As I watched an ATV with a driver and a small child drive slowly through the muddy field roads leading toward a swampy area, I wondered if the adult had any idea what a great opportunity he and his fellow American outdoorsmen had with the natural resources of eastern North Carolina. All too often we take for granted the abundance of these resources as we enjoy the privileges of being in eastern North Carolina and using these resources for our personal enjoyment.

As an avid hunter, fisherman, boater, wildlife watcher and scientist, I really didn’t fully appreciate these outdoor opportunities until I was stationed in several overseas countries as a member of the American military. Later in life, I had the opportunity to spend a few weeks hunting and fishing in several of the countries that I visited in the military. I really did realize how blessed we Americans are with our outdoor sports.

Many of the European countries that I’ve visited had very few really large areas that could be considered wilderness. The vast forests that once existed in many of these European and Scandinavian Countries are long gone, as they were cleared to supply wood for building or fires to warm homes. Cleared fields that once supported native wildlife were now delegated to the production of food for the hungry. Most wildlife is under private ownership or is closely controlled by governments that have little use for hunters or fishermen.

Hunters and fishermen from the very same countries that I’d been hosted as a visiting hunter later visited me here in Beaufort, Hyde, Dare, Washington and Tyrell counties to hunt with eastern North Carolinians. I still marvel at how they were so astonished at the abundance of natural areas and wildlife. One Dutchman used the words “excessive, huge, untamed, abundant and astounding” to describe what he saw here in eastern North Carolina.

The visiting outdoorsmen were also fascinated when I explained that most of our public lands and extensive fish and wildlife management programs were financed through a cooperative federal-state process involving a tax on our outdoor equipment and the fees we pay through our licensing process. Federal/state projects similar to our Dingell-Johnson and Wallop-Breaux programs were unheard of in Europe.

These visitors to our area also found our American programs that supply fresh venison to help feed the needy and homeless was a great idea. Venison is highly regarded as a gourmet food item in Europe and the very fact that our hunters had enough to share with the needy was interesting.

Changing times here in America are bringing about a new interest in hunting and particularly in hunting deer, elk, wild turkey and other big game animals. The renewed interest is more in the area of getting true, organically grown meat. Several of our local hunters have told me that their increasing days afield in search of whitetail deer was more related to putting food on their families’ tables as it was to the actual challenge of deer hunting.

Surveys of new hunters that resided in urban areas indicated that their sudden interest in deer hunting was because of the fact that their new sport would put food on their tables. Seminars on dressing and butchering big game animals are drawing a lot of these new urbanites into the ranks of sport hunters. It’s also interesting to note that a good number of these new hunters are women.

It’s been many years since the Pilgrims sat down with the Native Americans and shared a feast consisting of wild game and locally produced vegetables. It seems that in these unsettled times that there’s even more interest in living off the land. The very fact that we Americans have such a super abundance of fish and wildlife at our fingertips and can still harvest a good part of what we eat from our woods and waters is a tribute to the American way of life. When we wish our friends and relatives a “Happy Thanksgiving,” it’s a greeting that has a very special meaning.