Help Hunting's Future - Become A Hunter Education Instructor

GRANGEVILLE - If you are interested in the future of hunting, in improving sportsmanship in the field and in overall improvement of the safety and well-being of hunters, then the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) encourages you to become a hunter education instructor. IDFG will host a free workshop at the Senior Citizen's Center in Grangeville on Saturday, July 10, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to train adult volunteers in becoming certified instructors. "Teaching hunter education helps me introduce kids to a sport that has brought me so many great memories," said Phil Schultz, a veteran 20-year instructor. "It's also a good way to hook kids on the outdoors." The orientation workshop is designed for all hunter and bowhunter education instructors, new applicants and department staff. The training will provide an opportunity for new instructors to meet established instructors and provide the annual training required of all certified instructors. Instructor applications packages and fingerprinting for police background checks will be available. Lunch will be provided for all participants. To register for this class or for more on the hunter education program, contact Kent Henderson at the Clearwater Region office, 1540 Warner Ave. in Lewiston, 799-5010. The hunter education program was developed with increased safety as its first basic goal and has been credited with the dramatic decrease of hunting-related fatalities. Since the 1970s, the fatality rate has fallen from 11-12 per year to an average of one-per year in the past five years. The classes teach young hunters safe handling of weapons, wildlife management, outdoor survival, laws, hunter responsibilities and ethics. The hunter education program has over 900 active instructors who teach approximately 12,000 students annually. The Fish and Game Commission honors them based on an objective point system. The points accumulate for services rendered over the years, and at 35,000 points, top instructors are awarded an art print and a custom ring.