholeheartedly to me. The refuge hunts are special opportunities that are appreciated so much more than the mentors will ever know,” she says.

Chelsea says there’s nothing better than seeing the excitement of the participants and their eagerness to continue hunting. She says that she hopes that after participating in the program women aren’t as intimidated to get out into the woods by themselves, become part of a community of hunting enthusiasts, and feel comfortable with all stages of the hunting experience. She hopes to share with others how hunting can be a favorite pastime, an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, and a way to provide food for your family and friends.

 

 

Jesse Mihatov and Chelsea Utter, staff from Wallkill River NWR, accept the Robert E. Eriksen Conservation award

In recognition of their hunting programs, Wallkill National Wildlife Refuge was recently awarded the Robert E. Eriksen Conservation Award by the board of directors of the New Jersey chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

A Tale of 10 Friends

Our “Friends” share their stories about why they volunteer…

With friends like these, its no wonder why we couldn’t get by without them! What is a national wildlife refuge or national fish hatchery “Friend”?

Friends groups are volunteer organizations that support national wildlife refuges, national fish hatcheries, and other U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service programs. They are made up of volunteers who advocate for the Service, fund-raise, and support educational programming on the public lands we manage.

We rely on these groups of enthusiastic, hard-working, and determined people, all focused on furthering the mission of the Service. In 2016, there were 15,000 Friends across the nation, and all together the Friends raised 5 million in conservation funds!

 

Thirty-one leading Friends representing 23 different Friends groups in the region came together last month in Alexandria, Virginia, for a training workshop hosted by the Service. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with many of them about why they’ve chosen to spend their precious time and energy on being one of our very best “Friends.”  Here are some of their stories:

I asked the Friends this one question: If you could tell the world why you chose to spend your free time being a Friend and how (being a friend) has impacted you/your life, what would you say?

Answer: Corey Smith, Friends of Outer Island, Connecticut

It was a lifelong dream of mine growing up as a kid to become a park ranger. I grew up to travel along a different career path, but I was looking for some kind of way to volunteer at my local wildlife refuge, Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. When presented with the opportunity, I jumped on the offer. Once I discovered McKinney, I fell in love with Outer Island. I would like for visitors to fall in love with this refuge, too.

Answer: Cathy Beise: Friends of Blackwater NWR, Maryland 

When I retired from being an IT professor, I was looking for something meaningful to do with my time that had to do with the outdoors. I wanted to be apart of an organization that was partaking in activities that I could personally identify with. I joined the Friends of Blackwater at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge about five years ago. I’ve spent two years on the organization’s board so far and spent the other three years volunteering. A lot of international travelers visit the refuge and it’s neat when they tell us the refuge is a cool place to be. The current refuge manager, Marcia Pradines, and the friends members have a regular volunteer update meeting together, and the refuge manager was truly inspiring and articulate, inviting every one of us to come partake in this one common cause. These are my people.

Answer: Stephen Atzert, Friends of Cape May NWR, New Jersey

After retiring for awhile from being refuge manager at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge , I decided to volunteer and join the Friends of Cape May NWR.  Look around. Everything in this room here comes from the environment. We as humans, like the animals and wildlife, depend on natural resources as much as they do. We need to realize that, and that’s what I’d like for other people to notice too. We need to conserve and protect our natural areas.

Answer: Kahille Dorsinvil, Friends of Wertheim NWR, Long Island, New York

I really really enjoy being outside. I started a new job recently that had less outdoor education than my one prior, and I missed it. A coworker encouraged me to join, suggesting it’s not just participating, but a chance to learn a lot more as well.  I truly wish more people could get to Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge because it’s gorgeous. There’s also an accessible trail for folks with disabilities. Everyone can benefit from being outside.

Answer: Suzanne Beaudet, Friends of Aroostook, Maine

When the opportunity arose to volunteer, it was an obvious choice for me. I didn’t think more about it. In the past, I’ve worked with kids, girl scouts, and the outdoors. I was previously a professor of exercise physiology. My experiences while being a Friend have been a collage of great times. I want to let our youth know that we need wild space like Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge.

Answer: John Wilmot, Friends of Supawna Meadows NWR, New Jersey

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was actually down the street from my house when I was growing up. I was outdoors all day long as a kid, and I was fortunately involved in the refuge early on because it was so close to home.  One day, I saw an ad that Great Swamp NWR volunteers had put out looking for new ideas. I went to that meeting and I’ve been a Friend for three years now. If you can get kids outside, that’s the important piece. Contact and exposure to the outdoors limits fears. I recently relocated to a different town an hour and a half away from Great Swamp NWR after accepting a new job. Once settled, I reached out and joined a new Friends group at Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge because I was sad to have moved to a new place and really missed volunteering. I thought to myself, what better way to spend my free time than at a refuge.

Answer: Kim Lutz, Friends of Silvio O. Conte, CT, MA, NH and VT

We formed a Friends group for Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge because we wanted to form one group, which would be more effective in reaching Congress than a bunch of individual entities. Our focus is to garner support for conserving resources refuge-wide, from Vermont and New Hampshire, south to Massachusetts and Connecticut. The whole watershed is important. It doesn’t make sense to everyone, but we aim to educate and share a larger story. The watershed is Conte. Conte is the watershed. Think of everything as one whole.

