Midwest Brain Trust

The 77th Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies hosted its annual directors meeting June 27-30 in Indianapolis. Representing the ATA was Mitch King, its director of government relations. Afterward, King filed this state-by-state brief:

South Dakota – Jeff Vonk, secretary of the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department, said the agency is opening a large environmental education center in Rapid City, and archery and bowhunting will be part of it. Vonk also expressed interest in working with the ATA on a community archery project in Rapid City, and expanding bowhunter recruitment opportunities statewide.

Minnesota – Dave Schad, director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife in Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR), is excited about the Archery Summit the agency is hosting August 5. The Summit will assemble strong representation from Minnesota’s bowhunting and archery community. The Summit’s purpose is to help the DNR develop a comprehensive bowhunter and archery recruitment strategy.
Among those invited to Minnesota’s Summit are several ATA-member retailers and manufacturers. The DNR is also working with the ATA to host an Archery Academy later this year. The Archery Academy is a joint program provided by the ATA and its members, and made possible by a generous grant from the Easton Sports Development Foundation (ESDF). The Academy will provide training and equipment support to several communities. These tools will lead to introductory and intermediate archery recreation opportunities provided by local parks and recreation departments.

Wisconsin – Matt Frank, secretary of the Wisconsin DNR, followed up on earlier discussions regarding the development of a community archery project in the Milwaukee area. Randy Stark, the Wisconsin DNR’s chief warden, invited ATA to participate in the agency’s February 2011 Hunting Heritage Conference and present the Explore Bowhunting program.

Illinois – Marc Miller, director of the Illinois DNR, is interested in partnering with ATA in developing a community archery project in the Chicago area or Rockdale.

Indiana – Mark Reiter, director of the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife, is moving ahead with an archery shooting facility in Marion County (which includes Indianapolis). The ATA will provide assistance as needed.

Iowa – Rich Leopold, director of the Iowa DNR, will help the ATA move forward with a community archery project in Des Moines.

Missouri – Bob Zeimer, director of the Missouri Department of Conservation, invited the ATA to meet with his leadership team to discuss bowhunting and archery-related topics.