BHA Joins U.S.A.C.E. to Give Back to the Places We Hunt

On October 2, volunteers from the Minnesota chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers partnered with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff at Big Sandy Lake near McGregor, Minnesota, for a waterfowl-focused stewardship project weekend.

The partnership is a great example of what public lands are all about: people working together to care for these places so they can continue to be enjoyed for generations to come.

This small-but-mighty crew split into two teams, one on land and one on the water, to inspect, record, and repair 16 wood duck houses that Minnesota BHA volunteers installed in 2024. BHA volunteers and USACE staff made quick work of the project, finding that many of the houses had been commandeered by squirrels and mice. After some cleaning, repairs, and maintenance, the boxes were ready for another season of providing nesting habitat.

     

After the work was done, the group gathered for lunch, including bear provided by a USACE staffer Hunter Simonson, who harvested the 300+-pound bear with his bow earlier in the season. Conversations ranged from western tag draws and Minnesota's hunting seasons to the finer points of cooking wild game.

Then came the other half of the public-land experience.

 

 

 

 

 

With the stewardship work complete, volunteers used the remaining daylight to scout for waterfowl and grouse for the following day's hunt. That evening, the group gathered around camp for venison tacos, wild turkey nuggets and a campfire before turning in.

Saturday morning proved to be a true “reap what you sow” experience.

New duck hunter Himal Nenneman joined experienced waterfowler Tony Krasensky, BHA staffer Aaron Hebeisen, and his golden retriever Ridge in a boat blind tucked into the wild rice beds. Ducks and geese flew late into the morning, with the group seeing a mixed bag that included redheads, ringnecks, teal, mallards, Canada geese, and hundreds of coots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back at camp, the group gathered for a midday blind taste test featuring ringnecks, teal and coot. The consensus favorite was the ringneck, but the biggest surprise was just how delicious the coot turned out to be!

That's the beauty of public lands.

We don't just use these places. We have a responsibility to care for them. On this weekend, Minnesota BHA volunteers were able to work alongside our partners at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve habitat and maintain infrastructure on a public landscape. Then they got to camp there, hunt there, share a meal around a fire and introduce a new hunter to the experience.

That connection is at the heart of what BHA is all about. Stewardship creates ownership. Experience creates connection. And connection creates conservationists.

Minnesota BHA is grateful for the continued partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and for the opportunity to give our members meaningful ways to give back to the public lands and waters they love. By working on these landscapes, and then having the opportunity to camp, hunt and recreate on them, we build a deeper connection to the places that make our outdoor traditions possible.

And when we bring new hunters along for the experience, we're doing more than creating memories. We're helping build the next generation of outdoorsmen and women who will know these places, care about them and champion them for decades to come.