The event educated participants about the connection between hunting and conservation.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College’s Nimrod Education Center held its first youth dove hunt on Sept. 20. The hunt was open to young people ages 10 and up, and parents were also invited to participate. All activities were offered free of cost to participants.
“The American dove hunt is not simply about the pursuit of game. For generations, it has stood as one of the foremost ways hunters have supported wildlife conservation in America,” said Al Stewart, director of the Nimrod Education Center. “In the American model, conservation exists because hunters choose to pay for it. By bringing youth into the field, the Nimrod Education Center is not simply teaching them to hunt; it is teaching them why hunting is indispensable to the preservation of our natural heritage.”
Participants gathered at the Halter Center in the morning for introductions, gun safety instructions, and explanation of dove hunting, as well as a presentation about the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Participants then learned how to handle and shoot shotguns at the Halter Center’s five-stand range. A shuttle bus took participants to the dove field in New Haven, Indiana.
For the past two years, Hillsdale has worked with a New Haven farmer to plant nearly 15 acres of sunflowers, later mowing swathes to attract doves. Members of the Nimrod Education Center’s Drummond Fellowship — a scholarship program for students involved in hunting, fishing, and conservation — were involved in the project.
Dove hunt participants spent the afternoon hunting for mourning doves with coaching from field mentors, including Drummond fellows, College staff, and friends of the College. After the hunt, participants learned to clean the birds and prepare a wild game dish. They enjoyed dinner and fellowship at the dove field before returning to the Halter Center.
“By teaching youth in the field, it is showing them firsthand how conservation works,” said Morgan Morrison, deputy director of the Nimrod Education Center. “For the rest of their lives, each hunting license and box of ammunition they purchase funds habitat restoration and wildlife conservation through mechanisms like the Pittman-Robertson Act. That conservation message was central to this event.”
For photos from the event, click here. For photos of Hillsdale College, click here. For a high-resolution copy of the Hillsdale College clocktower logo, click here.
About the John Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Education Center
The Halter Center is a state-of-the-art shooting facility located five miles from the Hillsdale College campus. The Center boasts 113 range acres, four international skeet fields, a 23-station sporting clays course, eight American trap fields, five international bunkers, an action shooting range, an enclosed and climate-controlled five-stand range, and an international archery range. The Center also features the AcuSport Lodge and Grille and six cottages to accommodate overnight lodging. A 62,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor rifle and pistol building will be completed in summer 2025.
Opened in 2008, the Center aims to introduce individuals to shooting sports and encourage interest across all levels of experience. The home of the USA Shooting National Team since 2019, the Halter Center hosts USA Shooting skeet and trap nationals and Junior Olympic development camps and championships. The Center is also the home of Hillsdale’s national championship-winning shotgun and action shooting teams. The Center is open to the public, offering annual range memberships as well as classes, camps, and other programming focused on the shooting sports and the principles of the Constitution. For more information, visit shootingsports.hillsdale.edu.
About Hillsdale College
Hillsdale College is an independent, nonsectarian, Christian liberal arts college located in southern Michigan. Founded in 1844, the College has built a national reputation through its classical liberal arts core curriculum and its principled refusal to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies, even indirectly in the form of student grants or loans. It also conducts an outreach effort promoting civil and religious liberty, including a free monthly speech digest, Imprimis, with a circulation of more than 7 million. For more information, visit hillsdale.edu.