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Archers hear habitat story
McCOOK, Nebraska -- The Republican Valley Archery Club's second annual banquet featured three speakers on Saturday night at the Republican Valley Event Center; Brian Perks, a wildlife biologist with the Nebraska Game and Parks, and Trevon Stoltzfus and Adam Wells of Outback Outdoors.
Perks spoke about how he and the other members of the Nebraska Game and Parks were creating better habitat for area wildlife. "We want to create a sustainable area for the wildlife," said Perks. "We are doing prescribed fire and grazing with woody vegetation control and crop and food plots to create ideal areas for the wildlife."
The prescribed fire allows for the Nebraska Game and Parks to create new growth by burning out old vegetation as well as a noxious weeds. The prescribed grazing creates a similar growth pattern but focuses on low lying grasses which do not require such measures as a burn.
Perks explained that the woody vegetation control has been a large focus for the Nebraska Game and Parks because more invasive species have been brought into the area. "Russian olive and Siberian elm trees (originally from Asia) along with black locust, buckthorn, salt cedar, and eastern red cedar are some of the focus of our control and by removing them it allows more natural vegetation to grow," said Perks.
According to Perks, though the Eastern Red Cedar is a native tree, it spreads and suffocates almost all vegetation underneath its canopy.
Stoltzfus and Wells, who have been filming their hunting expeditions for three years and posting them on their free website www.outbackoutdoors.net, spoke about their experiences in hunting mostly big game with bow and arrow.
"Most [animals] can smell you long before they see or hear you, and so finding the correct path to walk is dependent on many factors," said Wells.
"You have to know where [the animal] feeds, where the good water is, what are other hunters doing; and really important is what is the prevailing wind doing?"
Stoltzfus gave some first-hand accounts about the expeditions he and Wells had been on, including their first hunt and their most memorable one.
The club also handed out its first- and second-place team trophies for league play as well as the top shooter of the year award.
The first place team consisted of Glenn Baughman, Todd Sitzman, Branden Jacobs and Scott Farber. The second place team consisted of Levi Baughman, Aaron Broz, Jason Hauxwell and Joel Hauxwell. The top shooter was Tab Kalinski.
For information on the Republican Valley Archery Club contact Chuck Krysl at 308-345-6179.