Their mandate is wide and varied yet they have been able to continually meet their goals thanks in large part to an understanding and generous community that supports their movement.
The Estevan Wildlife Federation held their 27th annual fundraising dinner and auction on Saturday, April 16, and the event was a huge success with 490 dinner tickets sold and hundreds of prized items claimed either through raffles, draws or the silent and live auctions.
The event, staged in the Wylie-Mitchell Air Cadet Hall, saw a couple of 16-week-old Labrador puppies auctioned off as a highlight event. The puppies from Grace's Angels Breeding Kennel of Macoun, had been given their inoculations, and came with their certification intact, ready to be trained as hunting and companion dogs.
The puppies were just part of the prized goods up for sale or raffle that included hunting rifles, patio set, and a $1,000 bill.
Club president Lionel Bender said that last year's dinner provided a profit of about $40,000 and the early indications from this year's event, promised even more since the dinner crowd was larger.
Bender said the EWF wants to direct some funds toward a major expansion of their clubhouse and gun range facilities at Boundary Dam reservoir. He said since the former recreation site is now becoming a regional park with expanded services and facilities, the membership felt that an expansion could serve the club well and allow them to embrace more activities and opportunities to rent out space for other events as well as their own.
With an expanding boat launch area and the continuation of good fishing in the reservoir, he said it looked as if this would be a good time to move the project forward in concert with the development of camping sites in the park area, guided by the Woodlawn Regional Park Authority.
"We have a good working agreement with Woodlawn; we'll be paying their park pass fees, we've dredged the launch area again, making other arrangements with the park committee and the RM of Estevan," said Bender.
He added that the dinner would never be possible without the support of local businesses and individuals who understand the importance of wildlife conservation and habitat protection.
Funds raised by the EWF are also directed toward the operation of a successful summer youth camp and youth programming throughout the year, academic scholarships, firearm safety classes, the rifle and trap shooting range, pheasant release program, bird feeding projects, sponsorship of the annual Walleye Classic fishing tournament at Boundary and an annual awards night.
