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Hopes high for rustic game preserve There was a time not that long ago when sportsmen could grab a fishing rod or a shotgun and almost walk out their back door and into the great outdoors. It also was a time when hunting and fishing were cherished family traditions, with one generation passing the wisdom, ethics and values of conservation to the next. Today, however, quality hunting and fishing opportunities can be hard to find, and many urban families do not possess the skills to teach their children about the outdoor way of life. Greg Mauseth remembers those simpler times and is trying to re-create a bit of the good ol' days with Hope Valley Game Farm and Retreat near Eltopia, just north of Pasco. Nestled on Mauseth's 400-acre working family farm is the 104-acre shooting preserve, stocked with game-farm rooster pheasants, including several exotic varieties. Hope Valley, which is registered with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, also boasts outstanding trout fishing from five spring-fed ponds. With a water temperature of about 58 degrees year-round, the 1- to 2-acre ponds offer excellent habitat for trout even during the summer months. However, what catches many an eye at Hope Valley is the rustic bunkhouse perched above the main trout pond. The bunkhouse is built from turn-of-the-century hand-hewn barn beams with plank wood floors. Inside the small, two-room building, guests will find military-style bunk beds, a wood-burning stove and kerosene lanterns hanging from the rafters. Outside, metal benches and tree rounds are scattered around a stone fire pit for evening cookouts or campfires, and a pair of moose and caribou antlers hang above the bunkhouse doorways. "It's certainly not very fancy, but it's the old-time atmosphere that people say they like best after visiting Hope Valley," Mauseth said. However, some may find the dusty bunkhouse a bit too primitive, so Hope Valley also has a parking area for self-contained RVs. Mauseth, 50, has been a Mid-Columbia Basin sportsman since his family first started farming the region in the 1950s. "I can remember my dad and a neighbor loading up a bunch of us kids in the back of a pickup and taking off on a hunting or fishing adventure. We didn't have much more with us than a fishing rod, a gun and a sleeping bag, but it was always an exciting time which I've never forgotten," he said. Hope Valley Game Farm and Retreat is Mauseth's way to preserve some of those same outdoor experiences for today's youths, as well as offering a getaway for veteran hunters and anglers looking for a break from crowded public lands. After three years of preparing the ponds for trout fishing (including one that was the farm's main stock pond) and clearing all the state hurdles necessary to operate a fee-hunting preserve, Mauseth is now in his first full year of operation. Because Hope Valley is a state-licensed game preserve, pheasant hunters do not need a hunting license, which Mauseth said is a plus to out-of-state visitors. Anglers also do not need a fishing license. Private hunting and fishing preserves are nothing new to Eastern Washington. According to the Fish and Wildlife Department, more than a dozen shooting preserves are in operation in Eastern Washington, with four new reserves waiting for state approval. Mauseth said facilities such as his are growing in popularity as Mid-Columbia sportsmen grow tired of trying to find a quality place to hunt in the face of dwindling wildlife habitat, declining bird populations and high-priced hunting clubs, which control much of the prime hunting real estate. Also, because they are open year-round, hunting preserves have become a popular place to take beginning hunters and young pups before the fall hunting seasons begin. Planted pheasants tend to stay close to where they are released, making them easier to find, but no less difficult to hit when they erupt beneath your feet. As for the fish and birds at Hope Valley, Mauseth stocks his ponds with rainbow trout from Trout Lodge Hatchery near Ephrata. The trout range from 10 inches to 24 inches. The pheasants, which come from a number of commercial game bird farms in the region, are fully mature birds. The fees at Hope Valley also are affordable for most families, Mauseth said, including 10 trout for $25 a rod. For pheasant hunting - which can tailored to specific situations such as a group hunt - the cost is $30 a rooster. Waterfowlers also can hunt Hope Valley's ponds or a nearby corn circle for $90 a day, which includes use of the bunkhouse overnight. Unlike pheasant hunters, adult waterfowlers must have a state small game license, a state migratory bird validation and a federal stamp and youths under 16 must have a small game license and a free state migratory bird validation. Moreover, in order to offer a quality outing for hunters, Mauseth limits hunting parties in the field to six people, generally three to group. John Westland, owner of Clearwater Fly Shop in Kennewick, has taken several of his beginning fly-fishing classes to Hope Valley as a graduation outing. "When I ask them if they mind paying $25 to catch large rainbow trout all day long, there aren't many who say no," he said. And for new arrivals who don't really believe the small ponds actually hold that many fish, Mauseth will causally walk to the end of fishing dock and throw out a handful of fish food. In seconds, the pond is alive with trout in a feeding frenzy that resembles a school of piranhas devouring a small animal. I don't know about you, but how many places have you hunted or fished recently where it's nearly impossible to talk over the sound of splashing trout, the raucous cackling of rooster pheasants and the whistling wings of wild ducks? For more information on Hope Valley Game Farm and Retreat, or to reserve yourself a spot, call 509-521-7770 or 509-297-4376.
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