Our WHY
Our Why By: Outdoor Mentors President, Mike Christensen
Simon Sinek has a book titled “Start with WHY”. In the book, Simon stresses the importance of knowing your WHY…why you are doing what you are doing, before you can be successful.
Hunting in our country is on the decline. There are many studies by state fish and wildlife agencies that show this to be the case. There are fewer people that hunt between the ages of 6 and 17 than those that are 65+. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Survey indicated that’s half of what it was 50 years ago.
Being in nature is good for you. Again, there are many studies by various sources that document the benefits of spending time outdoors. The book “Last Child in the Woods” does an excellent job of making this point, especially as it relates to youth.
Our WHY is to do what we can to preserve our hunting and fishing traditions for today’s youth and future generations.
State fish and wildlife agencies have been working to address the decline with programs that address what has come to be known as R3; Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation. Many states have established R3 positions within their agency to specifically find ways to recruit new hunters/anglers, retain current hunters/anglers, and to reactivate lapsed hunters/anglers. Results have varied.
The Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors program began as an effort to recruit mentors for Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters. The outdoor community represented a vertical market dominated by a male cohort, a pressing need for BBBS as 75% of the youth on the waiting list are boys. As we built the program, we became aware of how important getting youth outdoors, hunting and fishing, was not only for the youth but for the outdoor community as well.
As a life-long hunter, I have always valued my time in the field. Getting involved with kids through the BBBS program, I became aware of how many of today’s youth have little or no connection with the outdoors. I also learned how the decline in hunting and fishing participation has such a negative impact on our natural resources.
I joined conservation groups like Quail Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Ducks Unlimited. These dedicated groups of hunters were working to raise funds to conserve habitat for their species of choice. I learned that, as touted by RMEF, “hunting is conservation”.
I was fortunate to be asked to serve on the Council to Advance Hunting and Shooting Sports Implementation Working Group, whose mission was to flesh out how to implement the National R3 Plan. What I learned from participating with the IWG and with my experience working with youth through BBBS, Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors expanded our efforts in 2019 to take a more aggressive role in R3. Last year, we planned, organized and coordinated over 600 events. Now, with program coordinators in Iowa, Kansas and Wisconsin, we expect to do over 800 events in 2024.
Our Outdoor Mentoring program is but one cog in the R3 wheel. There isn’t a silver bullet that is going to save hunting and fishing for future generations. We are striving to do everything we can to get youth in the field and give them the confidence that they can be life-long hunters/anglers.
Our WHY is to connect today’s youth with the outdoors and to recruit and retain these youth as life-long hunters/anglers, thus preserving our outdoor heritage.