My New Perspective on R3

Re-posted from castingaline.wordpress.com.

Over the last couple of years, I have enjoyed learning and engaging in discussions about R3. Briefly, this is the recruitment, retention, and reactivation of participants, namely in hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities. These activities provide recreation, outdoor appreciation, family/friend bonding, generally healthy (and local) food, and funds for conservation. While R3 efforts can target anyone, agencies and organizations often focus efforts on certain groups that represent gaps in license sales. These groups might be different for different locations, but some examples could include various ethnic groups and age ranges (among other demographics).

Increasingly, fewer people learn to hunt (or fish, trap, etc.) in the traditional manner. Mentors, such as friends and family members, historically took a person under their wing for many years; helping them, guiding them, offering wisdom, experience, and possibly even equipment, property, and networking opportunities. For various reasons such as increased urbanization, competing interests, and lack of access, this method is much less prevalent today. Though various learning opportunities exist for both youth and adults, these opportunities are often limited in time or scope. And even opportunities that focus on youth might not have the desired results if the parents and/or guardians do not jump on board. (For this reason, family events have become much more popular. Check out Fishing’s Future.)

(Photo from the first annual Smoky Hill Outdoor Youth Festival in 2017, an event I helped create and manage. We had a total of 17 groups help with the event.)

Now let’s talk about my own situation. I learned to hunt, fish, and trap in the traditional manner. I grew up in a rural area with family and friends who hunted. We had relationships with many of the local private landowners, so we had access. By most definitions, I would not be in the R3 crosshairs. There are a couple of exceptions though. Number one, I’m a millennial. That’s right. I’m part of a generation that gets insulted over and over; sometimes, for some individuals, for good reason. Other times, it’s unnecessary. People now realize; though, that millennials make up a large portion of the population, and someday, they’ll probably run things. Scary? Sometimes. But if you want to make a difference for the future, it’s likely a good strategy to look at a large, young group.

Furthermore, my wife and I recently moved two states from home. Though we are technically residents in our new location, we have a completely different life and only public land to hunt. Additionally, we are currently (albeit temporarily) in an urban setting and really don’t have much freezer space, much less a great area to process meat. Will it stop us from hunting? Not completely, but it will limit us.

Finally, and most importantly, my wife and I had our first child. She is wonderful and will give me another opportunity to be an outdoor mentor in the future. But for now… She eats, sleeps, and needs diaper changes every two to eight hours. And because of the nature of my wife’s job, we’ll be moving at least one more time in the next few years. This has meant that my own career has largely been on hold lately. While there are a few opportunities around that would allow me to move, most jobs in my area of expertise require a person to cover a certain area; something I can’t do for an extended period of time if we move. I’m not complaining, but this means that currently I’m a stay-at-home dad, a title I never thought I would have. I have nothing against it, I have just worked all my life. Sometimes it’s mass chaos. Sometimes I look around and wonder what to do for the next two hours while the baby sleeps. Sometimes I try to build a routine; nearly always I fail. What I don’t do is hunt. Because I’m staying at home, and the baby is too young to do much, especially outdoors in winter in South Dakota, I just haven’t really had an opportunity. I have pheasant hunted zero times here. I deer hunted two mornings when my wife didn’t have to work, for a total of eight hours. I have fired a gun zero times. I have thought about rabbit and squirrel hunting, but I have yet to go out. I have raccoon hunted a few times, but with a young dog that isn’t trained yet. It’s been tough.

(The only deer I got this year... But totally worth it.)

The purpose of this isn’t to make you feel sorry for me. The purpose is to show that I get it. I’ve always been excited about hunting and fishing and introducing new people to the activities. I have helped with, developed, and supervised countless youth clinics, family workshops, presentations, and so on. When I was asked to be a member of the original Kansas R3 Task Force, I jumped at the chance and I dove in with passion. I helped write proposals and make/give presentations. I met with NGO’s and directors. But in the midst of all this excitement, of all this passion, I had never really been in the predicament of not being able to hunt or fish. Now I know at least a little bit of what it means to be “new” or to need to be “retained.” I think we will continue to buy hunting and fishing licenses, just for the fact that if the opportunity arises, we want to be able to take it. But will we use them much over the next couple of years? Maybe not.

So, what is the answer to increasing participation? It’s never simple and the answer varies. I’ve written articles about R3 in the past (The Selfish Hunter; R3, Access, and Ethics), and I think the messages from them still ring true. I do think that agencies and organizations have come a long way in the last several months and they are really looking at evaluations, tracking, more mentoring, and better practices. What would work for me? What would get me in the field? A babysitter. A job to pay for a daycare/babysitter. A lightweight, easy to move freezer. More access. A gambrel system that would allow us to hang a deer in a finished garage. (In our last house, which we owned, I actually put a hole in the ceiling to the attic, sawed off the back of an electrical box, and strung a chain through that was supported by two 2×4’s. When it wasn’t in use, the cover went on it. Can’t do that in the rental…) Really, I don’t even necessarily need most of those things. Someone to watch a baby and some freezer space. That’s really all I need, but every person is different. Some people need education, some equipment, some friends or family. It depends on the person, but now I have a better understanding of that.

(When it's closed, it looks like a ceiling electrical box. But really, it's a gambrel-hanging system.)

I do want to pause here and make a note about public land. I hunted public land in the past, but in general, it wasn’t my first choice. Now it’s all I have. I live on the edge of what I call a city (pop. ~180,000). It’s the most urban area I’ve ever lived. The public areas that are relatively close get hit hard. Both mornings I went deer hunting, I had at least one other person pull up and use the same area I was in after I was already there. The first morning I actually went to my third or fourth choice because every other place had at least one vehicle, even in the places I thought were pretty low access. Where I did hunt, there were dozens (yes plural) of tree stands. And you know what? There was still huntable wildlife. I found tracks, bedding areas, fresh scat, everything. In my eight total hours of deer hunting, I did see a fawn, though I held out because I was hoping others might follow. I saw rabbits and squirrels and pheasants (oh my). When I’ve been out raccoon hunting, I have seen deer and heard coyotes. That’s right deer hunters, the deer come back, even when people hunt raccoons at night, and even on public land… I thought these places would be barren. They weren’t. As much pressure as they received, they still had opportunities for both seasoned hunters and new people just getting started. I was pleased.

I’m getting to that point in a blog post where I need to wrap things up. I’ll end in this way. I’m really optimistic about the future of hunting, fishing, and outdoor activities. I think that marketing has come a long way and current hunters and anglers are finally getting involved (instead of just agencies and NGO’s). I think industries are looking at the long-term picture and lots of innovative people are stepping up to the plate. Though I’m not in a state agency anymore, I still try to learn and mentor in any way I can. I think we’ve started something important and I can’t wait to see the results. And maybe in a few years, I’ll have another mentee to train.

“This hunting tradition and the conservation ethic within that tradition covered a lot of ground before it got to us. It passed through the hands of people both humble and great, simple and profound. This legacy did not come to our generation to die. To keep it alive, we must learn the stories, we must appreciate their significance, and we must teach each successive generation how this heritage was delivered into our custody.”

~ Jim Posewitz, Inherit The Hunt~