call of the wild
Story by Susan O'Connor, Photo by Courtney Fitzwater

Shaun Merrell is a man with a mission. As director of the Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center, he works to reconnect area youth with the outdoors.

“There is a growing need to continue the heritage of the outdoors,” Merrell said. “It is not so much forgotten. People just don’t take the time anymore.”

Always an outdoorsman, Merrell grew up in the Valley View area, hunting and fishing with his friends — a way of life then, he noted. He also ran traps on the land where the nature center is located, occasionally netting $250 to $300 per week, a nice income for a teenager in the 1980s. At the time, Merrell sold furs such as gray foxes and raccoons to Erwin Fur Company.

“Trapping is a dying art,” he said. “Wildlife is a renewable resource. Certain species have to be managed by hunting and fishing. When we hold a trapping workshop, we fill the room.”

Prior to his positions with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Merrell ran a pond consulting business, stocking fish in ponds and lakes in 14 states. But the business required a great deal of travel and when his son was born, Merrell’s business partner took over the thriving enterprise and Merrell went to work for Arkansas Game and Fish as a wildlife technician, helping manage 27,000 acres in the Black River Wildlife Management Area. He was then transferred to the Bayou de View Wildlife Management Area near Weiner, where he served as area manager.

When the nature center was being built, the regional education coordinator, Chuck Long, encouraged Merrell to apply for the wildlife program coordinator position, and he was hired in 2003. Developing programs and workshops to spark a love of wildlife and the outdoors was a perfect fit for Merrill.

“As educators here, our challenge is to come up with new and innovative programs for our audiences. We are here to convey a feeling — what it is to be in the woods and hear a turkey gobbling; to be on a lake and see the bobber go up and down; what it feels like to be on a deer stand and see a deer come into view. That feeling is such a pure feeling, so wholesome. It is not something you can get artificially.”

The impressive complex that is the nature center — a 17,000-square-foot facility on 160 acres — was made possible by the 1996 passage of Amendment 75, a one-eighth conservation sales tax, along with unique centers in Pine Bluff, Fort Smith and Little Rock. The Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center focuses on the natural history and wildlife of this region, as well as the contrast to the surrounding Delta. Exhibits explore the natural forces that formed the 200- mile-long ridge, along with native wildlife. Outside, visitors may enjoy a quarter-mile, fully accessible trail.

Merrell was named information coordinator in 2006, and director of the facility in 2007.

A dynamic speaker, Merrell is in his element speaking to groups of visitors to the center, or entertaining listeners on Wednesday mornings at 7:50 on Jonesboro Radio Group’s The Fox 104.9. He is also part of a 12-member team put together to develop a strategic 10-year plan for Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
“Once you’re hooked, you’re hooked,” Merrell said of the great outdoors. “That is something we believe in — it is something we convey every day with new programs and seminars. Nothing here is routine.”

Do you consider yourself more of a hunter or a fisherman? Tough choice! I guess I would consider myself equally avid in both sports, although I’ve always been drawn with a greater intensity to hunting. The thrill of hunting is not so much about the harvest, but learning to be as elusive as the animal you seek and becoming so in tune with the outdoors that you’re just as comfortable in that environment as they are.

How did you become so comfortable with all types of animals? I’ve always been fascinated and intrigued with wildlife ever since I was a child. Whenever there was no school, I can remember being in the woods from daylight to dark. My mother would yell for me at lunch, and then again at dusk, and I was always bringing home some sort of critter. I guess after years of handling all kinds of animals, it just comes natural.

What type of pets do you have at home? To be honest, that could change daily. Many different critters have spent nights in the Merrell household, occasionally shocking visitors. Many times, care of education animals at the nature center is work that has to be taken home so you never know. But, permanent residents are pretty normal. We have beagles (which we field trial and hunt with), a Jack Russell terrier that keeps an eye on the backyard, a couple of Barred Rock chickens (I can’t help it, I like chickens) and a poodle or two. I know what you’re thinking, poodles? Let’s just say I’m trying to train them to tree squirrels! No luck yet.

What do you enjoy doing in your down time? That’s easy. Time spent at home. Besides the woods, home is my refuge.

If you could be outdoors anywhere in the world, where would it be? Right here in Arkansas. Our state provides such a variety of habitats and landscapes. Besides hunting and fishing, hiking to waterfalls along trails within the hills of western Arkansas is one of my favorite outdoor activities. But, if I could travel to any outdoor destination in the world, I would love to be flown into a remote location to hunt in Alaska. Visiting Australia would be top on my list, as well.