Page 7 - 2019 JAN/FEB Outdoor Oklahoma

contact with current and prospective outdoor enthusiasts. Commissioners John Groendyke
You, HR Assistant Karla Beatty and all of your team do an and Robert Hughes.
amazing job. I know that it requires so much effort and time on A certificate of accomplish-
your part. Thank you for all that you do. We look forward to being ment from the Wildlife Depart-
with all of you at the 2019 Expo! ment was given to each hunter
Tom Creider to help memorialize taking their
Oklahoma State Parks first deer. Thanks also to Clay-
ton Eubanks, who successfully
guided his hunter to harvest her
Dear Senior Information Specialist Michael Bergin, first deer.
The Youth Deer hunt was a fantastic experience. My son Logan On Sunday following the hunts,
reads about hunting and watches hunting videos on YouTube, but all youth hunters, parents/guard-
I did not have the experience and knowledge to take him hunting. ians, guides, staff and many host James V. Barwick & Logan Tibbett
My family were hunters, and I went with my father and grandfather landowners gathered at Buffalo Rock Golf and Gun Club in Cushing
several times when I was young. But circumstances changed before to celebrate the 500th youth hunter to participate in the OYHP. All
I was old enough to hunt myself, so the skills and tradition were youth hunters had a chance for an Oklahoma lifetime hunting license
not passed on to me. The youth hunt was a great experience for my in a drawing won by Logan Tibbett. Another big thanks to Senior
son, but it was also a great experience for me. Information Specialist Michael Bergin who represented ODWC at the
I am extremely grateful to Darrell Noblitt and the Oklahoma event and helped Logan fill out his license application.
Youth Hunting Program for providing this deer hunting opportu- I encourage all Wildlife Commissioners to support the OYHP
nity to my son and me. All of people involved, from the landowners and host a hunt on their land. What a great way to introduce youths
and guides to the volunteers who prepared the food, were outstand- into hunting and enjoyment of the outdoors!
ing. How remarkable these people are cannot be overstated and is James V. Barwick
really what makes the hunt so memorable. Oklahoma Wildlife Commissioner, District 5
Watching the youth hunters from diverse backgrounds bond
and enjoy each other and getting to know their parents/guardians
is another great part of this experience. It was a memorable expe- Dear Wildlife Department,
rience on many levels, and I would strongly encourage anyone I recently went to the re-opened target range at the Lexington
who has a child interested in hunting but who does not have the Wildlife Management Area, and want to say thank you to those in
hunting experience to take them, to apply and take advantage of charge of the changes made at this facility. The overall design, the
this tremendous program. Anyone who goes into it with an open covered shooting benches and target stands were very well thought-
mind and makes minimal effort to get to know the people will have out and materials used and construction design assure a long-term
an experience they will never forget. place for us to go fire our weapons. Thank you all for a job well done!
I just wanted to write a short note to show my appreciation for Dale Lee
everyone involved in the Oklahoma Youth Hunting Program.
Bill Tibbett
Dear Wildlife Department,
Although I have never met Game Warden Jay Harvey (selected
Dear Director J.D. Strong and Biologist Jeff Tibbits, as 2018 Wildlife Officer of the Year), I did want to say that all
Just wanted to drop a quick note and say, for the second month in game wardens I have ever met are exemplary people and excellent
a row, that the Wildlife Department provided us with a great speak- at their jobs.
er at the Tulsa Bird Dog Association meeting. Wildlife Technician Just wanted pass that along to the state wildlife department
Kasie Joyner did an outstanding job filling our guys in (who are avid that’s the best in the USA.
public land hunters and supporters) on the details of the OLAP pro- Jeff Cliburn
gram. Lots of them were already hunting walk-in land, but several
expressed to me that they thought it was nothing more than a subsidy
to farmers, which of course is the original impetus, but that they Dear Wildlife Department,
were really excited about the possibilities after hearing Kasie’s talk. Congratulations to Game Warden Jay Harvey (selected as 2018
Thanks again to her and you guys. Wildlife Officer of the Year)! Many grateful thanks for what you
Shane Bevel do for us all! Thank you to all of you at the Oklahoma Wildlife
Conservation Commission and the Oklahoma Department of
Wildlife Conservation.
Dear Wildlife Department, Robert Ford
A big thanks to Wildlife Chief Alan Peoples and Game Warden Lt. Oklahoma Lifetime Licensed Hunter
Mark Walker who informed a group of young hunters about the impor-
tance of wildlife conservation at the ranches of Will and Jane Reagan,
and Les Wald, who hosted eight young hunters for their first-time deer ERRATA
hunt, with all eight harvesting a big doe. About 65 kids ranging from 12 The Thanksgiving Day holiday appears incorrectly on the Novem-
to 17 years old participated in the Oklahoma Youth Hunting Program ber 2019 page in the Outdoor Calendar (November/December 2018
recently, with many harvesting their first deer. Everyone had a great issue). Thanksgiving will be Nov. 28, 2019. Outdoor Oklahoma read-
time. Various ranches throughout Oklahoma generously hosted the ers are urged to make this correction in their copy of the magazine.
youths in the Oklahoma Youth Hunting Program, including Wildlife We apologize for the error.

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