While some little girls are playing with Barbies, others are being prepped on gun safety before they embark on their first hunt.

Every year, women of all ages look to take advantage of the abundance of game in Kittitas Valley come hunting season.

Freshman MacKenzie Burvee and junior Melanie Swanson carry on their family traditions of hunting in the Kittitas Valley. Every fall brings excitement and a new opportunity to pursue their next trophy.

“It never fails when you look for a three-point buck or bigger, and all the does and two-points walk right in front of you,” Swanson said.

With rolling hills, canyons and ridges, Kittitas County offers one of the most diverse hunting landscapes in Washington. Since 70 percent of the county is public land, hunters have more accessibility to hunting grounds than others in the state.

Still, Burvee said there are problems associated with so much public land.

“The most challenging aspect is finding an area that’s not overrun by tons of people,” Burvee said.

For the better part of its existence, hunting has been a male-dominated sport. Hunting can entail a level of physical exertion that, stereotypically, women might have trouble meeting. Once an animal is killed, it’s necessary for it to be gutted and wrapped before being packed out. With the typical mature Rocky Mountain Elk weighing between 500-700 pounds, a hunter has quite a bit of meat to carry back to their vehicle.

The trend, however, seems to be changing as more women have taken up hunting.

“I think that hunting is a great sport for girls and will help build your confidence. It’s something you can do as a family, and getting to spend time with the ones you love is never a bad thing,” Burvee said. “Girls should always know how to shoot a gun. I know that killing an animal isn’t always something that everyone is capable of doing, but once you experience it, you’ll have ‘buck fever’ for sure.”

Burvee harvested her first deer, a buck, at age 15.

Swanson, an accounting major, also has a strong hunting tradition to uphold in her family.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I have been going on hunts with my dad just like he did with his father,” Swanson said. “I would totally encourage girls to venture into the hunting world. Hunting gives you an unmatched sense of accomplishment after a successful hunt, and most importantly, it’s fun!”

Hunting can offer bonding time for families, but for many, hunting gives peace of mind that there are no chemicals in their meat. A successful hunting season can also mean not having to buy meat for at least six months.

“I was born into a hunting family. I can’t imagine a life where the only meat in my freezer is store bought,” Swanson said. “Knowing that the meat I put on my table isn’t filled with chemicals is a pretty nice perk.”

In 2011, elk hunting, one of the county’s largest attractions, brought in 22,000 hunters from all over the Northwest. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WSDFW) estimated that in 2013 there were over 18,000 elk residing in Kittitas County alone.

The mule deer populations in both Kittitas and Yakima counties have suffered staggering losses in the past five years. The WSDFW attributes the decline in part to a hair-loss syndrome. The disease, spread by a louse, originated in the Manastash Creek drainage system and swept the rest of the county, contributing to a 50 percent decline in the deer population.

The louse, identified as Bovicola tibialis, normally uses Eurasian deer and antelope as hosts.

According to the WSDFW, when deer become infected, they develop a severe allergic reaction to the louse. This leads to irritation, and in return, excessive self grooming by the animal. The cycle ultimately ends in hair loss and death.

Although the disease has subsided, cougar populations in the valley seem to be at an all-time high, and remain the biggest threat to deer.

With nearly four more months of the hunting season remaining, there is plenty of time to experience the anticipation and thrill that hunting can bring.

“There are days that I wonder why I’m out here, freezing my butt off…But then the sun comes out and puts it all into perspective,” Burvee said.