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Photo Credit: Michael Brown.
Conservation

Hunting Heritage Success in the Mount Rushmore State

Twenty-one hunters and over 30 volunteers recently gathered at Sioux River Wildlife near Flandreau, South Dakota for the 19th Annual Wheelin’ Sportsmen Rooster Round Up pheasant hunting event.

October 10, 20232 min read

This year’s event was made possible by the South Dakota NWTF State Chapter and South Dakota Game Fish and Parks.

Sioux River Wildlife is a family-run hunting preserve, with hundreds of acres of hunting land on the bluffs of the Big Sioux River. The preserve’s native prairie grasses, food plots, shelterbelts and ponds provide the perfect assemblage of habitat for native wildlife and upland game. In support of the NWTF’s Wheelin’ Sportsmen program, Sioux River Wildlife owners Tad and Kathy Jabobs hosted the Wheelin’ event at the preserve for the 10th year this year.

Hunters and volunteers watch for pheasants as walkers push through a field during the 2023 NWTF Wheelin Hunt on September 30, 2023. Photo Credit: Michael Brown.
Hunters and volunteers watch for pheasants as walkers push through a field during the 2023 NWTF Wheelin Hunt on September 30, 2023. Photo Credit: Michael Brown.

The event brought together participants from previous years as well as many new faces. NWTF volunteers and dog owners helped work the fields, moving the birds towards the hunters.

A volunteer takes a break after walking a field along with his dog. Photo Credit: Michael Brown.
A volunteer takes a break after walking a field along with his dog. Photo Credit: Michael Brown.
A couple of hunters watch for pheasants as volunteer walkers push through a field. Photo Credit: Michael Brown.
A couple of hunters watch for pheasants as volunteer walkers push through a field. Photo Credit: Michael Brown.

Despite the unseasonable temperatures (reaching into the 90s), everyone had fun enjoying the beginning of hunting seasons and the foreseeable temperature drops. Altogether, hunters harvested 94 birds.

Volunteers and their dogs walk through tall grass looking for pheasants. Photo Credit: Michael Brown.
Volunteers and their dogs walk through tall grass looking for pheasants. Photo Credit: Michael Brown.

The hunt was followed by a lunch, banquet dinner, raffles and silent auction to raise funds for the NWTF mission.

In addition to the partners mentioned, the 19th Annual Rooster Roundup was made possible thanks to County Fair Food Store, Rysavy Excavating, Central Valley Struttin’ Gobblers, Morning Optimist Club, Pendar Properties, Dell Rapids Ace Hardware, Tom Kromminga, Mike McKernan and Holly Hilbrands.

The Wheelin’ Sportsmen program began in October 2000 as the NWTF recognized the need to help people with mobility impairments enjoy the outdoors by participating in hunting and shooting sports.

Wheelin’ Sportsmen events provide participants an opportunity they may not be able to have on their own due to the lack of hunting land access, lack of knowledge of how to return to the field after an injury or lack of necessary assistance.

Often, the knowledge and experience gained at an NWTF Wheelin' Sportsmen event allows the participants to continue hunting on their own throughout the year.

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