Nebraskaland

44 Nebraskaland • March 2025 of Ponca State Park, and Tom Zimmer, the district conservation offi cer for the region, set up a muzzleloader deer hunt in the park. The following spring, they held a turkey hunt at Ponca and have alternated between the two each year since. Last spring, they moved the turkey hunt to Niobrara State Park. Several organizations, including the Tri-County Chapter of Whitetails Unlimited, the Big Game Conservation Association, the Verdigre Niobrara Valley Sportsmen and the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation sponsor the hunt. Each youth leaves with a new shotgun, a hunting blind, turkey calls, hats and other gear, as well as a lifetime hunting permit. Area landowners provide places for the youths to hunt. Participants are recent graduates of the Hunter Education program, nominated by instructors and have little, if any, hunting experience. "We try to pick kids who don't have these opportunities to hunt and get them outdoors," said Cory Krause, a conservation offi cer from West Point who helps organize the hunts. The weekend-long event begins Friday evening with a turkey hunting 101 course, where safety, shot placement and calling are discussed. After spending the night in cabins at the park and an early breakfast, hunters head to blinds mentors have set up in promising spots scattered around northern Knox County. Like all mentored youth hunts conducted by Game and Parks, the goal is to turn interest into passion and create future hunters. Often, that happens. Be it deer, turkey or pheasant season, Krause can expect to receive photos sent by parents of their son or daughter following successful hunts. "And these kids are hooked," he said. One of those hunters to send photos to Krause last fall was Austyn Batenhorst, who harvested her fi rst deer in November. The 14-year-old from West Point had hunted pheasants and coyotes with her dad. "It's just always been something my family does, and I enjoy it a lot," she said. But deer and turkey hunting were diff erent. She took part in the mentored deer hunt at Ponca in December 2023 and was invited to the turkey hunt last spring. The fi rst morning, she was teamed with Kelbi Abke, a conservation offi cer from Craig, who was also her mentor on the deer hunt. In the blind, Batenhorst admitted she hadn't slept much the previous night. She made sure to take a photo of the sunrise and enjoyed watching a squirrel run past the blind. But there were no turkeys to be seen or heard. "With this wind, things might not move, but you have a smile, so that's good," Abke said. Batenhorst was smiling the entire weekend. "I came for the food and the pretty Offi cer Jeff Jones of Hartington and Katie Leware, superintendent of Ponca State Park, watch as Gabe Sovereign of Coolridge takes his turn on a hunt simulator in the Eagle View Group Lodge at Niobrara State Park.

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