DU Director of Conservation Planning Scott Stephens demonstrates duck-calling techniques
Bismarck, N.D. residents may have thought duck season was off to an early start this weekend with some 40 wanna-be duck-callers practicing their skills at a Ducks Unlimited Youth Waterfowl Hunting clinic. Along with practicing their quacks, the school-age participants got to learn about lining up decoys, working with retrievers and some duck biology.
“We’re trying to inspire young people to start hunting by giving them the basics,” said Scott Stephens, DU director of conservation planning and organizer of the event. “We’re concerned about the number of hunters dropping in recent years, and we want to help turn that number around.”
Many conservation groups like DU are supported heavily by hunters. “Hunters are inclined to invest in conservation,” Stephens said, “so we want to invest in getting young people interested in the sport.”
Another purpose of the clinic is to match young people with mentors to take them hunting in the fall.