PORTLAND — Joe Sobolewski and Chuck Sturm pitched raffle tickets and chatted on Wednesday with the visitors stopping at the Vancouver Wildlife League’s booth at the 40th annual Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Show.
It marked a milestone in the history of the 86-year-old Wildlife League, thought to be the oldest sportsmen’s group in Washington.
SHOW HOURS: Today, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
ADMISSION: $12 for adults and $5 for juniors ages 6 to 16. A two-day pass costs $18. A $1 fee is charged for credit card transactions.
SHOW HOURS: Today, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
ADMISSION: $12 for adults and $5 for juniors ages 6 to 16. A two-day pass costs $18. A $1 fee is charged for credit card transactions.
PARKING: $8 per space; $7 for carpools of three or more riders.
PARKING: $8 per space; $7 for carpools of three or more riders.
This year, for the first time, the league has a booth in the huge, five-day show at the Expo Center that features guides, outfitters, sporting organizations, hunting and fishing equipment manufacturers, retailers and boat dealers.
“We’re trying to get people to know what we do, where we are, how long we’ve been around, and that we need help,” said Chuck Cheshire, league president.
League members haul pheasants from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s game farm in Lewis County and release the birds in the Vancouver Lake lowlands to support the Western Washington upland bird hunting program.
The league also is involved in a variety of youth programs, including a youth pheasant hunting weekend in September and a fishing event at Klineline Pond in the spring.
The Vancouver Wildlife League has a long history of sport-fishing activism and was a regular player in the sport-commercial allocation fights of the 1980s and 1990s.
However, many of the league’s members are age 60 or older.
“We need to get our name out more and need members,” Cheshire said “We’re an old club and need some new and younger members.”
The booth at the show costs $600 for the five days, although that’s not a big deal for the Vancouver Wildlife League.
Cheshire said the league has carefully managed its money and has a substantial bank account for a volunteer organization.
“A lot of people say ‘Wildlife League,’ what’s that,” Sobolewski said, about an hour after Wednesday’s opener.
The league is raffling a fishing rod, a guided fishing trip and a safe at the show.
It’s award from the Washington State Sportsmen’s Council from 1965 is on display.
Young visitors to the booth were given bicycle decals of the league’s logo.
“A problem with these clubs is everybody’s gotten so old,” Sobolewski said.
