Erik Myre
Sawyer, N.D. Cabinet and Millwork Designer

When I first started hunting as a teen, I tried to absorb every little bit about the sport that I could, especially by reading outdoor magazines. I still love it, but I don’t jump out of bed every morning the way I do on the day of our youth hunt. It makes me feel like I’m 13 years old again, anxious for opening day, even though I know I won’t pull a trigger.

There weren’t any volunteer programs in place to introduce kids to waterfowling in this area, which has some of the best duck hunting in the country. I was lucky to grow up in a family that hunted and fished, and I thought everyone should have that opportunity if they wanted it. Our first mentored hunt in 2007 involved only three kids, and this year we expect between 30 and 35, both boys and girls. Many of them will shoot their first bird on that hunt. I can give away a dozen decoys at a banquet, but there’s nothing like seeing a kid’s eyes light up or the way they smile when they are hunting for the first time.

I’m just an everyday guy in town, but I recognized a need and decided to start a Delta Waterfowl Foundation chapter to give back to the local waterfowl population and habitat. Not every member is a dyed-in-the-wool duck hunter, but we’ve formed strong relationships. Other local sportsmen’s groups got involved in our youth outdoors festival and our chapter has worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife on duck banding and installation of 100 water­fowl nesting structures.

My message to anyone who wants to start a chapter or take charge of a conservation issue is that anybody can do it if they invest a little bit of time. People think that they need to have a big idea, but every little idea makes a big difference. The rewards—like playing in a mud slough with kids on a hunt or seeing ducks return to a henhouse—will motivate you to keep going.

—As told to Kristyn Brady