The student chapter of The Wildlife Society had been racking up so many awards that I thought it was time I joined them on one of their volunteer assignments at the Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge.
When I called Dr. Cary Chevalier, the group’s advisor, I was hoping to go along on a spotlight deer survey, because that would involve riding around in the back of a pickup. But I didn’t call him until December, and the six surveys were completed in November. So Cary suggested I join the students at the managed deer hunt that was on Jan. 5 and 6.
I had to think about that. It was January, and there was snow on the ground. I would have to tromp around in it. A lot. And it was a Saturday. But I finally told Cary I was game (no pun intended – that would be dangerous on a managed deer hunt).
The first contingent of six student volunteers arrived at the refuge at 5 a.m. on Saturday, ready to greet the hunters by 5:30 a.m. The rest of the students arrived at 8 a.m., and I arrived at, well, um, 11:30 a.m.
For the hunt, the students, 12 each day, volunteer to field dress the hunters’ deer. In the process, students collect blood samples and conduct an embryo count on the does. They also removed the heads from the bodies for more research later. In all, five research projects were underway that day, which is a huge help to the refuge.
“Essentially, we have 14 biologists out here today,” said Corey Kudrna ’00, who works at the refuge. “The data collection we are doing here is not replicated in the state. Each year, more and more information is being collected.”
Ben Olsen, president of the student chapter, had the “privilege” of having me follow him around and asking nonstop questions about Squaw Creek, deer hunting, field dressing, research and wolves. Oh, the wolf questions were thrown in because Ben spent last summer at an internship at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minn. “I can’t tell you the exact gestation period for a deer, but I can for a wolf,” he said with a smile.
So I tagged along and watched four students collect the research samples and then watched Ben field dress two deer that were shot by Phil Doyle from St. Louis. Phil and four other hunters from eastern Missouri had come across the state for the managed hunt. Ben field dressed the two deer and he and freshman Jeremy Lord collected their blood samples.
Ben, from Lawson, Mo., said he had field dressed more deer than he could count. (That was in reply to one of my questions, of course.) In fact, the 21 year-old said he shot his first deer at age 11 (another question, another answer).
Jeremy, from Lee’s Summit, had never hunted before, but he was planning to soon. He had always been interested in the outdoors and had even visited Squaw Creek several times as a child.
In all, the Missouri Western students logged 48 hours that weekend, and don’t forget this was during the semester break; classes didn’t start for two more weeks. Ben worked from 5 a.m. to about 6:30 p.m. both days. I, um, left about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
It was great to see the biology students in action, even for just a couple hours, and I was glad I had made the trip. I saw a lot of hard work from them, and I now understand how valuable their volunteer activities are, not only to Squaw Creek, but to the students’ themselves. You can’t replicate those experiences in a classroom (especially the field dressing; it just won’t work).
Oh, and I also caught sight of four bald eagles at the refuge! It was a good day for my first managed deer hunt.
Diane Holtz, Editor