Conservation & Wildlife Association holds annual dinner
Amy Gregson – Times Reporter
More than 300 people attended the 16th annual Wheatland Conservation & Wildlife Association Wild Game Supper and Auction March 6 at the Civic Centre.
This is the major fundraiser for the group with tickets selling out within three days.
“It’s unreal,” said Darrel Blackley. “We get people coming to this supper from all over southern Alberta.”
The supper featured a variety of meat including moose roast, parmesan goose, roast elk, smoked cougar and smoked wild boar just to name a few. The walls of the Civic Centre were lined with silent auction and raffle items such as artwork, tools and fishing poles for people to bid on.
Money raised at the auction goes toward the association’s habitat project that centers around assisting with wildlife and species management and conservation through education and community involvement.
Some of the habitat projects the association has worked on over the years include planting and maintaining 100,000 food and shelter trees, working with area farmers to secure and fence lands for habitat preservation, and placing flax straw bales in wetlands for safe goose nesting sites.
Blackely said everything the association does is aimed at youth because they are going to be the ones here tomorrow.
“The more youth involvement the better it is for tomorrow,” he said.
The youth were very present at the dinner from members of the Junior Shooting club selling raffle tickets to the Cheadle 4-H Club serving dinner and many youth in attendance.
Awards were given out to the top hunters in different categories in the association for male, female and youth.
The association was also recognized for a number of awards they won at the Alberta Fish and Game Annual Conference for their efforts in habitat preservation, hunting ethics, education, pheasant programs and the dedication to youth programs.
Also at the dinner was Cody Robbins from the television show Live 2 Hunt who spoke to the crowd after dinner and had his own booth at the dinner.
“He is very well-known and was supposed to be here last year, but couldn’t make it,” said Blackley.
amy@strathmoretimes.com