Officers Wyatt Bubak and Matt Burgess teach archery skills to youth participants.

DAVIS COUNTY — On Sept. 15, 2012, the Utah Waterfowl Association and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources hosted the annual Youth Waterfowl Fair at Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area. The goal of this popular event is to kindle youth interest in the outdoors and promote the sport of waterfowl hunting.

Children who were age 15 and younger had the opportunity to:

• Ride through the marshes on airboats and mudmotor boats
• Learn different duck calls
• Watch hunting dog demonstrations
• View live raptor demonstrations from the Utah Falconers Association
• Play duck decoy tossing games
• Win various waterfowl hunting prizes

Conservation officers also set up an archery range and taught kids how to shoot bows and arrows.

The event was open to the public and completely free, including lunch, courtesy of Camp Chef. Delta Waterfowl gave out free duck calls to the first 300 kids who showed up. A total of 583 kids registered the day of the event.

The annual Youth Waterfowl Fair is a very important event to the Division of Wildlife Resources. Future hunters, anglers and wildlife supporters are cultivated from these events. Hunters and anglers pay for the bulk of wildlife and fish management in the state of Utah through license and permit sales and through an excise tax on firearms, ammunition, archery and fishing gear. It is imperative that the next generation of hunters and anglers be active in the great outdoors, starting at an early age.

And judging by the smiles and enthusiasm from this year's fair participants, Utah's wildlife has a bright future.

• Sergeant Keith Fullenkamp
  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
  801-725-8990

• Additional contact:
  Troy Thompson, Utah Waterfowl Association
  801-698-6467