 DNR Volunteer instructors:
As 2016 draws to a close, I would like to thank you all for the dedication and support of the DNR Education/Safety Training programs. Due to the hard work and diligence of nearly 6000 volunteers, there will be approximately 36,000 youth and adults that will have gained greater knowledge and experience in safe outdoor recreation. When you consider the large number of students trained, it really emphasizes the fact that DNR could not accomplish this endeavor without you!
Some 2016 highlights:
• Our first 60 year volunteer award was presented to Robert Gross. Thank you Robert for your dedication to teaching firearm safety for over six decades!
• Tom Steele was presented with the 2015 Firearms Instructor of the year.
• Larry Perkins was our 2015 Snowmobile Instructor of the year.
• Tim and Scarlett Feiler were named 2015 ATV Instructors of the year.
Upcoming in 2017:
We are planning to once again conduct instructor forums. These forums are a great opportunity for us to provide updates and meet with you to listen to your suggestions and feedback on the safety/education programs. It’s also a great opportunity to network with fellow instructors. Please see the dates and locations at 2017 Instructor
Forums. I encourage you to attend one if possible.
Thanks again for a safe and successful 2016.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
CPT Jon Paurus
Enforcement Education Programs Coordinator
As 2016 draws to an end, please take time to recognize those individual volunteer safety instructors who have gone above and beyond to make youth ATV and Snowmobile Safety programs a success in your local community. Most of us know a few dedicated volunteer instructors who ‘go the extra mile’. The Education-Safety Section is seeking nominations for the ATV and Snowmobile Safety Instructor of the year for 2016. Please take a few minutes to nominate a deserving volunteer safety instructor. The nomination forms are now available on DNR website.
You can find the forms on the DNR website at: Nomination
Forms.
The deadline for nominations is Friday January 6, 2017.
If you are holding a traditional snowmobile classroom course, you can easily allow students to attend your field day/riding performance course, if they have completed the online snowmobile course.
1) Student must turn in the snowmobile course Completion Voucher from the online course;
2) Parent fills out the Registration/Parental Release/Self-Certification form on their child;
3) Student completes quiz/review, plus the required field day/riding performance activities;
4) Include these students on your Student Roster when you submit it to Camp Ripley.
The International Hunter Education Association would like volunteer instructors to join their organization. There are many member benefits available to you. To read about the IHEA membership and to join, please go to the Instructor Page on the DNR website at:
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Responsive
Management has produced a new article detailing hunters' contributions to
wildlife conservation in the United States. The article provides an in-depth look
at the sources of funding from hunters and how these funds are spent, from
wildlife management and species recovery to the work of federal and state
fish and wildlife agencies and nonprofit organizations.
The article discusses various sources of funding, including the
Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 (commonly known as the
Pittman-Robertson Act); the Federal Duck Stamp (a required purchase for any
duck hunter in the U.S.); licenses, tags, and permits purchased by hunters in
each state; and membership dues and donations from nonprofit organizations
like Ducks Unlimited and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, which are largely
supported by hunters.
The article then breaks down how the funding from hunters is
spent, including Pittman-Robertson revenue apportionment, the many ways in
which nonprofit organizations contribute to conservation in the U.S., and how
hunters' contributions manifest in the work of fish and wildlife agencies. A
summary of fish and wildlife agency resources and assets compiled by senior
staff at the Arizona Game and Fish Department makes clear the importance of
hunter dollars on the state agency level alone (Responsive Management thanks
Larry Voyles and Doug Burt for providing this information):
- 50,000 employees;
- 11,000 degreed biologists;
- 8,400 certified law enforcement officers;
- 190,000 volunteers working with the agencies
annually;
- 465 million acres of land managed or controlled by
agencies;
- 168 million acres of water managed or controlled by
agencies;
- And a total of 990,000 square miles of
wildlife habitat--almost four times the state of Texas and
more than 10 times the size of all five Great Lakes combined.
Also covered in the article are examples of various wildlife species
that have rebounded thanks to management efforts supported through funding
from hunters:
- The whitetail deer population went from less than
500,000 in 1900 to more than 30 million today;
- Wild turkey went from under 650,000 in 1900 to more
than 7 million today;
- The wood duck, extremely rare in 1900, has increased
to 5.5 million today;
- The Rocky Mountain elk has gone from 40,000 in 1900
to about a million today;
- There were just 13,000 pronghorn antelope in 1900
compared to about a million today;
- And while just 25,000 bighorn sheep roamed North
America in 1950, that number has climbed to 80,000 today.
The article provides a full discussion of the other ways in
which hunter dollars are spent, including support for wildlife management
areas, scientific conservation studies and biological research, other species
recovery and wildlife management efforts, and habitat conservation.
The full article has been posted to the NRA's Hunters'
Leadership Forum website, available here.
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