By Ken Bevis, DNR Stewardship Wildlife Biologist, ken.bevis@dnr.wa.gov, with forest landowner Bruce McGlenn
It was early, early in the morning on opening day last April. The sun was still below the horizon as I leaned against a small pine tree on our property, all decked out in camo, waiting for enough light. As it started to faintly brighten, I stroked my box call, clucking plaintively as if I were a hen turkey. The tom exploded in a loud gobble from the tree where I knew he was roosting just down the hill. My heart raced! It was a perfect set up. A few minutes later, he flew down from the tree, avid for the female he thought was right there. He saw my decoy, fell for it, and walked right into my ambush, gobbling and strutting the whole way. Pow! I got him at 22 yards. Exciting and very gratifying. He was delicious I might add.
I have been hunting since I was about 13 years old. I am 64 now. I am the typical demographic — aging out of the sport — and I have enlisted exactly zero new hunters.
Until recently, hunting was a much more common activity on most rural lands. The demographics are changing steadily for many reasons. For example, more urban young people are busy with other activities (organized sports, video games, cycling, etc.) and access to hunting opportunities has declined. The reasons are many, and the reality means organizations funded through hunting licenses are suffering, according to reports from North Carolina State University and National Public Radio.
According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service research paper, participation in hunting has declined more than 3% since 1991, from 14.1 million hunters nationally to about 11.5 million (7.3% to 4.4% of the adult population). I’ve asked forestry classes how many hunters are in the class, and often there are very few; so this trend may also be occurring within small forest landowners. Not only does this represent a cultural shift, but is a major problem for fish and wildlife agencies nationwide, as much of their funding base comes from license sales.
Despite these trends, humans are and always have been a hunting species. Our long ago ape-like ancestors and subsequent tribal hunter-gatherer cultures actively pursued, killed and consumed a myriad of wildlife in their successful quest for survival. Modern thinking, shaped by technology and improved survival (i.e. agriculture and infrastructure elements such as electricity) have long separated a vast majority of humans from the need to hunt. But how deeply ingrained in our species is the urge/need to hunt? Does it link us to the environment in deep and significant ways that are hard to understand or explain?
Some avid hunters (myself included) will argue that hunting is a basic activity for the human species, and somehow resonates within many of us. Couple this with evolving ethical concerns over animal welfare, food safety and environmental care, and it becomes deeply complicated.
One family of small forest landowners is engaging in this discussion in a unique and interesting manner. Bruce McGlenn and his family have established a hunting school on their 300-acre forest property in northeast Washington near Kettle Falls. They host multiple day workshops entitled “Awaken the Hunter,” and bring people from all over the world out to learn about the many elements of hunting in a “holistic” approach.
I recently spoke with Bruce about their program, entitled “Human Nature Hunting.”
How do you use your forest land?
Our family’s guiding principals have always been rooted in a desire for a healthy ecosystem, and while we see forest management and a working forest part of that equation, we have found other ways to create value. I founded Human Nature Hunting in 2016 to help strengthen the connection between humans and nature through hunting and gathering and being closer to the land and our food. We invite small groups of folks (adults mainly and some kids) to join us on the land for a multi-day experiential course. And in doing so, walk the land, spending time in the woods, studying the views from the ridges and exploring the subtleties of the riparian zones.
The McGlenn property is managed with a wildlife emphasis, providing openings, deep cover, thinned areas, food plots and water all strategically located for quality habitats.
What led you to found Human Nature Hunting?
When I was in school, I recall reading about a scientist from some other country a few hundred years ago who made the statement that society’s greatest challenge moving forward will be its increasing disconnect with nature. That idea stuck with me (especially since this person was speaking about society a few hundred years ago – this was not a new concept). And as I learned more about our environment, our home, I thought about what I had to offer the world. I studied and practiced civil/structural engineering for some years in Seattle prior to this endeavor, though my longest standing practice in life has been hunting. I began to think that even with the best technologies and discoveries, if we lose our direct connection to nature we could be losing something critical to our survival and wellbeing.
