North Dakota Mule Deer Foundation Hosts 225 Children at M.U.L.E.Y. Day
Mule Deer Foundation 07.17.14
The Northern Badlands Chapter of the Mule Deer Foundation and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department hosted their seventh annual M.U.L.E.Y. Day Camp on Saturday July 12. The youth outdoor skills event was wildly successful with 225 youth and 126 adults attending. The Mule Deer Foundation’s M.U.L.E.Y. (Mindful, Understanding, Legal, Ethical Youth) program was created to act as a gateway program to introduce, instruct and inspire youth to participate in the shooting sports and conservation. The North Dakota event, held at the Fried Family Marksmanship Complex near Moffit, provided kids with the opportunity to shoot rifles, pistols and archery as well as participate in hunting safety and skills demonstrations.
“We couldn’t be happier with how the M.U.L.E.Y. event went this year – we doubled our attendance, had a group of more than 50 volunteers and everyone had a wonderful time,” commented Ryan Krapp, North Dakota’s state chair for the Mule Deer Foundation. “These events are always such a great opportunity to introduce kids to the shooting sports and hunting, and we hope that this will be the event that will inspire them to continue these outdoor pursuits.”
Every M.U.L.E.Y. event focuses on the safe introduction of youth into the shooting sports as well as educating youth on the importance of wildlife conservation. Participants are provided with all of the tools needed for the day including firearms and archery equipment, eye and ear protection, ammunition and targets and they have numerous opportunities to shoot throughout the day. In addition, volunteers guide them in the safe handling of all shooting equipment and teach them the principles of safe range shooting as well as safe hunting. Additional sessions focus on the fundamentals of legal and ethical hunting along with mule deer biology, the importance of habitat conservation, and the role that hunting plays in maintaining healthy wildlife populations.
The North Dakota M.U.L.E.Y. event was made possible through the support of the event’s sponsors MidwayUSA Foundation, Federal Premium Ammunition, Cedric Theel Toyota – Bismarck, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Runnings Farm and Fleet, Scheels Sports, North Dakota Petroleum Council, NISHU Bowmen, Dakota Prairie Outdoors Radio, Cloverdale Meats, Carlson McCain – Engineering/Environmental, KFYR 550am and US Country 103.3 KUSB-FM. Volunteer organizations supporting the day’s events included: North Dakota Game and Fish, Bismarck Mandan Rifle and Pistol Association, North Dakota Hunters Education Association, Aurora Energy Solutions LLC, and Delta Waterfowl.
The Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) and its corps of volunteers work hard to ensure the conservation of mule deer and black-tailed deer and their habitat. MDF is a non-profit 501(c) 3 wildlife conservation organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Formed in July 1988, MDF now has over 14,000 members and almost 100 chapters nationwide who support its grassroots efforts. Through chapter fundraising events, MDF volunteers raise thousands of dollars to help fund habitat and conservation projects throughout the West.
