The third episode of this year’s Rooster Road Trip highlighted two days of hunting two completely different regions of North Dakota while linking up two folks who have personal and professional stake in the game.
First up, we hit the fields with Cayla Bendel north of Bismark. Cayla used to work for Pheasants Forever and now the North Dakota Game and Fish Department is lucky enough to have her as their R3 Coordinator. As an avid outdoorswoman and mother who loves hunting and fishing; the recruitment, retention, and reactivation of hunters, and what they represent for the future of conservation, is near and dear to her heart.
After battling high winds all day, we considered ourselves lucky to secure a mixed bag consisting of a lone sharptail and some pheasants. Saying goodbye to Cayla and western North Dakota wasn’t easy, but we knew we had to hop in the trucks and log some major miles due east. What was destination? The Red River Valley.
Some die-hard upland hunters might be scratching their heads because the greater Grand Forks area isn’t exactly known as a premier spot for birds that don’t have webbed feet. However, lying within one of the most fertile agricultural areas in America is a roughly 5x30 mile stronghold of grasslands thanks in part to the salinity of the soil, the hard work of conservation groups, and the Grand Forks Prairie Partners. We also knew that what started as an important prairie chicken restoration effort now held sharptails and a few pheasants – at least that’s what we hoped to find.
The next day started bright and early with Seth Owens. Seth is Pheasants Forever’s North Dakota Education and Outreach Coordinator and a certified grouse enthusiast. If there’s anything he loves more than hunting, it’s introducing people to this unique area and the birds that call it home.
Mentoring a new hunter is something we should all aspire to do. After all, hunters are the visionaries behind the United States’ conservation movement and public land system and should always be at the table to help define the future of both. This is why educating, engaging, and expanding the upland conservation community is one of the four strategic priorities that drive our work every day.
From healthy habitat and clean water to abundant wildlife and healthy soil, we need more people to understand the true value of our favorite upland landscapes. And perhaps experiencing the magic of a rooster taking flight or the whirring wings of a covey flush is the perfect way for the uninitiated to unlock a new appreciation for a previously overlooked environment while creating the spark that ignites into a lifetime of support for conservation at large.