To all my fellow workers;

Thank you for the help and cooperation in the completion of this extraordinary Eagle Scout project and Memorial. I could not have done it without every person's help. I want to especially thank my family and Dave Everett, for all their time and effort in this special project. This was not only my Eagle project but a tribute to my Grandpa and his legacy at the Stoughton Conservation Club. I hope this serves the club and its members and our community for many years to come. I hope you are as proud of your work as I am of all the help I received on this project.

Glad to be a Scout with Troop 167.

- Keaton Miller (To SCC: Thank You for the funds and the location for the shelter)

Before & After

The Stoughton Conservation Club has hosted this incredibly popular series for the last three winters. It runs from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Saturday mornings from the second Saturday in January to the second-to-last Saturday in March. The program consists of three weeks of education and instruction followed by eight weeks of league shooting.

All levels of ability are welcome — from the child with no previous experience to the experienced shooter. The Club will provide bows for kids who don’t have them. There will be no charge for the program, which is open to anyone under 18 years old. Members who have a youth archery bow they would be willing to donate or sell to the club would be greatly appreciated.

During the winter archery league, a sign-up sheet will be available at the club for any member who would like to volunteer to assist with the program. Anyone interested in the program should check their Newsletter for the contact and number. Archery is a great sport for kids. It offers many opportunities, ranging from shooting for fun to highly competitive match-style shooting.

It’s also a great way to learn the skills that will help kids for Bow Deer Season.







The Youth Archery Program would like to thank these 2009 Sponsors:
Hunt-N-Gear
Brown Heating and Air Conditioning
Tricia’s Country Corner
Pizza Pit
Little Jon’s Archery World
Aesthetic Siding and Windows
Bay Design Custom Jewelers
Zelm Chiropractic Center, LLC
Stoughton Hospital
TEC Appraisers
Riteway Construction, LLC
Stoughton Longbeards
Holtan Builders, LLC
Ruth Ann Murphy – State Farm Insurance
Landmark Services Cooperative
Dane County Sheriffs Association
Verity Resources, LLC

As you’d expect of any organization that calls itself a “Conservation Club,” SCC is strongly committed to not only preserving the for and fauna of the area and state, but of improving the fields, woods and waterways in which they exist -- their ecosystems.

To that end The Club is very active in conservation efforts, from working together with the Department of Natural Resources and their local representatives to just going out and clearing undesirable species of plant life on our property. Yes, it takes a combination of lofty inspiration and low-down sweaty grunt work.

For example, in the summer of 2003, member Rick K. organized work parties to control weeds and eliminate buckthorn (a very invasive species that isn’t good for wildlife) on Club property. The first work party was held on June 21st and was a rousing success, bringing the offending species to its knees. Well, it would have if buckthorn had knees. Rick organized and worked the parties just because he thought it should be done.

Also, SCC has a Tree Planting program wherein The Club pays for hundreds of tree and shrub seedlings that are good species for wildlife, and just hands them out to members of The Club. The catch is members must use them for their intended purpose: for wildlife as shelter belts, windbreaks and food. It’s a great way to say thanks to the guy who lets you hunt his land, or to bring animals into what was an empty field.

Another example was in Fall of 2003. The State Budget was going through dramatic cuts. Like many sportsmen (used in a totally non-gender-specific manner) groups and individuals, we had urged the State to increase our hunting and fishing license fees and put the additional moneys generated towards preserving out outdoors programs. Surprise, surprise, the legislature ignored us. So we took it upon ourselves, when contacted by our local representatives, to “sponsor” certain land leases nearby.

Landowners who have extra or unused acreage often lease that acreage to the DNR for sporting purposes - hunting, fishing, trapping, dog training, etc. When the DNR drops those leases (usually for budgetary reason, as in this case), the landowners are forced to offer those leases to the public. Now, I don’t know about you, but if someone offered me the hunting lease on a good parcel of land, I’d grab it so fast, the owner might get whiplash. The continuation of that story is that once the State got back on its feet, that lease would be unavailable to them because I’d own it. Well, by sponsoring a few local leases that add to and abutt existing state-owned hunting lands, we keep those acres open for all hunters and we keep those leases in the public arena until the State can come back and re-up them.



The first photo is of Maureen, a DNR representative and one of many people going out to conservation clubs, outdoors groups and civic organizations to ask for their participation in preserving these leases and other projects. She spoke at one of our General Membership meetings and explained many of the issues she and others are dealing with every day.



The second photo is of Larry Q., SCC Treasurer, presenting two checks to the local DNR representatives - one for leases on land abutting Public Hunting Land, and the other for wetlands restoration on that same Public Hunting Land.

Check back here from time to time, and keep up with the Good Deeds SCC is doing.