KAMO July, 2024 Newsletter – 4 pages
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President?s message – Hello to all KAMO members and friends of KAMO,
This is KAMO president Mark Walters with my monthly part of the newsletter.
We are moving along at a very steady pace as an organization. I pretty much hear the chatter from every chapter and while one chapter may be going through a slow patch, three are steady and a couple are rocking. That is the ebb and flow of KAMO, I have always said, what we accomplish in a year’s time with all of our chapters together, creates thousands of positive, outdoor memories for kids as well as their mentors. There is no chapter that has enough members to do as much as they wish they could as everyone would just become burnt out,I honestly believe that is why you see highs and lows with chapters.?
I honestly feel that the number one team builder is a successful event. I remember back in January of 2023 The Meadow Valley Chapter held a fisheree on Lake Tomah. I slept in a camper on the lake as well as a couple other helpers. On Saturday several members showed up and we set up a large tent with a woodstove. I had my snowmobile and
tried to teach as many kids as possible how to set and catch a fish with a tip up.The New Lisbon High School FishingTeam was a huge part of our event and when that day came to an end, every member that was a part of that day had a “that was pretty damn cool feeling”.
One note that every member needs to focus on and that includes discussions in meetings and that is background checks, do not wait any longer, find help if you do not know how to do it. The background checks are mandatory for our insurance to work.
As always, thank you for everything that you do for KAMO!

Background checks – The rechecking of background checks will only succeed if we look in our email boxes and recognize the need to complete a background check invitation very soon after receiving one. Put yourself in the shoes of the person trying to get these done.Tip: Use the pad at the bottom of your keyboard to complete the electronic signature.

Home School Groups – The number of parents doing homeschooling is growing rapidly. These parents are eager to involve their children in free outdoor activities. How do you find out about these parents? You could do a Facebook search for ?homeschool group? Someone in your mentor group may already know a homeschool family. All it takes is that first connection.
Last year, at a Coulee event – Bugs, bugs, and more bugs, a homeschool group made the difference between the activity having a disappointing turnout vs, one with 17 kids and 11 parents. Teaching kids about dragonflies and then going out and catching some followed by a picnic makes for a great outing.
Izaak Walton League – IWL or the ?Ikes? – Mission – To conserve, restore, and promote the sustainable use and enjoyment of our natural resources, including soil, air, waters, and wildlife. Founded – 1922 by sportsmen wishing to protect the future of fishing.
Known for spearheading the movement that led the government to set aside bottomland lands that are now the 240,000 Upper Mississippi River Refuge.
The Ikes are growth minded and much of their current mission is focused on getting youth outdoors. Hunting, fishing, environmental education. It is easier for them to partner with existing youth groups than to develop their own programs.Having said that, the Ikes have some excellent youth resource guides on their website based on their years of experience working with youth.
Chapters are located in: Beloit, Benton, De Pere, Fond du Lac, Greenleaf, Manitowac, Stevens Point, and Watertown. A La Crosse area group has just filed to open a new IWL chapter there.
There will be some membership overlap between the Coulee KAMO Chapter and the La Crosse IWL Chapter which will likely lead to shared activities.

Joe Hunt or other Learn to Hunt/ Fish activity – Don?t wait until November to run background checks for the Learn to Hunt. Need the form? Let me send you one electronically. Remember, this is a different background check than ours and is a requirement for a LTH mentor.

Chapter Reports –
Baraboo – The Baraboo River Chapter of KAMO met on July 8th at the Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center. I was not present due to kids showing at the Sauk County Fair. Rick led the meeting, but we only had 3 mentors in attendance. Jon recently sold some items at the outdoor auction and will donate the funds to our chapter. Craig did give his presentation to the Lake Delton Sportsman?s Club and they are thinking of donating to our club. They reviewed the successful campout that was held June 28th?30th at Castle Rock Lake. We had a record 28 kids and despite setting up in the rain it was an enjoyable & fun weekend. We made homemade ice cream and dutch oven cobbler on the campfire plus AJ brought his pizza oven and kids got to select their own toppings for flatbreads. A donation from the Dodge County Chapter allowed all adult members to enjoy steak! We had a kayak and paddleboard but the most popular activity was Rick?s boat and tubing. Our next meeting will be August 12th at Kevin?s house at his campfire?Sand Road in Baraboo.

Greg

Coulee – Mentor Fritz arranged for KAMO and the just forming Izaak Walton League to have adjoining tables at July 13th?s Youth Outdoor Fest. A crowd was present throughout the 4 hour event despite 88 degree and humid conditions. Many families stopped at our KAMO table where we had USGS?s collection of furs, turtle shells, fish mounts, tundra swan feet and KAMO?s own activity pictures, and brochures. Several dozen families were introduced to our group for the first time. We also got a 30 something year old river rat interested in becoming a mentor. Estimated parent/ child attendance at the fest – 1100.
We made the painful decision to cancel our annual open to the public pontoon rides. Not long after the decision, we had even more heavy rain in the region, keeping the river near flood stage. Our appreciation and respect goes out to Tim Collins, who put out so much effort in setting this up and to Kati Thompson, who made up an advertising poster.
We helped the new DNR Field to Fork Coordinator for this district (Brock) run a hunter education class on Saturday, July 20th at the USFWS Visitors Center on Brice Prairie. 18 students, 6 instructors.
On Tuesday, July 30th, and with the river at a normal level, we ran a fishing outing with the Big Brothers/ Big Sisters at Pettibone Park. Although it was 88 degrees, the shaded banks on the west side were comfortable and somehow, bugs were non-existent. All 11 kids caught bluegills. Suckers, ice cream, and cold drinks were served. There were 12 adults there including some of our newer, awesome mentors.

Dodge County Conservation – DCC KAMO was pretty slow this month. Selling raffle tickets is pretty much the only activity that we are doing. Mentors are doing 1-1 and we are planning some pretty good things coming up. Stay tuned to our Facebook page for updates. We are having scheduling issues to teach another Hunters Safety class. There are classes being held in our area and I continue to get calls asking when we are holding the next class. I just want to thank Everyone that is Part of DCC KAMO Chapter. We are making a difference in a lot of kids’ lives and its because of you that we are what we are. Thank you so much.
Jim Braker Pres.

Meadow Valley – Kamo Meadow Valley Chapter July 2024 meeting:
Discussed mentor recruiting/KAMO night out event scheduled for 11 September 2024 5:30 to 7:30. Discussed the State Raffle, ticket sales are going good and will check in again at the August meeting.
Bow loaner program, 2 of the bows are being set up. Learn to hunt bear, we have one tag and one mentee. James Newlun met with the parent?s and the mentee will start helping with baiting.

Thanks
Jim

Northwoods – Hello from the Northwoods!!! Well the summer is flowing downstream like everything else with the rains! We sold most of our tickets already and will sell the rest at the Tavern On Central (TOC) street dance July 6th. Our chapter will be a main benefactor for the donations this year! KAMO will be serving food plates, doing 50/50 raffles and a dunk tank, fun stuff… We met unofficially on the 25th and put together 20 new Zebco 202 combos to give away at our Hooked On Fishing event on July 13th. The rods were donated by 9 Lakes Marine here in Spread Eagle. We are hoping to beat out last years attendee number of 37 kids. I’m guessing with the dance the week before and good weather it should happen. I have also heard Camp Shady will have pheasants available for our fall shoot/hunt. All good things if the rains stay away, Keep doing good things!

JJ from Florence, Wi.