Bill to Promote New Hunters Launched in Ohio
Posted: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:56 am
U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance
801 Kingsmill Parkway, Columbus, OH 43229
Ph. 614/888-4868 • Fax 614/888-0326
Website: http://www.ussportsmen.org • E-mail: info@ussportsmen.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Doug Jeanneret (614) 888-4868 x 227
June 15, 2005 Beth Ruth (614) 888-4868 x 214
Bill to Promote New Hunters Launched in Ohio
(Columbus) – A bill to eliminate barriers for people who want to try hunting was introduced today in the Ohio House of Representatives. The effort kicks off a national campaign to help recruit hunters into the sport.
Ohio Rep. Stephen Buehrer, R-Delta, a champion of sportsmen’s rights, introduced HB 296. It will create an apprentice hunting license allowing qualified, licensed adult hunters to introduce others to the sport prior to completing a hunter education course. The apprentice hunter would have to be in close proximity to the adult mentor while in the field.
The move is designed to enhance the ability of youth and adults to discover hunting prior to large investments of time and money in equipment and training.
The Ohio effort is part of the Families Afield program. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) has teamed with the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) to establish Families Afield. Together, the organizations are urging states to review and eliminate unnecessary age restrictions for hunters.
Families Afield was developed after results of a study, called the Youth Hunting Report, showed that youngsters are less likely to take up hunting in states that have more restrictive requirements for youth participation. However, states that have removed barriers to youth hunting have a much higher youth recruitment rate.
According to the research, 34 states restrict youth participation in hunting. These states restrict hunting before age 13 or prohibit the introduction of hunting before the completion of a hunter education course. Ohio is one of those states.
“It was obvious that by making the opportunity to hunt so difficult, we’re preventing potential hunters from trying the sport,” said Bud Pidgeon, USSA president. “There are so many activities available to our youth today, by the time they can legally hunt, they’re interested in other things and we’ve lost them.”
The Youth Hunting Report, funded by NSSF and NWTF, clearly showed that hunters in states without these restrictions are as safe as Ohio hunters. It also showed that the most important factor affecting youth hunting safety is the presence of a responsible, attentive adult hunter.
“The research was very clear in that supervised young hunters are the safest even in states that don’t restrict hunting based on age,” said Doug Painter, CEO of NSSF. “Simply put, supervised youth hunters are the safest in the woods.”
Ohio was chosen to introduce the Families Afield Program for several reasons, but there is one key factor.
“Ohio, a state with a rich hunting tradition, has been losing hunters in recent years,” said Rob Keck, CEO of NWTF. “Representative Buehrer’s bill has a real chance to help reverse that trend. He needs our support to help educate other legislators on the necessity of lifting these barriers.”
The three organizations urge Ohio sportsmen to contact their representatives and ask them to support HB 296. Let them know that unnecessary barriers to youth hunting should be removed. Educate them that the safest hunter is a mentored youth hunter. To find your representative, call (800) 282-0253 or use the Legislative Action Center at http://www.ussportsmen.org.
For more information about the Youth Hunting Report, call Jonathan Harling of the National Wild Turkey Federation at 1 (800) THE-NWTF; Steve Wagner of the National Shooting Sports Foundation at (203) 426-1320; or Doug Jeanneret of the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance at (614) 888-4868.
About the NWTF: In 1973, when the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded, there were an estimated 1.3 million wild turkeys and 1.5 million turkey hunters. Thanks to the work of wildlife agencies and the NWTF’s many volunteers and partners, today there are seven million wild turkeys and nearly three million turkey hunters. Since 1985, more than $202 million NWTF and cooperator dollars have been spent on over 31,000 projects benefiting wild turkeys throughout North America.
The NWTF is a nonprofit organization with nearly 525,000 members in 50 states and 12 foreign countries. It supports scientific wildlife management on public, private and corporate lands as well as wild turkey hunting as a traditional North American sport.
For more information about the National Wild Turkey Federation, call (803) 637-3106, visit http://www.nwtf.org or e-mail questions to nwtf@nwtf.net.
About NSSF: NSSF, formed in 1961, is the non-profit trade association for the firearms industry. It directs a variety of outreach programs to promote greater participation and a better understanding of shooting sports, emphasizing safe and responsible ownership of firearms. For further information, visit http://www.nssf.org.
