5 Reasons You Need to Know About Our Conservation Fund

Right now you’re probably aware of the SportDOG Brand® Conservation Fund because we happen to be matching up 3 deserving young kids with a started puppy trained by one of our Senior ProStaff members: Tom Dokken, Charlie Jurney, or Jim Morehouse through our Companions for Conservation contest. But did you know that this is just a fraction of the work we do through our Conservation Fund? Since establishing the fund in 2008 we have granted more than $150,000 for deserving conservation projects, spent countless hours in the field and worked to build more awareness for the great work the hunting community is doing in conservation. We’re working hard to ensure that our game is available for generations to come. How are we doing this? Check out these Top 5 ways we’re working to build a better future for our sport:

Celebrating kids- Youth in our sport means more than just getting to enjoy the day in the field with your kids. It means a future for our sport. It means creating generations of responsible hunters. It means more people to defend our right to hunt and protect the habitats we need. This is why it is so important that adults create a supportive community for children to learn the skills of hunting and dog training and encourage their interest in dogs and conservation. That’s the driving goal behind our Companions for Conservation Contest. It’s also why we offer a Youth Grant for children working in conservation. It’s why we’re not done here, and we’re not through yet. We have a lot more coming down the pipeline to help encourage youth to get off of the couch and into the field.

Getting in the Field to Help- We believe that it is our responsibilities and hunters and industry leaders to set an example of responsible outdoorsmen (and women). As such, we spend a lot of our extra time in the field helping take part in conservation projects to improve both our local habitat, but also the habitats of our favorite hunting areas. We’ve done it all from controlled burns to building shelters for wood ducks, and counting nests to seeding. We love being out there helping support our sport and are always open to invitations!

Donating to Grass Roots Organizations- Our product donation program is designed to help small, grassroots conservation organizations as well as small chapters of national agencies. Whenever these outfits have fundraisers, hunts, tests, youth events, etc. we offer a product to help them achieve their goal. It’s one of the best parts of our jobs to get to see pictures of winners with our products and to know that we’ve helped a small group keep going for another year. If you’re interested in a product donation for you organization, contact us through our website. All we ask in return is a few pictures from your event.

Partnering with National Conservation Organizations- We understand there is far more work to be done out there than we could possibly accomplish on our own, so we go to the experts. We partner with some of the country’s biggest national organizations to help effect change on a national level. These organizations include Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, Ruffed Grouse Society, Ducks Unlimited, and Delta Waterfowl.

Engaging the Community to Raise Awareness- The best ideas still go nowhere if no one knows about them. Conservation is one of the most important things we as hunters can do to ensure the future of our sport. It both protects the habitats we need to hunt as well as demonstrates to the ever skeptical anti-hunting crowd that we love and take care of the environment. We’ve always believed that “without hunting there would be no conservation” and we want for other people to know that, too. That’s why we hold contests like our Future Forward Fund grant contest or this Companions for Conservation contest to not only give our community a chance to have a say in how we direct our efforts, but also to engage a bigger community and raise awareness for how much conservation the hunting community does and how important that is not just to hunters, but to everyone.

Have you worked with our conservation fund? Share your story with us.