20th Annual GooseFest
October 18-25, 2008

Greenwing Day draws 174
The Kenmare News, 8/15/07

By Terry Froseth

Waterfowl hunting, wildlife calling, track identification, bow hunting, wild fires, fishing, and mountain lion facts were each the emphasis of 20-minute sessions during Greenwing Day held August 9th.

The educational and informative morning was held at the Boat Landing picnic area on the Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge. The weather again cooperated perfectly and the Des Lacs Lake offered a calm, picturesque backdrop for the event.

In attendance were 134 kids and an additional 40 adults.

At the waterfowl hunting station, Jeff Essler, North Dakota regional director of Ducks Unlimited, demonstrated much of the equipment he takes to the field for a successful waterfowl hunt.

Toby Placek, biological technician for the Lostwood NWR Complex, taught the Greenwings how to effectively call in any type of wildlife.

His station also included a variety of pelts from the game animals he has taken.

A track identification session was conducted by Doug Leschisin, refuge manager at the Lostwood NWR Complex. He explained the features that make each animal’s paws unique and effective for how they are used.

The kids used sets of rubber paws to make prints in a sand pile. The prints were there filled with white plaster to make casts the kids could take with them.

Tom Pabian, refuge manager from the Upper Souris NWR, demonstrated several means of establishing tree stands and blinds for bow hunting.

The favorite portion of the wildfire stations was the truck-mounted water cannon. Cal Moldenhauer, prescribed fire specialist at the Des Lacs Refuge, put the kids behind the controls to direct a stream of water to a distant target.

Chad Zorn, refuge operations specialist at the Lostwood NWR Complex, supervised a hands-on station where each kid took a fishing rod in hand to cast plugs at a big catfish mouth target.

Kids and adults alike took interest in the session on mountain lion facts and myths presented by Nathaniel Umphrey, outreach biologist with the ND Game and Fish Dept.

Umphrey pointed out the difference between a mountain lion track and a dog track. He said the mountain lion track will not show a claw mark, while the dog track will. Also the mountain lion track is generally wider than tall, while a dog track is more triangular.

Lunch was provided to everyone. The event concluded with all the kids in attendance receiving a free hunting cap and a door prize.

Fred Giese, president of the Gooseneck Chapter of Ducks Unlimited, coordinated much of the event.

By Terry Froseth

Area kids are a bit smarter about the outdoors after enjoying a pleasant, windless morning at the "boat docks" on the Des Lacs Refuge of Kenmare for Greenwing Day last Thursday.

Topics of the day were water and boating safety, wildlife art, wood decoy carving and use, a demonstration of muzzleloader use and gun history, and a scavenger hunt using GPS systems.

The water and boating safety session was conducted by North Dakota Game and Fish. During one of the most popular activities of the morning, the kids got the chance to navigate a course on the lake using electric-powered boats from the Army Corps of Engineers.

The wildlife art session, conducted by Kenmare native Jeff Essler, of Ducks Unlimited, featured artist Andy Knudson creating a wood duck painting as the kids created their own works of wildlife art.

Retired NWR project leader Mike McEnroe conducted a session on decoy carving, allowing the kids to take a wood rasp after blocks of wood and cork to get a start on a handmade decoy. He also instructed the kids on proper technique for use of the decoys.

Darrel Rytter of Kenmare demonstrated the loading and firing of a muzzleloader rifle while sharing some history of the guns.

Kids got out into the brush to search for hidden items such as antler sheds, a coyote pelt, and a bison skull during the scavenger hunt using hand-held GPS systems.

Seventy-one kids under age 16 registered for Greenwing Day, giving them a free Ducks Unlimited Greenwing membership and subscription to Puddler magazine. About 20 parents and other adults were also in attendance during the morning which included grilled hot dogs and burgers for lunch and drawings for hundreds of dollars worth of prizes for the kids.

Many of the prizes and the lunch were sponsored by GooseFest. Other sponsors of the activities and prizes included Ducks Unlimited, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Army Corps of Engineers, and Agriliance.