Youth Archery

Youth interest in archery has been growing for the past five years in Delta County. Many organizations and groups have been working hard to develop an appreciation and love of this great past time in youth. The Bays De Noc Gobblers, a local branch of the National Wild Turkey Federation, whose mission is to continue the preservation of hunting tradition has been instrumental in spearheading the development of youth archery programs in Delta County.

Starting with their support of NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program), local physical education teachers were trained in safety and technique, received archery equipment, and began incorporating archery as part of their curriculum. Schools currently running NASP programs include Escanaba, Rapid River, Mid Pen, Big Bay, and Gladstone Middle Schools. Escanaba High School will be starting a program as well. NASP After School Programs have also been developed at the Escanaba Civic Center and Bark River Harris School with a range of 15 to 20 youth attending regularly. As a result of these programs, youth from both Escanaba and Bark River had the opportunity to travel to Kentucky and compete at the national level.

Through a partnership with the 4-H program, we have been able to continue to expand interest in archery through the Delta Sure Shoots 4-H Club and the 4-H After School Archery Program (in collaboration with NASP) reaching another 40 youth on a continual basis. Programs bringing archery to more youth have also included the National Hunting and Fishing Day sponsored by the Great Lakes Sport & Recreation Club (300 youth in 2007 and 250 youth in 2008), Boy Scouts (30+ youth) and Girls Scouts (20 youth).

As a result of this interest in archery, the Delta Youth Archery Initiative seeks to develop a 3 -D archery range to retain interest and increase youth's skills. The Great Lakes Sports & Recreation Club is willing to have this range developed on their property to be used by youth groups at no charge. Adults may utilize the range for a fee which will be used for maintenance and purchase of new 3-D targets. Bays De Noc Gobblers have agreed to be fiduciary for this project. Construction and development of the proposed archery range will be supplied by members of the Great Lakes Sports & Recreation Club. The proposed project will be a 250 foot 3-D range with possibility of expansion to city property south of the range area. An additional storage facility for the 3-D targets will also be developed. The range will be host to up to 15 options of animal targets including bucks, antelope, bear and coyote. Through generous donations by numerous sportsmen's club, equipment previously purchased will be used at the onset of this initiative. These sponsors fully support the continued development of archery programs for youth.

The goal of this project will be to continue and expand opportunities for youth to gain an appreciation of the sport of archery in a safe environment. Future plans include program development, partnerships with other organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area, as well as training and certifying adult archery enthusiast who want to share their interest in archery through both the 4-H Shooting Sports Program and NASP. This will allow more youth to develop genuine relationships with adults through an activity inherent to our area.

A donation from your organization would be a great start to the development of this program which is estimated to cost around $4,000. Your support will help us to begin development in the spring through the purchase of 3-D targets and start up supplies essential to fruition of this project.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Sincerely,

Ken Buchholtz
Delta Outdoors Youth Archery Initiative
Bay De Gobblers- National Wild Turkey Federation

Jerry Petersen
Delta Outdoors Youth Archery Initiative
Bay De Gobblers- National Wild Turkey Federation