Kayla Gadeken
Sitting at the foot of a tree waiting for a deer to come by in her first year hunting with her father, Kayla Gadeken noticed a squirrel six trees over.
“He seemed to be yelling at me,” she said.
Once he’d had his say, the squirrel disappeared for a while, only to show up again one tree away, watching them closely.
“Then he came down our tree,” Gadeken said.
She said the squirrel continued to watch and scold them.
She named the squirrel Alfred.
“At the time I couldn’t think of Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks, all I could think of was Alfred,” Gadeken said.
She said the encounter was an experience she will never forget and the kind of thing she hopes more young people can have.
Gadeken, 14, of Seward hopes to encourage more people her age to get involved in outdoor activities through her involvement in the Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever National Youth Leadership Council.
Gadeken was nominated for the council by Pheasants Forever Eastern Nebraska Regional Representative Jerry McDonald.
“I met him at the yearly Seward Pheasants Forever guided mentor hunt and he liked me a lot,” she said.
“We didn’t know the council existed until we got the call from the state representative asking if it was OK to nominate her,” Gary Gadeken, her father, said.
The National Youth Leadership Council is made up of 20 young conservation leaders from around the country who represent their age group on issues related to wildlife conservation and hunting.
They work at the local, state and national levels to be ambassadors for outdoor traditions and land stewardship, as well as advise Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever on youth programs.
“I’m interested in getting youth outdoors, so they’re not always inside and pasttimes like hunting will be there for generations to come,” Gadeken said.
She said her interest in hunting, fishing and outdoor activities began with her family.
“It just kind of runs in the family. I’ve been involved in these things since I was a baby,” Gadeken said.
She has been involved in 4-H since she was five years old and has received a variety of awards and recognition from 4-H. Some of her favorite 4-H activities include riding and showing her horses, Junior Leadership and competitive rifle shooting.
She competed in the 2012 U.S. Junior Olympic Championships in precision 50-meter rifle and 10-meter air rifle and was the 2012 NRA National Champion, age 14 and under, in sporter air rifle.
Gadeken said she participates in monthly conference call meetings with the rest of the 20-member council.
“Everyone has a project they have to do to get youth outdoors,” she said.
Gadeken said her project is to get the Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program, now called the Wildlife Habitat Education Program, going in Nebraska again.
That program involves improving people’s understanding of how animals interact with the environment, she said, and working to preserve habitat for outdoor activities like hunting and fishing, she said, and includes working with landowners on land management practices and development.
Gadeken said she is working with Scott Stuhr, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska Outdoor U! coordinator, to get WHEP going again in Nebraska.
“As a member of the National Youth Leadership Council, one of my goals is to help get young people my age involved with the outdoors. Sitting, listening and watching nature, as well as hunting, is a major draw for me, and I want other people my age to have those experiences,” Gadeken said.
She was one of two new members selected for the council this fall.
“The National Youth Leadership Council is a unique group of young conservation leaders. We are extremely proud of their accomplishments and their representation of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. Kayla is an exciting addition to our team and will help build the NYLC legacy even larger than it already is,” said Rich Wissink, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever National Youth Programs Manager.
The NYLC has worked on issues like bringing attention to the federal Farm Bill and its significance to wildlife habitat and conservation, the role hunters have played in conservation in North America and helped pass state legislation to reduce age restrictive barriers to introduce young people to hunting.
The NYLC will continue to work on issues that deal with hunting, conservation and wildlife habitat.
For more information regarding Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s National Youth Leadership Council, contact Wissink at 715-722-0286.
