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Camo Day in Saskatchewan

Nov 15, 2018 | 3:55 PM

The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation wants to remind people about the importance of hunting, fishing and trapping in Saskatchewan.

Thursday Nov. 15 was Hunting, Fishing and Trapping Heritage Day in Saskatchewan. In the spirit of this day, the federation is encouraging people to wear camouflage clothing to show support and promote these outdoor activities.

Don Erhardt, with the Prince Albert Wildlife Federation told paNOW he believes Camo Day is a good promotion idea.

“It’s just a little bit of something to get us out there and hopefully people take note and recognize and appreciate the signifigance of all the things that are connected to, hunting, trapping, and fishing,” he said.

The Prince Albert Wildlife Federation currently has over 500 members, who are actively involved in these types of activities, which has a large impact in the local community according to Erhardt.

“They hunt, they fish, so their spending a lot of dollars in that kind of activity or endeavour,” he said.

The economic benefits which these activities provide is not the only driver of wanting to recognize these activities according to Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation executive director Darrell Crabbe.

“Saskatchewan is somewhat of a mecca for hunting and angling across North America and probably around the world,” said Crabbe.

Crabbe explained hunting and fishing have both seen growth in terms of the number of people taking part. Crabbe said this can be mainly attributed to an increase from a single demographic.  

“Probably the largest contributing demographic to that is that women have taken up those activities wholeheartedly,” he said.

The executive director was not able to put a finger on why more women are getting involved, but said he has noticed more women becoming involved in related fields like biology.

“I think it’s just the natural progression of things,” he said.

Overall when compared with other provinces in the country, Saskatchewan is below only the three northern territories when it comes to the number of people who take part in fishing and hunting related activities.  

“We’re certainly leaders in that category,” he said.

While he was not able to provide specific numbers Erhardt said in his experience younger people are also taking up the sports.  

“Anytime I am on the water fishing, there’s always people out there fishing, a lot of young people involved when it comes to the hunting activities, the big game draws are filled every year,” he said.

According to the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, hunting, fishing and trapping are a major economic force in the province, generating over $600 million in economic activity annually.

Along with educating the public about the impact of these activities in the province, Erhardt said it is a good chance to grow the ranks of the wildlife federation.

“Provincially, I think there’s something like 300,000 who fish, lots of them who aren’t members of the Wildlife Federation, I think they should be, but they’re not,” he said.

MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

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