August, 2024 Newsletter – 5 pages
For comments related to this document, contact Mike

President?s message – Hello all KAMO members and friends of KAMO,
This is KAMO President Mark Walters with my monthly update. I just returned from a weekend of helping two KAMO kids get their first duck as it was the opener of the early teal and goose season. We stayed at a family cabin, gave our best effort and on the last hunt both kids harvested a teal.
I have been with Carsyn and Conner for the harvesting of turkey, deer and now ducks and it is almost like we have become family. I think that it is fair to say that I look forward to our hunts and “camp time” as much as they do and our next experience will be the Youth Deer Hunt in early October.
If this pertains to you, please sell the remainder of your raffle tickets or get them to someone that can. Our drawing will be next Monday, September 9th in the Wisconsin Dells where we will also be holding a multi chapter meeting for the upcoming “Joe Hunt”.The ticket sales are a must do in reality and I want to thank you for your effort.
Also, the background checks – this is kind of becoming a sore story for the person in charge of this subject as there are too many people that have not had theirs completed. Every chapter should discuss this at your meetings until everyone is completed. Sorry if I had to be a bummer about that but it really does have to happen.
I know I may sound like a broken record but here goes. Between all 6 chapters, I regularly hear of both one on ones and group events, multiply this by 12 months and Kids And Mentors Outdoors is honestly thriving and that is because of each and everyone of you.
Thank you for all that you do for KAMO!

Mark

Joe Hunt – Planning for the 2024 Mac Kenzie hunt (the ?Joe?)

This year?s hunt will take place on Dec 6th,7th & 8th. Please note this is one week earlier than our previous hunts . It does not take place during the local antlerless hunt

Learn to Hunt regulations have changed. The hosting organization decides who can be in their LTH on the honor system. For convenience/ simplification?s sake, all the Mackenzie participants will be LTH. They can participate in this hunt a maximum of two times. They do not need a license and can shoot either sex (on private lands, it is up to the discretion of the landowner about whether does/ bucks can both be taken).
A Learn to Hunt program requirement is that participants attend 4 hours of training prior to the hunt. The final hour is taken as a group at the Mackenzie Center the Friday before the hunt.
The first three hours consist of range practice and a gun handling and hunters safety lesson plan. A chapter can deliver the content of these 3 hours if one of their members delivering that content is a hunter Education instructor or they line an instructor up outside the chapter. Hunter Education instructor numbers, date, and people present need to be given to Kevin prior to the hunt for administrative purposes. .
Mentor Requirements: Must be of adult age. Must have substantial experience hunting species. Must have a current hunting license for any game species.
Each mentor must complete and pass a background check specific to the DNR – ?for Educational Skills Programs? prior to the hunt. The appropriate form is 4100-217- Revision 07/21 – it has a message in red on top of it. Once filled out and submitted, it will automatically trigger your next background check in five years.
Do not send them in by fax – send in the regular mail or email . This process can take 6 – 8 weeks, thus it represents one of our biggest challenges deadline – wise. The need to get new mentors recruited and background checked early is huge
. See below comments sent to KAMO from Emily Lehl DNR Hunting and shooting sports specialist
Start Thinking About Fall Learn to Hunts!
Please submit your Mentor Background Checks early!!! We have a new, more robust background check process that started this spring, so it will be important for us to get background check authorizations early (form attached). With the new process, we may not be able to complete background checks submitted less than 45 days in advance of the program.
New this year: You will be able to view your Learn to Hunt Mentor Background Check expiration date in GoWild. See the attached instructions on how mentors can check whether they have a current background check! Note: Lead LTH Instructors cannot check their volunteers? background check status for them. Please share the attached guide with your volunteer group!

Link to check on your LTH background check expiration:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&ik=a097974828&attid=0.1&permmsgid=msg-f:1807819555019271756&th=1916aa4e9aedae4c&view=att&disp=inline

Mentors must turn in a new combo Mentor /Novice Hunt Application form to Kevin Seymour by October 15, 2024, and also make sure mentee and parents are made aware of requirements, forms, training and range times/ locations.

Mentee – Must attend 4 hours of training prior to hunt, 3 of which must be done before the Friday night before the hunt. The fourth hour is delivered at Mackenzie on Friday night.

Mentees do not need a license – they will be provided with a tag by the hunting supervisors.

