Annual cleanup day extends mission for Northland Sportsmen's Club

GAYLORD — The mission of the Northland Sportsmen's Club at 1592 Old Alba Road is clear: to provide safe, clean shooting ranges for members and law enforcement; conserving natural resources; promoting safe and environmentally sound use of natural resources for hunting, fishing and other outdoor sports; and the education of youth in shooting and outdoor sports.

The nonprofit club, which was founded in 1934, sits on a 40-acre site and on June 17 members donated their time and resources to keep the club and surrounding area clean by gathering discarded items and trash.

"We go down Old Alba Road and then down to Hayes Tower Road and sometimes do Milbocker Road, as it depends on how many people we have," said Gerry Mathews, who serves as club treasurer.

Mathews said the club's annual cleanup has been around for over 20 years and members find a lot of liquor bottles and trash.

"Sometimes we find cardboard, furniture, tires and just about every type of trash imaginable," he added.

Unfortunately, many of us so do not take the time and expense to properly discard items we no longer need.

"Because the dump is expensive they will throw out their couches and dressers. Last year we didn't get much of that but the year before we did," Mathews said.

Club members bring their own vehicles and trash bags.

"Three or four will get into a vehicle and drive to an area to gather discarded items. They not only donate their time and effort but the gas as well for their vehicles," noted Mathews.

At the end of the cleanup, participants are treated to a cookout with hamburgers and hot dogs. Members also receive credit toward the work hours they must do annually as part of their membership requirements.

"We are a conservation club and we want to keep the outdoors as clean as possible," said Mathews.

The club has over 300 members from just about every age group.

"We have an archery range, pistol and shotgun ranges and we provide an area for trap and skeet shooting. In the winter we have indoor gun shooting in our basement. We also have pistol leagues in which members compete against other sportsmen's clubs," Mathews said.

The facilities the club provides are a necessity for hunters and shooters to be able to practice their skills. In most cases you can't do those activities in your backyard.

"You can't go on state land as they don't like you to do that anymore," Mathews said.

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The club also provides a full array of classes and instructional programs.

"We do hunter safety classes every year. We also offer a shooting class designed for first-time women shooters or gun owners. Our ranges are also available to local law enforcement officers when needed for training and qualification purposes," Mathews said.

The club also has civilian marksmanship programs, or CMPs.

"Any child can participate at no cost and they don't have to be a member. We furnish the rifles and the ammunition," said Mathews.

More information is available on the club's website.

— Contact Paul Welitzkin at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Annual cleanup day extends mission for Northland Sportsmen's Club