Years ago, when Ohio whitetail fanatic Dean Ziegler began talking about how he hoped to someday open a state-of-the-art educational center featuring his favorite big-game animal, many folks assumed he was just another deer hunter caught up in a dream that could never come true. But now, he's turning that fantasy into fact.

The dreamer's vision has become the National Whitetail Deer Education Foundation, a non-profit, independent organization that, according to its mission statement, is "dedicated to promoting respect and compassion for the whitetail through innovative educational programs. The Foundation's mission is to inspire lifelong learning and a sustained curiosity and respect of all the outdoors, for all ages, particularly youth."

After years of struggling for resources, the NWDEF is rapidly gaining momentum as a conservation group with a pro-hunting message. Its whitetail-oriented educational programs, developed for classroom presentations in Ohio's public schools, are designed to meet state Academic Content Standards in Science and Social Studies. In making such programs available to schools, the NWDEF is countering the anti-hunting message that has become pervasive in many school systems in recent years.

The foundation's main fundraiser is its annual Deerassic Classic, named for its Deerassic Park Education Center outside Cambridge, Ohio. (This year's classic is scheduled for Aug. 5-6.) Some 15,000 people attend this event, which is held on the foundation's 117-acre property near popular Salt Fork State Park.

"This year's event will be our biggest yet," Dean notes, "and we've already sold a huge number of tickets. We'll have a lot of key people on hand, including North American Whitetail Editor in Chief Gordon Whittington."

Deerassic Park has become a popular place for educational field trips featuring hands-on outdoor education. But it isn't just fun for those in school — kids of all ages enjoy observing and learning about the center's herd of live deer, which includes some enormous bucks. The foundation also has more than 100 racks from world-class bucks taken in the state, and plans call for the construction of an Ohio Whitetail Hall of Fame Museum to house them for display on the property. Throughout, the idea is to show just how important the whitetail has been to mankind - not only in the Buckeye State, but across much of the rest of the nation as well.

"One of our main goals is to help youth reconnect with the outdoor world, and to help reverse the trend of declining youth participation in outdoor activities," notes the NWDEF's Web site. "We achieve this goal through educational programs and community outreach."

For information on attending this year's Deerassic Classic or finding out how you can help the NWDEF, click here.