Volunteers needed ?
– person to collect dorm fees
– person to serve as a certified first aid volunteer
– person to serve as chaperone for female dorm
– persons and locations to hold 3 hour hunters safety class prior to the JOE
Chapter Reports

Baraboo – The Baraboo River Chapter of Kids and Mentors Outdoors held our monthly meeting on Monday August 12th at member Kevin Seymour?s campfire. Guest attendee?Mark Walters was present and informed us of the other chapters activities and encouraged us to hold a ?fishery? which we had done in the past, but not since Covid. We enjoyed hearing stories of his pond and being bitten by Bluegills. We reviewed our June campout held at Juneau County park on Castle Rock Lake with a record 28 kids. We produced several ideas on ways to improve. Rick has made reservations for next year in the newly remodeled Unit A. Next years date will be June 27?29th, 2025. Jon Hillmer did sell some donated items at a sporting auction and appx $350 was raised from these items. Our small group reported 375 hours being spent getting Kids Outdoors in the past month. This included fishing, camping and Dwaine taking kids up to Canada on a fly in fishing trip. The WI Youth Duck Hunt is September 14th & 15th and we are working on plans to get a few kids out into the duck marshes. The WI Waterfowl Expo is Saturday August 24th in Oshkosh. We also discussed Raffle ticket sales and a possible fundraiser of selling food out of AJ?s food truck.
Our September meeting will be held Monday September 9th at 7pm at Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center in Wisconsin Dells. In addition to holding the State Raffle drawing we will be discussing the upcoming Joe Hunt at the MacKenzie Center Dec 6th?8th. If other Chapters plan to have kids at the Joe Hunt, please send a representative to this meeting. Huntmaster Kevin will be giving a presentation and will have forms available. If you have raffle tickets and will NOT be at the meeting, then they can be sent to Rick Miotke so they can be entered into the drawing.

Thanks, Greg

Coulee – Two Best Dam Fishing Float outings in August. On Friday, August 2nd.. 14 kids, 3 parents, and 5 mentors. Several kids caught the most/ biggest fish of their youth. On Friday, August 30th, two mentors and 3 parents were busy dealing with baiting and removing hooks from fish that 5 kids were catching.. Best float trips ever.
When you are on the float, you are on an enormous luxury deck situated below a dam on one of the world?s largest rivers. Spectacular bluff scenery and wildlife. To top that off, 2024 has been a top notch fish catching year. Our kids have caught bluegills, perch, smallmouth, sheephead, and catfish. Northern, walleyes, largemouth, and sturgeon are species that have been caught while we were on the float, just not by our group..
August 6th was a bonfire night at Pettibone Park with the Big Brothers/ Big Sisters. Six matches, 2 staff, one mentor. Build a fire, and they will come. Also some of the best outings ever.
According to the Bigs, KAMO?s outings are among the best of the best they have to offer their matches. So, when they wanted a Big Brother/ Sister promotional commercial for an outing, a videographer from a local television station came to our July 30th fishing event. Starting in early August, the 30 second commercial has been airing during the news.
KAMO assisted with the Cops and Bobbers event at the Municipal Boat Harbor on Thursday, August 8th. The Sara Hougum Foundation, Boys and Girls Club, and the local police were the primary participants. This is a boat ride/ fish off the dock event. These Cops and Bobbers events are starting to crop up everywhere.
On August 24th, KAMO had a table at the Great Rivers Folk Festival on August 24th..

Dodge County Conservation – August was a busy month for DCC KAMO. We participated In National Night out, talked to a lot of people and some new mentors will be coming on board. We have been selling our State Raffle tickets and we will be again teaching another Hunters safety class coming up in October. We will be Holding a Punt, Pass, and Kick event in September. We have gotten some sponsors to help promote this event as well as their company as well.
Some of our board members attended the Waterfowl Expo and volunteered and took some KAMO kids as well. This is a Great Event and KAMO should be part of it. It would be a great event to have some Kids from our chapters work a booth and let people know what KAMO does and what it did for them. It could be beneficial for all parties involved. Looking forward to the hunting season and getting kids out there to enjoy the Great outdoors. Again thanks to everyone that helps make DCC KAMO what it is today.

Jim Braker Pres.

Meadow Valley – Kamo Meadow Valley Chapter August 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.
· Bow loaner program, 2 of the bows will be set up this fall.
· Learn to hunt bear was a success, the mentee harvested a nice bear.
Thanks Jim

Northwoods – Hello from the Northwoods!
Exciting news up here! Tom Jonet and I attended an outing yesterday for the Iron Mountain Prop Busters RC plane group. The owner of their fly zone passed away last month and the group held a memorial fly day for Gary Steber. He was a fan of KAMO and they raised $600 for us in his name! We will be making this a calendar event next year where kids can learn to fly radio controlled planes. One little jet was flying at 150 mph!! The pilots were very skilled and as always safety is a top priority. I will reach out to Will the president about other RC outings in Wisconsin that other KAMO groups could attend, it’s really fun to watch.
On another note we will be holding a meeting on September 19th to plan our fall trap/ pheasant hunt which will be October 12th. Good things ahead from the Northwoods!

Johnny Johnson from Florence, Wisconsin