YOUTH WILDLIFE CONSERVATION EXPERIENCE

As I approached six fifth graders sitting around a table chatting wildly, I inquired which outdoor career seminar they enjoyed the most. Not a single one agreed. “The bear dogs were the best!” replied the first young lady. “I liked learning about falconry,” responded the one on her right. The conversation continued, as each shared which three seminars each attended and what made their favorite stand out.

This occurred while waiting for the keynote presentation during one of the private learning experiences of the Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience (YWCE) that school groups were bused into during Thursday and Friday of Sheep Show®. During these private experiences, 590 youth took part in a variety of special experiences beyond the normal hands-on learning stations. Upon arriving, a keynote presentation educated them on wild sheep, the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, and how hunters are conservationists. Focus was on specific Wild Sheep Foundation and its chapters and affiliates conservation methods for sheep and included hunting license data in Nevada and the funding it provides. School groups then looked through their program and select three of nine outdoor-related career seminars to attend. These ranged from outdoor clothing manufacturing, department of wildlife agencies, archery businesses, falconry, outdoor cooking as a career, outdoor videography, and more.

Next, the Wild Sheep Foundation scholarship winners presented during lunch about how they became interested in pursuing a degree in wildlife management, what experiences it can provide in college, and what kids can start doing now to move towards gaining experience and preparing for a path in that direction.

Finally, the hands-on stations opened. This year we broke the prior record for the number of handson stations of 36, and offered 42 different learning experiences. The youth area filled 94,540 square feet! We never thought we would utilize that entire area…and it took years to build it up this large, but we finally did. The stations included wildlife conservation, entomology (including eating crickets), rock climbing wall, 3D archery, target archery, trap archery, two BB gun ranges, a pellet