About the USSA: The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, http://www.ussportsmen.org.
801 Kingsmill Parkway, Columbus, OH 43229
Ph. 614/888-4868 • Fax 614/888-0326
Website: http://www.ussportsmen.org • E-mail: info@ussportsmen.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Doug Jeanneret (614) 888-4868 x 227
June 15, 2005 Beth Ruth (614) 888-4868 x 214
Bill to Promote New Hunters Launched in Ohio
(Columbus) – A bill to eliminate barriers for people who want to try hunting was introduced today in the Ohio House of Representatives. The effort kicks off a national campaign to help recruit hunters into the sport.
Ohio Rep. Stephen Buehrer, R-Delta, a champion of sportsmen’s rights, introduced HB 296. It will create an apprentice hunting license allowing qualified, licensed adult hunters to introduce others to the sport prior to completing a hunter education course. The apprentice hunter would have to be in close proximity to the adult mentor while in the field.
The move is designed to enhance the ability of youth and adults to discover hunting prior to large investments of time and money in equipment and training.
The Ohio effort is part of the Families Afield program. The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) has teamed with the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) to establish Families Afield. Together, the organizations are urging states to review and eliminate unnecessary age restrictions for hunters.
Families Afield was developed after results of a study, called the Youth Hunting Report, showed that youngsters are less likely to take up hunting in states that have more restrictive requirements for youth participation. However, states that have removed barriers to youth hunting have a much higher youth recruitment rate.
According to the research, 34 states restrict youth participation in hunting. These states restrict hunting before age 13 or prohibit the introduction of hunting before the completion of a hunter education course. Ohio is one of those states.
“It was obvious that by making the opportunity to hunt so difficult, we’re preventing potential hunters from trying the sport,” said Bud Pidgeon, USSA president. “There are so many activities available to our youth today, by the time they can legally hunt, they’re interested in other things and we’ve lost them.”
The Youth Hunting Report, funded by NSSF and NWTF, clearly showed that hunters in states without these restrictions are as safe as Ohio hunters. It also showed that the most important factor affecting youth hunting safety is the presence of a responsible, attentive adult hunter.
“The research was very clear in that supervised young hunters are the safest even in states that don’t restrict hunting based on age,” said Doug Painter, CEO of NSSF. “Simply put, supervised youth hunters are the safest in the woods.”
Ohio was chosen to introduce the Families Afield Program for several reasons, but there is one key factor.
“Ohio, a state with a rich hunting tradition, has been losing hunters in recent years,” said Rob Keck, CEO of NWTF. “Representative Buehrer’s bill has a real chance to help reverse that trend. He needs our support to help educate other legislators on the necessity of lifting these barriers.”
The three organizations urge Ohio sportsmen to contact their representatives and ask them to support HB 296. Let them know that unnecessary barriers to youth hunting should be removed. Educate them that the safest hunter is a mentored youth hunter. To find your representative, call (800) 282-0253 or use the Legislative Action Center at http://www.ussportsmen.org.
For more information about the Youth Hunting Report, call Jonathan Harling of the National Wild Turkey Federation at 1 (800) THE-NWTF; Steve Wagner of the National Shooting Sports Foundation at (203) 426-1320; or Doug Jeanneret of the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance at (614) 888-4868.
About the NWTF: In 1973, when the National Wild Turkey Federation was founded, there were an estimated 1.3 million wild turkeys and 1.5 million turkey hunters. Thanks to the work of wildlife agencies and the NWTF’s many volunteers and partners, today there are seven million wild turkeys and nearly three million turkey hunters. Since 1985, more than $202 million NWTF and cooperator dollars have been spent on over 31,000 projects benefiting wild turkeys throughout North America.
The NWTF is a nonprofit organization with nearly 525,000 members in 50 states and 12 foreign countries. It supports scientific wildlife management on public, private and corporate lands as well as wild turkey hunting as a traditional North American sport.
For more information about the National Wild Turkey Federation, call (803) 637-3106, visit http://www.nwtf.org or e-mail questions to nwtf@nwtf.net.
About NSSF: NSSF, formed in 1961, is the non-profit trade association for the firearms industry. It directs a variety of outreach programs to promote greater participation and a better understanding of shooting sports, emphasizing safe and responsible ownership of firearms. For further information, visit http://www.nssf.org.
About the USSA: The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, http://www.ussportsmen.org.