Ten youth to be selected by drawing; application deadline Aug. 12
ELLIS -- Thanks to the success of last year's TJ’s Memorial Youth Deer Hunt, Hunting Heritage Group and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) will host another youth deer hunt during the special youth and disabled hunting season (Sept. 12-20). This year, the hunt will be Sept. 12-13. Participants will hunt from a blind with an experienced guide/mentor on private land adjacent to Cedar Bluff Wildlife Area in Trego County. Two of the youth participants will have the opportunity to hunt in specially designated areas on the wildlife area.

The first morning will consist of classroom instruction and a trip to the range to sight in rifles. After lunch, guides will accompany the young hunters and their parent/guardian to designated blinds. All hunters will return to the meeting area that evening. If youth are unsuccessful after the evening hunt, they will be invited to hunt the following day.

Ten hunters will be selected to participate in the hunt. Youth participants must be at least 10 and not older than 16. In addition, candidates for the hunt must complete and submit an application form by Aug. 12. Application forms may be obtained here, or by contacting natural resource officer Jason Hawman at 785-743-2942. There is no charge for the hunt.

In addition to the 10 youth participants, there will also be two special guest hunters. One is a young man from Oklahoma with leukemia and the other a young man from Kentucky who has cancer on his spinal cord. Both hunters were referred by Buckmaster’s Life Hunts program, designed to grant hunting wishes for critically ill and disabled youngsters.

Special hunts like this are part of KDWP's Kansas Hunter Recruitment and Retention Program, called "Pass It On." This program addresses the need to recruit new hunters and retain existing hunters in order to ensure the future of hunting in Kansas.
-30-

Back to 7/9/09 News