Hunter education is more than a class on the pursuit of game or firearms safety. These courses are an encompassing and exciting glimpse into conservation, wildlife management, and the important role modern society must play in an increasingly threatened environment. By teaching hunter education one passes on an important tradition and ensures a proven funding source for conservation efforts.
On 08 December 1908 during Theodore Roosevelt’s last message to Congress he stated: “The great body of our citizens shoot less as time goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys, and indeed among all classes, as well as in the military services by every means in our power.” This comment was made in reference to the National Guard of the United States but its relevance also lies in the area of wildlife resources conservation within the North American Model of Wildlife Management.
More than one hundred years removed by President Roosevelt’s remarks, wildlife management agencies are struggling with the fact of “the great body of our citizens shoot less…” The North American Wildlife Management Model is greatly dependent on hunting and the shooting sports for a funding source and overall support of agency and conservation policies. The North American Wildlife Management Model follows seven key concepts that include: wildlife as a public trust resource, elimination of markets (financial) for wildlife, allocation of wildlife by law, wildlife can only be killed for a legitimate purpose, wildlife are considered an international resource, science is the proper tool for discharge of wildlife policy, and the democracy of hunting. Urban sprawl and human population growth has created a societal shift away from a utilitarian view of wildlife resources. Excise taxes are levied on firearms, ammunition, and archery tackle to fund the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program as a user pay and user benefit model. The loss of hunters and shooters will have an effect on the financial security of state wildlife agencies and also the thought processes of management.
Hunter education is one tool used to introduce people to hunting and help ensure society continues to enjoy wildlife resources. In North Carolina, hunter education is offered free in all one hundred counties. Many of these courses are taught at county extension offices or as part as the agricultural curriculum in middle and high school classes. There are approximately 230 schools teaching hunter education with in-school programs. A large portion of these courses are taught by volunteer hunter education instructors. In fiscal year 2009-2010, 772 volunteer instructors certified nearly 19,000 hunter education students in North Carolina.
To become a certified hunter education instructor in North Carolina is simple. First, a person should contact their local hunter education specialist. North Carolina is broken into nine wildlife districts. Each district has a Hunter Education Specialist who is responsible for coordinating hunter education activities. A few simple criteria have to be met 1) be a hunter education course graduate 2) be willing to complete a twelve hour instructor workshop (most schools will allow teachers to receive CEU credits) 3) submit to a criminal history check and an instructor applicant cannot have a class one misdemeanor, felony, or wildlife violation that required a revocation of hunting or fishing privileges 4) be willing to assist with one course every two years. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission will provide all necessary training for free. Once an applicant is certified as an instructor they can begin teaching the course in their school and/or community. The course is designed to be at a minimum cost to the instructor. The NCWRC will provide all necessary manuals, visual aids, classroom firearms and ammunition, televisions, paperwork, and hand out materials as needed.
If the instructor elects to teach hunter education in their respective school, the school is then qualified to field a Hunter Education Skill Tournament Team. The Youth Hunter Education Skills Tournament system is an incentive component of North Carolina’s Hunter Education Program. This program provides an opportunity to showcase outdoor skills and demonstrate safety, with events in rifle, shotgun and archery marksmanship, as well as an orienteering challenge and a wildlife knowledge test. Competitions are conducted on senior (high school) and junior (middle and elementary schools) divisional levels, with overall team and overall individual awards based on aggregate scores in all events. Nine district-level competitions are held in March, with hundreds of middle school and high school students taking part. Winning teams then advance to a state championship tournament in April at 4H Camp Millstone near Ellerbe, NC.
Hunter education and the North Carolina Hunter Education Skills Tournament are two examples on how to pass along conservation ideals to a future generation. By teaching hunter education students, will begin a journey that encompasses conservation, wildlife management, and the important role modern society must play in an increasingly threatened environment.
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