Answer: Jean Carrigan, Friends of NCTC, West Virginia

I am a firm believer in education and conservation, which is the National Conservation Training Center’s (NCTC) mission. That is why I am a friend there. There is a lecture series held four times a year with different guest speakers and a book signing.  These lectures are free and open to the public, although NCTC is typically a closed campus, and the friends group receives part of the book sale funds.  One of the lectures was especially powerful to me. It was about women in the 19th and early 20th centuries who were involved in conservation, making the world they live in a better place. A lot were home-schooled, and did incredible things. This inspired me and I’m proud to have come from a long line of strong women.

Answer: Jim Lockhart, Friends of Outer Island, Connecticut

I was already spending much of my free time in nature, so it was a transparent decision to become a Friend. I enjoy telling folks about the geology and history of the land. I especially love when students come in to learn more. One of my fondest memories was building an education pavilion on Outer Island. There was a strong sense of teamwork and camaraderie between the Friends group, refuge staff, and the building crew. We were lifting heavy timbers and locking them into place. We installed the roof in a couple weeks, which provided us with an incredible and satisfying view of the ocean after a day’s hard work.  This structure on outer island has great significance to me.

Answer: Karen Dever, Friends of Bombay Hook, Delaware

I joined the Friends of Bombay Hook NWR because I saw cruelty to pets and wildlife, and I wanted to help the cause of protecting animals and to make difference in my community.  I also spend time at the refuge to be with my father – the birds chirping, the wind blowing through the trees, and the natural fresh air brings me closer to two things I dearly love. I miss my father and he is with me spiritually, and when I am at the refuge, I feel so much closer to him.  I would have joined a Friends group when I was your age (pointing at me) had I known this kind of thing existed.

If you are interested in becoming a Friend, look for a national wildlife refuge or national fish hatchery closest to you!

 

Blast to the Past with a Mastodon Tooth

Natural history is fascinating. Today we are going to hear from Elizabeth Rush, a cultural resources intern through the American Conservation Experience. One of the many neat tasks she has, is working alongside Region Five’s Historic Preservation Officer, Amy Wood,  looking at multiple artifacts from National Wildlife Refuges, some dating all the way back to the ‘old stone age’ period of mastodons and primitive human tools. Many of them are even featured on displays for guests, like you, to view! Rush has traveled all across the northeast region going from refuge to refuge, and today she shares what makes her so passionate about her line of work in such a unique internship.

Amy Wood and Elizabeth Rush accessing the Petit Manan lighthouse at Maine Coastal Islands. Credit: James Fortier

Conducting a region wide inventory of Museum Property at refuges has brought me to many beautiful places, and allowed me to (re)discover many fascinating objects in the care of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  Some artifacts I have inventoried are more remarkable than others, but all serve to tell the story of how humans have used wildlife refuges for thousands of years.

Mastodon versus human size comparison. Photo: Wikipedia Commons

Mastadon tooth. Photo” Elizabeth Rush

During one of my first refuge visits last summer I was amazed to discover, carefully boxed in an environmentally controlled archival room, a very large mastodon tooth. The mastodon, now extinct, existed from the Miocene to the Pleistocene time period, between 23 to 13,000 years ago.  They were very large and similar to elephants, but covered in fur.

I had never had the opportunity to be so close to, let alone handle, such a beautiful and complete specimen of mega-fauna before that moment.  I was instantly transported back in time imagining the immense and noble beasts roaming the north east and I was absolutely delighted.  I remember thinking nothing I inventory will come close to being as cool as this! And I was proven wrong the following spring.  My second encounter with the remains of mega-fauna at a wildlife refuge was just as exciting and just as surprising.  A refuge in our region accidentally discovered the remains of multiple eastern elk, a large mega-faunal ancestor to the majestic elk that call the far west home today.  When I first laid eyes on the enormous antlers, so similar to the antlers of the elk I have encountered in the years I spent living in Montana, I was a little confused.

I thought, ‘wait a minute; there aren’t any elk in northern New York, especially no monsters that could have shed these antlers’. Then the realization dawned on me, there was once elk in northern New York, approximately 10,000 years ago.  Sure enough, these remains were dated to about 9,500 years before present day.  The eastern elk antlers are among my all-time favorite artifacts in the north east region.  My museum property visit to this refuge was a great experience.  I learned so much about the history of the area through the artifacts stored at the refuge.  It is always a great feeling to meet with refuge managers and staff who are excited to teach me about their local history, especially when they have worked so hard to preserve the material culture of their community’s past.

Chincoteague NWR

Moosehorn NWR

As much of a privilege it was to encounter such astounding artifacts as the mega-fauna remains, there is nothing quite like feeling connected to the Paleoindian people who camped, hunted, and fished on the land and waterways that make up our wildlife refuges. During my refuge visits I have come across some beautiful artifacts made by Paleoindians.  One such artifact I found fascinating was a bone or antler pendant.  It was hollowed and carved into a perfect circle.

Antler pendant

Another amazing paleo artifact I inventoried was an ancient fluted projectile point.  The fluting technique or removal of a large central flake (piece of the stone used for tool manufacture) is a diagnostic feature of a projectile point indicating this point may be 12,000 years old.  Encountering an artifact such as this is a humbling experience. It is a reminder of mankind’s relationship to the natural world, that these landscapes were utilized and appreciated for as long as humans walked the earth.

Projectile point next to quarter for size, Credit: Elizabeth Rush

This is the same reason why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works to protect these integral and endangered habitats is likely why our refuges have such impressive artifact collections.  These landscapes have always been places of life and abundance, and worthy of our efforts to preserve our natural and cultural resources.