I live in Wisconsin.
This is my 16th year hunting whitetail deer in the state. It’s a passion of mine that I look forward to each season. Also, I enjoy fishing on occasion and enjoying the outdoors. It’s one of the great things about living in the state.
Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised by an email. The email was from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Now, normally I would be quick to delete this email. The DNR doesn’t have the best reputation in the state for a variety of reasons, but to their credit they have been working to improve that and the news in their email proves that.
Here is the section of the email that was most appealing to me:
New WNDR wildlife blog – “Hunting for the Health of it”
DNR will be launching the first ever wildlife blog during the 2012 deer hunt with a “Hunting for the Health of it” theme. Readers can follow the blog starting Monday, Nov. 12, as each day Jeff Pritzl, DNR Northeast Region Wildlife Supervisor, explores seven health-related aspects of hunting. Topics include social, physical, emotional, career, intellectual, environmental and spiritual, aspects of the hunt that lead to increased health for the participant, communities and our natural resources. Follow the DNR wildlife blog at wdnr.blogs.govdelivery.com.
It’s pretty cool that the DNR is going to manage its own blog.
Let’s review what the strategy will be for this blog and consider what the DNR could do in the future with its new online asset.
Hunting for the Health of It
The DNR is right on the money with the fact that people do hunt for health reasons. Not only is the meat from wildlife healthy for people to eat it is some of the most delicious you will have anywhere.
Just last week I was able to harvest a doe during the archery season here in Wisconsin. Immediately I took the deer into a local processing place to have the meat made into basic cuts for meals along with summer sausage and sausage snack sticks. It’s a treat my family and I look forward to every year.
Other hunters harvest upland birds, waterfowl and other animals. Most make for delicious treats and meals. If you’ve never had bacon wrapped duck breasts you’re missing out on an amazing part of life.
Outside of diet there are other positive health benefits of hunting. Walking around in the woods and in the field is a basic human exercise. Most people recognize hunting as the harvesting of game, but it goes beyond that aspect. There is scouting that allows a hunter to get out in nature and walk around in the fresh air and the natural terrain. It allows your body to work and get in shape all while planning for the perfect place to hunt.
There is a mental aspect of hunting too. When you’re out in the woods or in the field or sitting on a lake fishing you are just alone with your thoughts. You can relax and let your mind be free of all the thoughts about work and everything else going on in life. It’s a great release from the busy world and it’s something I know I need from time to time.
Potential Blogging Strategies for the Future
I don’t want to make assumptions about the future of the DNR, but seeing the notice got me thinking about future strategies.
At first I thought the blog could be used for news and updates, but the DNR already has a great News section it site.
I like the approach they’re using with the Hunting for Health. More angles like that could be used in the future.
How to articles: The DNR is full of experts on a variety of topics including hunting, fishing, timber management and other areas. Internal staff could create more how-to resources for people to find. The organization could even bring in outside experts to create content for the blog.
Personal stories: Hunting and the outdoors are very personal. The DNR could use its blog to share personal stories of people enjoying the woods. There are plenty of hunters that spend time in the woods with generations of family. By showing the human side of the outdoors and sharing stories with the public people will become more interested in enjoying the outdoors themselves.
What you might have missed series: There is a great series on the Green Bay Packers website called What You Might Have Missed. I really like this concept and think it could be used on a variety of blogs. The DNR could write about things people might not realize such as the fact that there is a new tract of land available to hunt or maybe there was an initiative to make a lake safer for swimming. I’m sure there are lots of things the DNR has done that the public doesn’t realize.
Those are just a few of the ideas I had off the top of my head. I’m sure the DNR already has many more of its own. The people there have really been working to make the DNR a more reputable organization in the state. I think a blog is a great step in that process.