A hunting enthusiast with local roots was recently recognized by the Illinois Conservation Foundation for his many years spent spreading his love of the outdoors, particularly through his long-running youth hunting events.

Scott Huschle of Smithton is one of several 2025 inductees into the Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame, specifically recognized – as a conservation foundation press release notes – because he has “introduced thousands of youth to safe and ethical hunting” and “spent 25 years as an outdoor radio host and conservation advocate.”

Huschle grew up in Belleville and attended Belleville West High School, though he noted his mother long lived in Monroe County on the border with St. Clair County. He also said he lived in Waterloo himself for around 15 years.

Though much of his early professional career was unrelated to his current conservation efforts and hunting-related work,  Huschle spent a number of years working for Winchester as a dog trainer, hunting guide and shooting instructor at NILO Farms.

As he recalled, his love of the outdoors is something of a family tradition. He spoke about how his parents weren’t at all shy about sharing their love of hunting and fishing with their kids.

“My dad and my mom were both outdoor people. Camped, fished,” Huschle said. “My dad was a waterfowl hunter before I was even born. They took us, me and my sister, we were in pumpkin seats in the boat while they would crappie fish in the spring. I was introduced to the outdoors at a very early age. Shot my first duck at the age of 5 with a BB gun, and I was hooked in the waterfowl hunting from then on.”

He spoke about his experience hunting all across the country over the years, focusing on waterfowl from Canada down to Louisiana and from the East Coast to the Midwest.

Huschle also discussed his work running a waterfowl hunt club for 15 years in Freeburg.

Additionally, he found himself getting interested in making a variety of duck, goose and deer calls for folks as a hobby, though that, he said, has developed into something of a business.

Huschle further spoke about his radio career with Down River Outdoors which began back in 2002. The show has moved with him over the years, with time spent on Fox Sports Radio in St. Louis and a stint elsewhere as Huschle found himself in Eastern Illinois, the show is now based out of Alton.

The outdoorsman work he is perhaps most proud of began 17 years ago.

“My dad was a hunter safety and boating safety instructor for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for over 40 years, and I kinda followed in his footsteps in a different way of getting kids involved in the outdoors, and I thought, ‘Hey, I’m gonna start a youth hunt,’” Huschle said.

He recalled reaching out to various local organizations to get some financial support, also reaching out some corporate entities in the outdoor industry for merchandise.

Everything came together for the first Celebrity Youth Duck Hunt at the Hunt Club in Percy.

Huschle explained the “celebrity” in the title came about as he was able to get such names as Tim and Hunter Grounds out of Johnston City – known for their bird calls – as well as pro dog trainer Chris Akin and St. Louis Cardinals legends John Mabry and Danny Cox.

That event ran for five or six years, visiting a number of private hunting clubs between Illinois and Missouri.

Huschle said the duck hunting slowed down over the years, and when he started at NILO Farms, he asked if he could start the event anew as a pheasant hunt, also stepping away from the celebrity aspect as it was becoming difficult to get in touch with big names.

The event has had a home there for the past decade or so.

“Kids go out on a pheasant hunt. We start the day where we get them acclimated to the guns and how to use them correctly, shooting trap, and then the kids go out with their parents,” Huschle said. “I involve their parents the whole day with the kids, and they hunt pheasants behind the guides and the dogs so they get to see how the dogs actually hunt and retrieve.”

Huschle spoke about wanting to share his love of the outdoors that was instilled in him from experiences with his own parents as well as family friends as a kid.

“It’s all about giving back,” Huschle said. “When I was young, my dad’s buddies would always call him and, ‘Hey, can Scott get out of school or does he have school? I’m hunting by myself. I need somebody to go with me,’ so a lot of my dad’s buddies took me with them. I just look at it as a way for me to give back to what they did for me and for how my dad what he did for kids, getting them involved with hunter safety and boat safety and learning about the outdoors.”

The event also helps show youth participants that there are more active hobbies they can get into.

“It gets these kids away from the computers and the video games,” Huschle said. “It gets them out and shows them that there’s more than just video games to do in the outdoors.”

Additionally, Huschle has also long been involved with the Mississippi Valley Duck Hunters of Illinois, a group his father had a hand in getting started which Huschle himself now helps operate as president.

He discussed the group’s work in the region, donating goose nest boxes, conducting fundraisers for shooting clinics, working with high school shop classes to put together duck boxes and putting bands on birds to track migration patterns.

In general, the group does a great deal in the area of waterfowl conservation, and Huschle spoke with pride about his family’s involvement over the years.

“The conservation part, just doing what we can do to help the waterfowl production and making sure they’ve got places to nest that predators can’t get to them,” Huschle said. “My dad was a founding member… I’ve been around the club since around 1970.”

All this activity and love of the outdoors has led to his recent recognition in the Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame.

Huschle pointed to some of the folks who wrote letters of recommendation on his behalf, including one of his past celebrity hunters and a young woman who participated in one of his hunts some years ago, ultimately getting her whole family involved in duck hunting.

He voiced his appreciation for the recognition and noted his hopes to continue getting youth involved in his lifelong passion.

“To me, I’ve finally been recognized for my hard work over these 17 years of getting kids involved in the outdoors,” Huschle said. “People are finally seeing what I do and the efforts that I put in to spread the word of getting in the outdoors.”