On Friday, March 15th, the Humboldt Wildlife Federation hosted its annual Fish Fry and Awards Night at St. Augustine Parish Hall. The awards are designed to celebrate the year's accomplishment in various hunting and fishing categories. A total of 38 awards were handed out.

The Fish Fry and Awards Night is also the largest annual fundraiser for the organization. While figures for the amount raised this year are not yet available, Vice-President Scott Ewen was pleased with the evening. He recaps the night, "I think it was one of our nicest events that we've held to date. It went very smooth, very fluid. There were lots of smiles all around."

Money raised from the Fish Fry and other fundraising efforts goes back into the initiatives of the local organization. Among those is the nature walking trail on the west side of town. Maintenance will be required on the trail, and funds go to support those efforts. Ewen is proud of the local Federation's part in the development of the trail as it has become well trafficked with walkers and pet-owners. 

Another major commitment was the redevelopment of the gun club. Because of several years of flooding, the clubhouse had to be moved from its original site. Between a large berm to retain incoming water and the lowering of Little Joe Lake, the site for the club was still viable. However, the relocation of the clubhouse and the development of a dirt backstop were major undertakings. The end result was a federally approved gun range.

The current major initiative, according to Ewen, is the promotion of an archery in schools program in co-operation with local school divisions. Ewen states, "We are working with the Catholic Schools. We have an archery set in the Public School that's getting well used by the Humboldt Public School, as well as high school students coming over." Jamie Zalusky, teacher at HCI, is leading the program. 

Work on the clubhouse at the gun range continues with the hope that it will house additional training programs for youth and continue to generate its own revenue.

Those are significant accomplishments for an organization that does a lot more than simply fry up some delicious fish.