Wildlife Refuges matter!

Big Fin · Feb 1, 2016

Our own Ben Long wrote a great piece today in the Outdoor Life Open Country blog.

http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/op...r-why-federal-wildlife-refuges-matter-so-much

I hunt wildlife refuges a lot. When people want to come to Montana to hunt "The Breaks," they are most likely hunting the Charles M. Russell Wildlife Refuge. In Alaska, I've hunted the Koyokuk NWR. I grew up hunting ducks in MN, right on the boundary of the Lake Agissiz NWR. A lot of friends from MN, WI, and IA hunt deer and canvasbacks on the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife Refuge.

Ben makes some good points as to the importance of these Refuge lands and how they are also targets of the far fringe who want to take them from you. These lands, more than any other public lands, are the result of hunters dollars, advocacy, and donations.

Cold dead hands .........

VAspeedgoat · Feb 1, 2016

Nicely written, thanks for posting this. Otherwise I wouldn't have seen it.

Ben Long · Feb 1, 2016

Thanks fellas. Likewise, some of my favorite hunts have been on National Wildlife Refuges. CMR, of course. Locally, Lost Trail, Ninepipes, hold a heap of memories. What are some of your favorite National Wildlife Refuges?

kansasdad · Feb 1, 2016

Quivira Wildlife Refuge in central Kansas......usually a stopping spot for whooping cranes, and at times roosting over a million geese undergoing both south and northbound migration.

Straight Arrow · Feb 1, 2016

Thanks for the great article, Ben. It really puts things in the proper perspective and emphasizes the values, importance, and historical context of Wildlife Refuges.

mtmiller · Feb 1, 2016

Ben Long said:
What are some of your favorite National Wildlife Refuges?

Been known to shoot a few birds with camera and shotgun at Bowdoin NWR. Living on the Refuge didn't blow either.

rmyoung1 · Feb 1, 2016

Thanks, Ben. That was informative for me, and I, quite literally, grew up on federal land. Thanks for the lesson.

mdhunter · Feb 1, 2016

Nice article Ben. Even us east coast guys apprecaite the NWR as we have Assateague Island National Seashore which is approximately 20 miles of undeveloped beach front property. There is literally nothing else like it on the eastern seaboard.

dannyb278 · Feb 1, 2016

A great article. Brings me back to canoeing and duck hunting in Swan Lake WMA in southern Minnesota.

James Riley · Feb 1, 2016

I've never hunted or fished on a National Wildlife Refuge. I think I may have hiked on one here or there over the years. I think I've just been intimidated by them and all the signage and rules I see on the signs as I go by. Maybe I'll stop, take a closer look and actually read the signs next time.

Especially out on the plains.

Edited to add: I just remembered I have a kiln-baked clay key chain fob with a Malheur Mink foot print in it. I went to some environmental seminar there back in the mid-90s and some guy gave one to all the participants.

---- · Feb 1, 2016

National Bison Range for me. No hunting, but countless hours of mine have been spent there looking through glass-

I really appreciate the article, and your voice throughout the last month, Ben.

Kaitum · Feb 1, 2016

My family's land borders the Erie NWR. I couldn't even guess how many hours as a kid I spent roaming that refuge. That's pretty much where I learned to hunt. More recent adventures took place on the Arctic NWR, I feel pretty lucky to experience that jewel.

James Riley · Feb 1, 2016

Kaitum said:
More recent adventures took place on the Arctic NWR, I feel pretty lucky to experience that jewel.

How were the bugs? I've never been there but I'll never forget a T.V. show I saw with a caribou driven nuts and into the ocean by them. I guess they drink some huge amount of blood from each animal every day. Scientists have even studied how the caribou replace it. I'd love to go there but not during bug season. :W:

WestT · Feb 1, 2016

Thanks for the info and the good writeup!

Deleted member 18333 · Feb 1, 2016

Ben Long said:
What are some of your favorite National Wildlife Refuges?

Seedskadee in Wyoming and Swan Lake in Missouri.

jzeck2 · Feb 1, 2016

Hunting Refuges

Some of my favorite places to hunt deer here in South Dakota are two of the refuges in the NE part of the state. One of the main reasons I like this hunt so much is that they do not allow vehicles in the refuges so you don't have to worry about competing with hunters that would rather hunt out of the vehicle vs put in the hard work to go out and do a fair chase hunt.

I used to be able to draw this tag every year but I currently have 5 preference points so other people must have discovered my secret hunting spot. Good for them. Obviously this increased demand for these tags is telling us something about hunter access. More and more private land in South Dakota is being closed off if you don't have the ability to write a big check. So the this precious resource of public land is even more important.

Kaitum · Feb 1, 2016

James Riley said:
How were the bugs? I've never been there but I'll never forget a T.V. show I saw with a caribou driven nuts and into the ocean by them. I guess they drink some huge amount of blood from each animal every day. Scientists have even studied how the caribou replace it. I'd love to go there but not during bug season. :W:

Late August on two different trips, never saw a single mosquito.

seahuntr · Feb 1, 2016

No mosquitos there after first freeze, early August, at least 40 years ago.

ORHunter · Feb 1, 2016

You know I live just a few miles from a NWR here in western Oregon. I have never hunted it before as I have never been waterfowl hunting. With this whole Malhuer incident I found myself battling multiple friends and family on this situation. And the funny part was all of them hunt and fish. And yet they still don't get the consequences of what those clowns were trying to do. Anyways this whole thing got me thinking of what I could do to help more. Turns out the NWR down the road has a volunteer day on Tuesdays, so I plan on going down and helping when I can. If there's one good thing that comes out of this situation at least it inspired someone to help out some more. And hopefully it inspired more than just me. Anyways sorry for rambling, just though I'd share my thoughts. And that's a great article Ben, nice work.
Trent

Nameless Range · Feb 1, 2016

I've never hunted there, but the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is less than an hour from our family cabin. We visit it often, and it is not uncommon to see elk,moose, and pronghorn in the same frame of view on any given day there.

Wildlife Refuges matter!

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