11/18/2005
Hunting Laws Send Youngster South of the Border
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Michigan resident Kevin Butts, an active hunter and conservation-minded sportsmen, travels more than five hours to neighboring Ohio to hunt with his son.
If not for these father/son hunting trips, 9-year-old Kalvin would be unable to hunt until age 14, Michigan's legal age to hunt big game with a firearm. Among other states, Michigan has one of the most stringent youth hunting age requirements and the lowest new hunter recruitment rate in the nation.
"I like sitting in my tree stand and talking with my dad and learning about the woods and hearing different animals," said Kalvin, who has harvested deer and wild turkeys in Ohio. "I like deer hunting the best because we can get more meat out of them."
Now new Ohio legislation could make it even easier for young hunters like Kalvin to hunt. The bill, which passed unanimously in committee and is now headed to the House floor, is part of the national Families Afield campaign, established by the National Wild Turkey Federation, U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, to eliminate hunting barriers and recruit young sportsmen.
On Oct. 26, Rep. Stephen Buehrer, R-Delta, provided sponsor testimony and answered questions before the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee with regard to House Bill 296, a bill that would create an apprentice hunting license.
"Rep. Buehrer's bill has a real chance to help reverse the trend of declining hunter numbers and preserve Ohio's rich hunting tradition," said Rob Keck, NWTF CEO. "He needs our support to help educate other legislators on the necessity of lifting these barriers."
The license will allow qualified, adult hunters to introduce others to hunting prior to completing a hunter education course. While in the field, the apprentice hunter would be in close proximity to the adult mentor and would be required to complete hunter education certification should he or she elect to continue hunting.
"The Ohio Families Afield bill and similar legislation in Wisconsin were the first of their kind introduced to help offset a downward trend in hunter participation," said Tony Celebrezze, USSA Director of State Services. "The concept for the Families Afield campaign was developed after results of a study called the Youth Hunting Report revealed declining youth involvement in outdoor sports and pointed to reasons for the sliding numbers."
The Youth Hunting Report showed the most important factor affecting youth hunting safety is the presence of a responsible, attentive adult mentor. The three sportsmen's groups will use the Families Afield initiative to emphasize that young hunters are safe hunters. Data compiled and analyzed by Silvertip Productions, USSA and Southwick Associates Inc., shows young hunters, supervised by an adult mentor, have one of the lowest injury rates of all hunters. Of the 14.7 million hunters active in 2002, only .0001 percent were supervised youth involved in an accident.
Lending support to the youth hunting movement across the nation is the International Hunter Education Association.
In Pennsylvania, the Youth Mentored Hunting Committee established a coalition with the NWTF, the NSSF and the USSA, while also gaining support from the IHEA. The committee consists of 13 men and women representing conservation, sporting and youth groups. On Nov. 1, Sen. Joe Conti, R-Doylestown, Chairman of the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee attached language from Senate Bill 988, which creates a mentored youth hunting program, to House Bill 1690. The Game and Fisheries Committee unanimously approved the newly amended HB 1690, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Smith, R-Dillsburg, and the bill now awaits a floor vote in the Senate.
Also in committee, is Wisconsin's Assembly Bill 677 that will allow mentored hunting, along with giving parents the authority to decide when their kids are ready to hunt or shoot.
For more information about youth hunting or Families Afield, contact Jonathan Harling at the NWTF, (803) 637-3106, Doug Jeanneret at the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, (614) 888-4868 or Steve Wagner, National Shooting Sports Foundation, (203) 426-1320. For more information about the NWTF, call (800) THE-NWTF.
