Outdoors camp is a training ground and more

FERGUS FALLS, MINN.

Megan Weidenfeller shouldered her shotgun, tracked the flying clay target and squeezed the trigger.

Boom! The clay pigeon exploded in a cloud of dust. Then the 15-year-old from Prior Lake did it again … and again, breaking an impressive 10 out of 10 targets.

"Nice shooting," said instructor Jenny Johnson of Fergus Falls.

Shotgunning was just one of the activities Weidenfeller and 47 other youths, ages 13 to 15, were immersed in last week at the Minnesota Waterfowl Association's seven-day Woodie Camp — a unique, hands-on camp that aims to hook kids on the joy of waterfowl hunting and also educate them about wildlife habitat and conservation.

"The purpose is to get kids involved in the outdoors," said Brad Nylin, MWA executive director. "We introduce them to all aspects of waterfowling, including decoy painting, photography, shooting, calling, dog training, decoys, water safety and habitat and wetland issues.

"It's really a waterfowl immersion camp. There's nothing else like it in the state."

Also unique: The camp is free. The Waterfowl Association's 2,700 members and sportsmen's clubs donate money to cover the costs of housing, food and a few staff, and volunteers provide the instruction. Now in its 27th year, about 1,000 youths have experienced Woodie Camp.

"It's been successful beyond our wildest dreams," said Tony Rondeau of Fergus Falls, a retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife waterfowl biologist, one of the founders of Woodie Camp and a volunteer instructor.

Rondeau and other MWA leaders came up with the idea when the average age of waterfowl hunters was getting older, and too few youngsters were replacing them. That concern remains today; the average age of Minnesota's small-game hunters is around 41. The number of Minnesota duck hunters has fallen from a peak of around 140,000 in the 1960s, to around 90,000 last year.

"We're hoping to expose them to waterfowling and ignite a passion," said Rondeau, 62. Hunters, through their license fees and excise taxes on hunting equipment and ammunition and membership in conservation organizations like the Waterfowl Association, have been key supporters of wildlife habitat and conservation, he noted.

"These young people are the future," Rondeau said last week while a group of boys and girls practiced goose calling. "Exposing them to the outdoor world is critical; they will influence what happens in the future. They will be leaders in outdoor conservation."

A hands-on approach

For the past 15 years, the camp has been held at the scenic Prairie Wetlands Learning Center in Fergus Falls, nestled on 325 acres of rolling grasslands dotted with 28 wetlands — a waterfowl paradise. It's the first environmental center operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We couldn't have designed a better place for a waterfowl camp," Nylin said. "It's remarkable."

Much of the camp's focus is on hunting — kids even learn how to clean ducks and cook them. But they are also taught about wetland invertebrates, aquatic plants and prairie ecology.

Most of class time is outdoors. Campers used dip nets to find invertebrates in a pond. They helped put bands on ducks. They swamped canoes on a lake to learn water safety. They learned to use a compass.

"We call it waterfowling 365 — we want to instill a passion for waterfowl for 365 days, so it's a lifestyle, not something that happens 60 days a year [during hunting season]," Rondeau said.

Tom Tubbs — 77, of Rosemount, one of MWA's founders — said, "We're teaching them to have respect for the environment, the birds and themselves — and maybe help them make lasting friendships, too."

Said Rondeau, "They come in as strangers and leave as friends."

This year, there were 35 boys and 13 girls, the most ever. "I'd love to see it half and half," Rondeau said.

When it comes to hunting and the outdoors, the students have a wide range of experience.

"Some have a lot, some have none," said Teressa Schlieman, 36, of Detroit Lakes, a science teacher and camp director. She's also Rondeau's daughter. "I grew up hunting and fishing," she said.

One thing the kids won't find at camp: their smartphones.

"They're not allowed to have them here," Schlieman said. "We're trying to get them outside and away from all the technology."

Thumbs up from kids

Amy Worum, 13, of Underwood, Minn., who comes from a hunting family, had just finished a session on goose calling on the first full day of camp and was heading to the dining hall for lunch.

"It's really fun," she said of Woodie Camp. "I wanted to learn to call [ducks and geese] and to shoot better and to meet people.

"Hunting gives you time to appreciate being outdoors, watching wildlife and spending time with my mom and dad."

Chance Pratt, a 14-year-old from Lake­ville, also was all smiles.

"I love to hunt," he said. "No one in my family hunts; my grandpa taught me." He came to Woodie Camp to broaden his knowledge. "It's a lot of fun and I've met a lot of nice people."

Megan Weidenfeller, who later blasted the first 10 clay targets she saw, also was excited about camp.

"I didn't know what to expect, but it's really fun so far," she said.

Nylin said his nonprofit Waterfowl Association has to decide how to respond to the popularity of Woodie Camp. The group routinely turns kids away because of lack of space.

This year, there were 80 applications for 48 spots.

"We'd really like to do a second camp," Nylin said. But the camps cost around $45,000, and securing funding and getting volunteers to donate another week of their time is problematic.

Meanwhile, Tubbs, the co-founder of the Waterfowl Association, watched students shoot clay targets, saw the smiles on their faces and said Woodie Camp is a chance for an older generation to share their knowledge and passion for waterfowling with a younger one.

"It's a joy to give back," he said.

Twitter: @dougsmithstrib