Locavore-leaning foodies who are not vegans, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has got an offer for you.
OK, that sounded odd. But keep reading.
Through a new grant-funded outreach program called Taste of the Outdoors, the commission plans to teach 12 Arkansans how to control every step in the process that puts meat on their plates.
In other words, to hunt, shoot, butcher and cook wild game, most likely white-tailed deer and squirrels. The pitch is that wild game is locally grown meat and sustainably managed.
The class is part of a multistate pilot program of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which is looking for ways to reverse declining sales of hunting and fishing licenses nationwide. "This is important because the majority of conservation of fish and wildlife in North America is funded by sportsmen and women through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses and excise taxes on outdoor sporting merchandise," says program coordinator Ben Batten.
All gear, weapons, instruction, hunting guides and recipes will be provided for free. The only cost will be $25 for an Arkansas hunting license.
"We're looking for 12 people that are foodies, locavores, people that are interested in the quality of their food and where it comes from," he says.
Accepted applicants will be at least 18 years old and new recruits, people who didn't grow up with mentors to teach them about hunting and fishing (people who tend to read the newspaper's features sections
but skip over its Sports section Outdoors pages).
"They will apply by basically taking a survey online on Surveymonkey that tells us some things about their attitudes towards hunting," Batten says. "Have they ever hunted or fished before? Do they participate in other outdoors activities like canoeing, kayaking, hiking, camping -- those kinds of things. Then we're going to try to select 12 that we think are going to have a good chance of continuing on."
Batten says all the sessions will take place in Little Rock or not more than one hour away and on Saturdays, with two exceptions. The program includes:
Sept. 20: Hunter education course and live firearms training.
Oct. 11: Deer hunting on private property during the state's doe-only early gun season. Borrowing the firearms they've learned to shoot, students will sit in blinds with their mentors, and "hopefully some of these will be successful and actually kill a deer," Batten says.
Oct. 14 (a Tuesday): Deer processing at Pulaski Technical College's Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute, where students will learn to butcher and package their animals.
Nov. 22: Squirrel hunt on private land.
Dec. 4 (a Thursday): Wild game potluck at which everyone will share something they've learned to cook -- something more creative than venison chili.
Registration opens today and ends Sept. 14. To apply, visit agfc.com and click on "Taste of the Outdoors."
Batten can be reached via email at Ben.Batten@agfc.ar.gov or by calling (501) 978-7317.
ActiveStyle on 09/01/2014