Last year, I had the honor of heading up to the Marvin Robbins Memorial Juniors Turkey Hunting Camp which was hosted by the National Wild Turkey Federation. At the camp last year, I was able to see first hand how the National Wild Turkey Federation partnered with multiple other organizations like the Arizona Game and Fish, Arizona Elk Society, The Phoenix Varmit Callers, and many more, to provide a positive and safe learning environment for young hunters just entering the world of turkey hunting.

Since last year was such a positive experience for me as a mentor hunter, I jumped at the chance to help out again. Rich Williams of the Arizona Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, pours his heart and soul into the Marvin Robbins Memorial Juniors Turkey Hunting camp. The camp provides the youth hunter and an accompanying adult (free of charge):

• A mentor hunter
• Free food (courtesy of the Arizona Elk Society)
• Several seminars on turkey hunting and other outdoor skills
• Prizes for each youth hunter in camp
• A fully equipped archery range

The Arizona Game and Fish Department has been working with the species specific organizations (like NWTF, Arizona Elk Society, etc.) to help create camps that pass on the heritage of hunting to the next generation. The AZGFD has a full list of the mentored hunting camps that serve not only youth hunters, but adults as well. They can be found on the Outdoor Skills page of the AZGFD website

I was able to head out with a father and his two sons on Saturday, and we were able to get into some gobbling early on Saturday morning. Although we were never able to seal the deal on the birds, several other youth hunters were successful over the weekend. Being a part of something like the Marvin Robbins Memorial Juniors Turkey Hunting camp is extremely for me as an outdoorsman. Between the camaraderie of camp and the passing on of the hunting heritage, I look forward to participating with the National Wild Turkey Federation Juniors Camp for many years to come.

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I spent the weekend down in Tucson at the Hunting and Angling Heritage Workgroup, also known as the HAHWG. The Hunting and Angling Heritage Workgroup is a diverse group of individuals and groups who, in conjunction with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, meet twice a year. The goal of the HAHWG is “to gather leaders in the industry, conservation groups, youth groups and wildlife management professionals to synergistically preserve the hunting and angling tradition.”

I went to my first meeting last January followed by a summer meeting up at Bucks Springs. Each time the workgroup gets together I have the opportunity to meet other groups and individuals who are not only passionate about hunting and fishing, but they care about preserving the heritage of these American traditions and passing them on to the next generation.

This meeting was held in Tucson at the SEI International Wildlife Museum, which I had never been to before. The facility was beautiful and the back parking lot was set up with tents and trailers for our meals. As usual, the food was fantastic, thanks to Sportsman’s Warehouse and the Arizona Elk Society.

Over the past couple of years, the different groups associated with the HAHWG have focused on providing hands on camps to introduce and help new hunters and anglers. Although many of these camps are for young hunters, there are many for men and women as well. All of the camps have a family atmosphere and focus on safety and fair chase ethics while hunting and fishing. There is a whole page and calendar of events on the Arizona Game and Fish website titled Outdoor Skills that share those opportunities to learn from mentor hunters and anglers for free.

At this particular meeting, I was really challenged to think through some of the ways that I approach hunting and fishing. One of the main points that we kept talking about was the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation and how important it is to how we as Americans approach the outdoors. In the coming weeks, I will be putting a couple of posts together on the subject of the North American model and sharing some of the things that I have learned over the past few meetings.

As always, it was great to see the regular crowd at the HAHWG as well as meet some new folks. Looking forward to the next one.

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A couple weeks ago, I received an email from Doug Burt over at Arizona Game and Fish Department explaining how he had found the site and was interested in me coming out to a HAHWG meeting. I thought a bit about the offer knowing full well that it was going to put the kibosh on my last weekend of hunting javelina, but after he gave me the rundown of what HAHWG actually was all about, I could not help but accept.

HAWHG stands for Hunting and Angling Heritage Workgroup whose written purpose is “to gather leaders in the industry, conservation groups, youth groups and wildlife management professionals to synergistically preserve the hunting angling tradition.” There’s some pretty big words in that statement but what I found when I showed up, was a group of outdoorsman who were passionate about preserving the traditions of hunting and fishing, which in this day in age, face many increasingly powerful and numerous enemies. Many in the HAWHG group have dedicated their lives and fortunes to the goal of increasing participation not just hunting and angling, but in all outdoor activities.

Some of the things that really stood out to me about the get-together was how everyone seemed to have captured the same vision of getting the youth involved in the outdoors. From fishing to small game to large game species, every group seemed to realize that if the American tradition of hunting is going to survive and be passed on to our grandchildren, then getting the next group of outdoorsman into the field is of the utmost importance. Each organization wether focused on fish, turkey, elk, small game or other species, all expressed the desire to stop the fractured movement to self promote and instead present more of a coordinated coalition while working together to promote a safe, controlled, and fun outdoor experience.

It was an unbelievable two day event with some unbelievable food provided by the Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club, and I was glad that I had planned to camp out. Because of the cold, a large fire was stoked, and I had the esteemed opportunity to talk to some real outdoorsman and hear about their passions for youth and the wonderful times in the field. When it was all said and done, I even had the chance to get out and blow through a couple boxes of shells on their clay pigeon range.

In the future I hope to be able to attend some of these youth hunts, seminars, and banquets and ultimately spotlight what these great folks are doing here in our great state. Arizona has some phenomenal opportunities and resources and, unfortunately, if these are not protected, they may not see too many more generations. Expect to see more about the HAHWG and these different organizations in the future on Arizona Wanderings. Find out more about these great organizations by following the links below.

Arizona Game and Fish Department

National Wild Turkey Federation

Youth Outdoor Unlimited

Arizona Elk Society

Yuma Valley Rod and Gun Club

Arizona Fly Casters

Arizona Bowhunters Association

My Camp USA

Mohave Sportsman Club

Arizona Antelope Foundation

CouesWhitetail.com

Arizona Hunter

Southwest Fur Harvesters

Outdoor Arizona Kids Inc.

(My sincerest apologies, if I missed a group that was there. Please shoot me over your outfits name and I would love to recognize you on this great list of organizations.)

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