Dear Fellow Deer Hunter and Outdoor Enthusiast, 

Ø     Would you like to have a better quality hunting experience for you and your family?  

Ø     Would you like to be able to harvest more trophy deer? 

Ø     Have you ever taken a small buck simply because you felt that if you didn’t shoot him, someone else would? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, I have an exciting concept that will interest you!

My name is Ted Wawrzyniak.  Many of you may already know me, my dad John, or my brother Craig.  I have formed a Cooperative called the Oak Ridge Management Cooperative.  Participation by Landowners and their hunting groups will help to increase the hunting quality and value of your property.  The members of the Co-op will determine the objectives from year to year (for example: managing for bigger bucks).  The Co-op will not change where you hunt, who you hunt with, or who hunts on your land.  It will not change the many traditions you have during your hunting season.  What it will change is the amount of pride each person will have when they realize that it was their cooperation with others that led to the harvest of a trophy deer.  The Cooperative will help to maintain a high level of respect between landowners and hunters.  The Co-op only serves the purpose of giving guidelines based on the members’ opinions.  This Co-op belongs to it’s members. 

I am a Wildlife Biologist, and though I am not currently working in that field, I can offer a great deal of guidance when it comes to Quality Deer Management (QDM) by using any of several contacts that I have with various federal and state agencies.  I have read many success stories on Cooperatives in other parts of the region and I feel that our area in Marshall County is a prime area to do this.

QDM is a very broad term and has many parts, of which anyone can practice as few or as many as they choose.  The most basic part of QDM is simply letting some of the smaller bucks go.  Our hunting group has been practicing this to a small extent over the last couple of years and have begun to see results already, harvesting our biggest buck ever during the 2002 bow hunting season.   We are taking this to the next level this year, as we have already have been seeing some nice deer and passing up on some we would have shot 2 or 3 years ago.

I just wanted to send this letter to give you something to think about this upcoming season.  I encourage you to share this opportunity with those that you hunt with because together, we can make a big difference.  I will be setting up an informational meeting for late January or February.  I will send out an official invitation for this meeting with additional information in late December.  If you would like to have more information before this, please don’t hesitate to call me at 952-997-6373 (evening) or 612-282-2431 (day).  You can also Email me at tedw@mnsportsmen.com or visit our website at www.mnsportsmen.com.