Page 7 - 2018 NOV/DEC Outdoor Oklahoma

To the Wildlife Department,
I would like to congratulate the achievements of the Oklahoma
Game Bag Wildlife Department employees and the benefits everyone will eventu-
ally receive as a result of their work — even me as a retiree of 31 years.
Your Department awards make a retiree such as me mighty proud
to say we used to work for the Department.
Jack D. Miller, former game biologist, Buffalo, OK
(Miller, 91, now lives with his wife in McAlester.)
A COLLECTION OF LETTERS TO THE WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT
We’d like to hear from you! Send your letters to Outdoor EDITOR’S NOTE: Thank you Mr. Miller! Recently several Oklahoma
Oklahoma Letters, P.O. Box 53465, Oklahoma City, OK 73152, Wildlife Department personnel along with a state Wildlife Commissioner
or send e-mail to donald.brown@odwc.ok.gov. were honored by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies,
sweeping half of the organization’s annual awards at its summer meeting.
Dear Director J.D. Strong and Law Chief Bill Hale, It was an unprecedented showing by a single state, and we are very proud of
I’m Jay Chapman, in north Oklahoma City, and wanted to take a the recognition given to our dedicated folks by their peers in conservation.
brief moment of your time to share my thanks for the extraordinary
efforts of Oklahoma County Game War-
den Tim Campbell. Dear Editor,
We noticed a strange, brownish I really enjoyed your hunter education articles. As a former Texas
lump in our neighbor’s yard. It was a Parks and Wildlife hunter education instructor and Boy Scouts of
large red-tailed hawk, clearly very ill America shooting sports instructor mainly teaching youths in west
or injured. Teetering on its tail with Texas, I always enjoy reading the articles on hunter education.
feet out front, it didn’t attempt to move It is interesting to see the changes over these past few years from
when approached. in-class instruction to online now. There are many aspects the young
We value our wildlife, so I called the hunter misses and experiences that an instructor can pass down.
first Oklahoma County Game War- We would get calls from parents who were going out-of-state hunt-
den from the ODWC’s website. Game ing to places where Hunter Education was required to get that state’s
Warden Campbell picked up his phone license. They would ask if they could attend the class with a son or
immediately and listened intently. I Game Warden Tim Campbell daughter, and we never turned anybody away. Lots of the adults had
offered to help using whatever advice he had, but instead he said been hunting all their lives but learned a few new things in the class they
he would be there — “That bird needs help fast!” He arrived in less didn’t know. We got a lot of thank-yous from them, and the kids would
than 20 minutes, quickly examined the hawk then carefully put it in also thank us for letting them enjoy quality time with that parent doing
his truck and raced it to a vet. something they will always remember.
Several neighbors were at the scene. Each was grateful for Game In today’s fast-paced society, nobody seems to have the time to spend
Warden Campbell’s efforts and hoped for the bird’s best. He texted two days going to a class in person with their kid. I am glad for my
me the next morning to let me know that, unfortunately, the hawk days as an instructor and all the wonderful kids and adults who came
hadn’t made it. through my classes. I never had anybody complain, and I always had a
While this event hardly qualifies as flashy or dramatic, it lends to game warden ready to teach the laws and ethics part of the class. I look
the point. It is not every person — even a good one — who will, under back with very fond memories of those days and friendships with those
circumstances that might seem trivial to some, drop whatever he or people who came through.
she is doing, voluntarily rush to a call, then follow up afterward. But I just wanted to give you a shout and praise your program. Keep
Game Warden Campbell did. up the great work teaching hunter education to the kids and adults
So I’m thankful for Game Warden Campbell (and by extension of Oklahoma.
both of you and your Department) for going beyond the everyday Timothy Gilmore, former Texas hunter education instructor
in his (and your) efforts to make life better in Oklahoma for its
citizens and its wildlife. My hat is off to him. I hope both of yours EDITOR’S NOTE: We appreciate your kind words, Mr. Gilmore. Each
will be, too! year, our game wardens and instructors conduct physical classes across
Oklahoma, usually in the months before most hunting seasons open. A class
schedule is at www.wildlifedepartment.com. The Oklahoma course has
Dear Editor, also been offered online for many years. Just this past October, the Wildlife
When is your deadline for the next photography issue, and what Department began partnering with the National Rifle Association to provide
are the requirements for submitting a photo to be considered for online hunter education that is state-approved and free for everyone.
that issue?
Larry Nimrod, via email
Dear Wildlife Department,
EDITOR’S NOTE: Thanks for asking, Larry. The next entry I just wanted to send you a quick note. I attended the 2018 Wildlife
period for the magazine’s Readers’ Photography Showcase issue will Expo event at the Lazy E in September. My father-in-law is elderly and
be from Jan. 1 to April 15, 2019. All the details and instructions about cannot get around very well. Your staff was the utmost in accommodat-
submitting entries are found on the Wildlife Department website, ing and was very professional. They went out of their way to make him
www.wildlifedepartment.com. You still have plenty of time to get feel welcome. A shout-out to the driver of the shuttle who helped him
some great photos! enjoy the range. Again, thank you to all for the outstanding experience.
Kurt Primuth, via email

4 Off the Beaten Path