Palouse woman chosen a “Queen of Camo”

She shot her first deer while pregnant with her first child.

Thia Anderson, a Palouse hunteress, was chosen in February as one of four women for the production of “Queens of Camo.” Cameras follow these women on their outings.

The show can be seen on the internet at huntit.tv and is being pitched by producers to appear on The Pursuit Channel and a new network beginning in June called the Hunt Channel.

Anderson moved to Palouse three years ago after spending 20 years in Idaho.

“There are so many things that draw me to hunting,” she said. “Being out in nature is where I find my peace. It is where I connect with myself, God, nature, life and death, my own mortality. It is where I can absorb every aspect of the landscape—- all of the sounds, smells and sights. Instead of being an observer of nature, as a huntress I become part of it.”

Anderson, 47, began hunting in her early 20s. Since then, she has pursued waterfowl, upland game birds, turkey, deer, elk, coyotes, bears and wolves.

“I don’t do much bird hunting these days, except for turkeys. My favorite kind of hunting is for big game. I also do a lot of shed antler hunting in the spring.”

Two years ago, she began bow-hunting.

“I enjoy the added challenge of hunting with a bow,” she said. “The patience it requires and the peace and quiet of archery season.”

This winter, since the close of deer season last fall, Anderson has hunted in Idaho in search of wolves. While she hasn’t seen any, she has bagged two coyotes along the way, which she said wreak havoc on deer populations.

“Hopefully that will help a few more fawns survive to adulthood,” Anderson said.

Generally, she and husband Ken are out hunting nearly every weekend.

“Starting in the spring, I hunt for turkeys and sometimes bears. From September until November or December, I hunt deer, elk and turkeys,” she said. “Winter brings wolf and coyote hunting.”

Back home after a hunt, Anderson, a mother of three and now grandmother, uses the meat like beef from a grocery store.

“We have been lucky enough to usually have at least one deer in our freezer,” Anderson said. “We make our bears mostly into sausage, which is perfect for biscuits and sausage gravy. There are so many great things to do with game meat.”

There is now just one episode of “Queens of Camo,” which was filmed before Anderson joined.

She said that it is likely that as the show continues, many of the hunts will be in the west.

When Anderson is not in the field, she is a nurse practicioner in Pullman.