Dear Ohio Sportsmen
It has been a long time coming, but finally Ohio has its own waterfowl association. The birth of the Ohio Waterfowl Association became official on March 6th, 2006 at the Gander Mountain store in Hillard, just west of Columbus. For years, Ohio waterfowlers have not had an organized voice or any type of unity in expressing their waterfowling desires and needs through out the state. That problem is now gone.
Many states across the country have very active waterfowl associations and the need for one here in Ohio motivated many duck and goose hunters across the state to get some thing started. After almost a year of brainstorming, researching, and organizational meetings, the first official meeting of OWA was held on March 6th, 2006. The Ohio Waterfowl Association had the ground work completed for the organization to officially get started, the paper work was filed for federal tax exemption status, and membership enrollment began.
The mission statement of the organization is to promote Ohio's waterfowling heritage through education, example and advocacy for all waterfowl enthusiasts in order to conserve our waterfowl resources and ensure that our children's children can enjoy what we love and share today.
The founders of OWA have three main goals in mind: 1) To educate our youth about waterfowling; 2) To work with current conservation organizations to raise funds and create waterfowl habitat projects that stay in state right here in Ohio; and 3) To work with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and our state legislation to enhance waterfowling opportunities in the Buckeye state.
OWA does not want to compete with existing waterfowl conservation organizations like Ducks Unlimited and Delta. In fact, they want to work with them. The OWA membership would just like to see more projects in state as well as start a statewide youth education program such as a Camp Woodie that other state waterfowl associations currently offer. The OWA members would also like to have a more unified voice with ODNR and the Division of Wildlife as they make decisions that affect Ohio?s waterfowl hunting.
If the objectives and goals listed above sound like some thing you would like to be involved in, I encourage you to look around the website to find out more. Every thing you need to know to get involved including a membership enrollment form is only a click away. If you are a waterfowl hunter, and you are concerned about preserving the heritage of this wonderful sport for our children, I challenge you to join us and get involved.
Best Regards,
Ken Parrott
O.W.A. Past President
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