To go deeper, it was the way I felt on 10-day backcountry hunts – connected to the land, senses fully awakened and attuned, intuition strong, as if I was more of the land than on the land. It was this feeling I wanted to share with folks and concluded that the best way was to give them the skills and confidence to get out and experience it for themselves.
What are some of the programs and classes you offer?
Most of our time and energy goes into the four-day “Awaken the Hunter” course that takes place on our land. It offers a holistic approach to the hunting experience for those who have little to no background or are looking for a different way to engage with hunting. Some folks join us with no intention of hunting in the future but want to know what it is and how it resonates with them if they are going to continue to eat meat.
Others are committed to embarking on their hunting journey and need a place to start. We cover the planning and preparations of the hunt; tracking and scouting; field dressing, skinning, and butchering; shooting bows and rifles; how to cultivate presence and awareness in the woods; and what it all means with discussions and philosophizing during meals and around the campfire. And we do some foraging and turkey hunting classes on our land. We also take folks out on the tide flats in Western Washington in late winter to show them how to gather, prepare and cook shellfish.
What are some of the challenges to the project?
Like with any new entrepreneurial endeavor, there are plenty of hurdles and not much for examples of how to do it. So, it’s a lot of learning and getting over self-doubt and following the passion and remembering the why. Some of my clients have never hunted before, especially on their own.
I recall often a passage in the Tao Te Ching: “Do your work, then step back.”
Other more practical challenges have been environmental: the 100-plus degree heat wave last year during a course and the wildfire smoke in the air that has led to canceled events. The climate doesn’t seem as predictable or settled as I recall.
Maintaining the land has its challenges as well. There is something simple about the commercial logging approach with heavy machinery and time to heal. But we don’t have that time; we need the landscape to be healed and healing to those who visit so there is a lot of low-impact work that happens to create that environment, which usually means doing it by hand with blood, sweat, and tears.
How might you respond to anti-hunting sentiment?
We are all here today because our ancestors were successful hunters. As Aldo Leopold so eloquently puts, the first sign of intelligent tinkering is that we don’t pluck out and throw away parts that we don’t understand or associate with value. If the whole is good, the parts that make up that whole must also be good.
Hunting is a part of us and has been for some 2 million years. It’s only in the past 5- to 10,000 years that agriculture has cropped up. And I feel hunting is on the verge of being plucked out and thrown away. But if that happens, we may find that we’ve lost a critical part of how we relate to this planet, to life, and to death. Hunting forces us to look at these things square in the eye and remember how we are a part of the bigger picture.
What are your greatest joys from Human Nature Hunting?
Working with folks who are looking for a deeper connection to the land and watching that transformation happen over a few days is very rewarding. As far as we know, hunting was a communal activity – part of village life. I didn’t plan this at first but quickly realized how important and valuable that village life experience is for folks who are overloaded with the fast-paced urban hum and that sitting down to meals together outside after long days of field learning created a special sense of community that we continue to build upon.
How about a few positive client outcomes?
Perhaps the best way to do this is to share some quotes from past participants who have sent me letters after they return home. You can read more on our Reviews page of our website.
“This was one of the most life-changing adventures in my 68 years.” Martha (Superior, Nebraska)
“A unique, respectful, and inclusive community … life changing.” Paulene (Seattle, WA)
“Realigned my soul and shifted my priorities.” Jason (Ross, CA)
“The effect this experience had on me was profound.” Noelle (Leavenworth, WA)
“Pivotal to my moving forward with the decision to hunt.” Beth (Olympic Peninsula, WA)
“Transformative; changed my opinion of hunters.” Ian (Anacortes, WA)
“This trip was the missing link.” Niccolo (Milan, Italy)
“A holistic introduction to hunting in a family atmosphere.” David & William (Mendoza, Argentina)
Bruce encourages those interested to contact him at McGlenn@gmail.com
For more information, visit their web site.
Hunting is one of the ways small forest landowners use and enjoy their land. It can be a complex and gratifying activity, and is an interesting source of conversation within our landowner community!
As always, reach out to me with thoughts and stories about hunting and how you enjoy wildlife on your forest lands.
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