New NWTF Chapter Hosts First Event, Engages Community in Hunting
The NWTF Northern Pine Limbhangers Chapter, based in Augusta, Maine, invited community members to attend its first event, the “Wild Game Field to Fork Meat and Greet,” that served as a way to welcome new NWTF members and volunteers by introducing them to wild game cuisine.
Attendance was free, and NWTF memberships were donated to the 38 people who registered. Chapter volunteers prepared their own bear, deer, moose and wild turkey recipes for attendees to try, and Cadace Sabol, a popular wild game chef, shared some of her recipes.
Sabol has exclusively eaten wild-procured meat for the last 26 years and loves sharing her recipes with those who are new or interested in learning how to prepare wild game.
Many new hunters are unsure about cooking game, which often leads to overcooking. At the event, Sabol prepared two wild turkey dishes and gave a presentation. She brought in several old Maine wild game cookbooks, some of which didn’t have turkey recipes, showcasing how much the landscape has changed over the years. Cooking with wild turkey has been something new and exciting for Sabol.
After the attendees tried the different kinds of wild game, chapter committee members Emilie Cram and Kevin Antonovich spoke about the NWTF as an organization, sharing the important conservation work completed regionally within the Forests and Flocks Initiative, and nationally. Cram explained why being a part of this conservation organization is important.
“Look around this room,” Cram said at the event. “This is your community, and we need to preserve it. These are the people that will help you hold onto the wild places and traditions that would otherwise be at risk.”
Everyone in attendance became engaged with the mission of the NWTF. Cram’s call to action made attendees excited to join something new in their area, and to keep the energy alive, she sent a follow-up email to everyone giving thanks, relaying recipes and inviting everyone to the chapter’s first official meeting in April.
“We need to do more active events that get people outside,” Cram said. “To get members excited to attend an NWTF event is our goal big picture.”
After working closely with Jesse Warner, NWTF Northeast R3 coordinator, Cram and Antonovich decided that inviting people to taste wild game, potentially for the first time, was a great first step exemplifying the role hunters play in the greater ecosystem. But they are just getting started.
Cram hopes that as the chapter continues to grow, it will be able to partner with local businesses or other conservation NGOs to host more events. The chapter is already building a relationship with the Maine Women Hunters group as eight ladies from the group attended the Field to Fork event to learn more and show their support. The Northern Pine Limbhangers Chapter is also planning to collaborate with the Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine (SAM), a group that advocates for hunters, anglers, trappers and gun owners in the state. SAM is currently building a new recreational space where the Northern Pine Limbhangers are hoping to host an event in the future.
Cram was drawn to the NWTF because the organization supports several different wildlife species and hunter education programs across the country, which makes it easy to partner with other organizations to achieve one common goal.
Having a close-knit hunting community was important to Cram, since she did not grow up in a traditional hunting family. When she lived in Wyoming, she worked for an elk hunting outfitter who mentored her and demonstrated what it meant to be a steward of hunting heritage and conservation. She became a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and continued to grow as a hunter. Now that she has returned East and has been captivated by the Eastern wild turkey, she wants to create a community that is inspired by the outdoors.
“The ecosystem is a balanced system, and I love being a part of figuring out how to use the resource and keep it healthy,” Cram said. “It became very obvious to me that working with nonprofits is how I can work to keep these animals on the landscape.”
The Meat and Greet event followed the Northern Pine Limbhangers’ successful online gun raffle that was hosted to help financially seed the chapter.
“As an NWTF regional director, it is always exciting to see new chapters grow and thrive,” said Carter Health, NWTF regional director for New England. “The event was a fantastic start towards building a strong footing for the Northern Pine Limbhangers Chapter. With their strong leadership and a great new committee, they are poised to do amazing things for our mission.”