Mid-Ohio Chapter Provides 400 Kids a Taste of Waterfowling

Held annually on the first Saturday in June, the Ashland County (Ohio) Wildlife Conservation League’s Fin-Feather-Fur Kids Outdoor Day offers area children a chance to experience a wide range of activities. This year, about 400 kids ages 6 to 12 learned about waterfowl hunting, dog training, pheasant hunting, turkey calling, archery, fishing, muzzleloading and, well, just about every outdoor pursuit you can imagine.

The Mid-Ohio Chapter ran the event’s waterfowl hunting station, which proved an especially big hit with the kids. Delta volunteers Joel Brockway, Brent Owens and Mike Deaton attended with their retrievers Oakley, Tango and Jules, while trainer Ryan Morton brought a few of his Grain River Labradors. Together, they taught the kids about dog training and handling, as well as waterfowl identification, duck calling, and the use of equipment such as layout blinds.

“The boys and girls were most excited about getting to actually handle the Labrador retrievers on hand,” said Eric Webb, regional director for Delta Waterfowl. “Hundreds of kids got their first tastes of waterfowling, thanks to the Mid-Ohio Chapter’s dedicated volunteers.”