South Dakota Supports Women in the Outdoors
Posted on September 25, 2011 by Natalie in News
This article proves a point I’ve been adamant about for a couple of years now – outdoor activities (shooting being my fave, of course) build confidence and camaraderie among women. What an inspiration these chicks are! Not sure I’m quite ready for the hunting part, but I sure would love a program like this out here in CA.
To read the entire article, click here.
CUSTER — Michele Beeler had a hard time containing her excitement. She had just learned to clean and prepare her own pheasant.
“I spent the morning doing wild game cooking, and we got the opportunity to clean some pheasants,” said Beeler, a 39-year-old Pierre resident. “So, we had a dead bird — not a live one — that we had to learn how to peel the feathers off and gut, teaching us how not to get our hands all icky. I’ve hunted pheasant, but usually then the guys kind of do the cleaning.”
Beeler, along with 92 other women, participated last weekend in Becoming an Outdoors Woman, or BOW, a three-day educational workshop sponsored by the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks rooted in a program developed by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s College of Natural Resources. South Dakota’s version was held at Outlaw Ranch near Custer, but BOW workshops are also held in 52 other states and Canadian provinces, as well as in New Zealand.
“My husband taught me to hunt over the last couple of years, so I wanted to go and learn from somebody else so that I could learn right,” Beeler continued with a hearty laugh. “Learning from a different perspective is helpful. So, that is why I’m here — to get more familiar with all that wonderful stuff. I’m doing gun safety and clay pigeons so I can learn how to shoot the pheasant.”
Attending women participated in four half-day sessions of hands-on classes scheduled around social activities and meals, all while guests at Outlaw Ranch’s rustic campus. Thirty-six different class offerings cover nearly the full gamut of outdoors activities: camping, outdoor and wild game cooking, firearms and firearm safety, archery, hunting and fishing, rock climbing and hiking, mountain biking, kayaking and canoeing, all-terrain vehicles, birding and nature appreciation, first aid and general outdoor survival and orienteering skills.
“We’ve got a lot of happy people here,” GF&P education services program coordinator Maggie Lindsey said. “(We offer) beginning entry-level classes in a non-intimidating atmosphere with really good, experienced instructors.
For the full article, click this link: https://rapidcityjournal.com/sports/state-program-introduces-women-to-the-outdoors/article_5c550b90-e59a-11e0-8586-001cc4c03286.html
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