Idaho's hunter education program is looking for new instructors to help meet the growing demand for courses in all Lewiston area communities.
Learn more about the program and how to become a hunter education or a bowhunter education instructor at one of several upcoming meetings hosted by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
- Tuesday, February 15, at Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor, 1350 Troy Road, Moscow.
- Thursday, February 17, at Idaho Fish and Game office, 3316 16th St., Lewiston.
- Tuesday, February 22, at Idaho Fish and Game Clearwater Fish Hatchery, 118 Hatchery Roe Drive, Orofino.
- Thursday, February 24, at Senior Center, County Road, Grangeville.
All meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m.
The meetings will outline the instructor certification process, as well as how to organize classes, select meeting sites, how to order supplies and register students. Participants will also learn how to use lesson plans, how to teach using various methods, and how to employ effective teaching techniques in the classroom and at the rifle range. All materials will be provided. Experienced instructors will also be on hand to visit with those interested.
In north-central Idaho, about 35 volunteer hunter education instructors conduct more than 80 courses annually and graduate more than 900 new hunters each year.
"These special people make the program a success," Fish and Game volunteer coordinator Jen Bruns said. "Our goal of recruiting new instructors is to help lighten the load on the current volunteers and provide the additional classes needed to satisfy the student demand."
Though Fish and Game has more than 1,000 volunteer instructors signed up, only about half of them are active. Fish and Game runs about 550 hunter and bowhunter education classes per year, and turned out 8,700 hunter education graduates and 1,850 bowhunter graduates in 2010.
For more information, contact Bruns at 208-799-5010 or
jennifer.bruns@idfg.idaho.gov. Or to find out about instructors requirements and opportunities in other regions, contact hunter education coordinator Ron Fritz at 208-287-2884 or
ron.fritz@idfg.idaho.gov.
