Natural State Goosechase ends with $1,000 shopping spree

Going on a wild goose chase usually means running around frantically with no real outcome, but for Scott and Melissa Ervin, their meandering path led to a $1,000 shopping spree at Bass Pro Shops, courtesy of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation.

The goose chase the Ervins took part in was the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s group in Goosechase, an interactive experiences app that challenges people to execute missions, such as taking their picture at a location or completing a specific task and sending proof of their accomplishments.

“We filled our group missions with AGFC- and outdoor recreation-themed activities, from catching a fish at a local pond to taking a picture of a specific display at an AGFC nature center,” Eric Maynard, assistant chief of the AGFC’s Education Division, said. “This is the second year of the AGFC-based Goosechase, and we’ve had hundreds of people join in the fun. We had more than 750 submissions on weekly missions this year alone.”

The Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation agreed to sponsor a $1,000 shopping spree to add a little excitement to the chase.

“We’re happy to support all the education programs of the AGFC, and this one was especially great because it was all about using modern technology to get people outside, two things that don’t always go together,” Matt Baker with the AGFF said.

According to Maynard, any team or individual that completed at least 80 percent of the challenges was placed into a drawing to win the prize. The Ervins were the top scorers last year and followed up again this year with another top score. Although they weren’t drawn for their first attempt, persistence paid off and they were one of a handful of teams that were in the hat for this year’s drawing.

“It’s great that they won the shopping spree after coming in first in the points both years,” Maynard said. “They completed all but three of the missions throughout the entire challenge this year.”

Melissa Ervin said those three missions were hunting challenges, and she and her husband don’t hunt. They visited many wildlife management areas for the first time and enjoyed many new experiences because of the challenge.

“We mostly just do the [Family and Community Fishing Program] ponds,” she said. “That’s how we got into Game and Fish. With these missions, the app took us to other places that were close to us that we didn’t really know about.”

They said they were able to see every competitor’s scores throughout the event, which made the challenge even more fun.

“There was another person who was right there with us through the entire event, and we really got into it,” she said. “It was neck and neck going into the last day. We actually won the points total in the last challenge of the year; we just completed it a little earlier the same weekend that he did. He sent us a message congratulating us after it was over.”

Scott Ervin said they racked up more than 460 miles throughout the event, traveling to all sorts of new locations.

“A lot of missions could be done close to home in North Little Rock, but we made road trips to cover some of them,” he said. “We made a loop throughout north Arkansas, hitting all the nature centers. After last year, we said we weren’t going to do all that traveling this year, and then we kind of got into that competitive spirit and wanted to go ahead and do it. I imagine we’ll be looking forward to next year, too.”

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CUTLINES:

COUPLE
Scott and Melissa Ervin with the spoils from their $1,000 shopping spree, which they won after completing nearly every mission in the 2026 Natural State Goosechase. AGFC photo. 

FOUR
From Left to Right: Eric Maynard (AGFC), Melissa Ervin, Scott Ervin, Matt Baker (AGFF).