01/31/2007
Introduce a Young Person to Hunting This Spring
OHIO — Ohioans wanting to introduce turkey hunting to young and novice hunters before they complete a hunter education course can do so this spring thanks to a new apprentice license program. And with turkey season less than three months away, that's good news for many of the Buckeye state's novice hunters.
The apprentice license program is a result of efforts made by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and Families Afield partners — the National Wild Turkey Federation, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance. The Families Afield initiative uses data from the Youth Hunting Report to help remove youth hunting barriers across the nation.
"Today's young hunters are the conservationists of tomorrow," said Rob Keck, CEO of the National Wild Turkey Federation. "The hunting and conservation tradition could be lost if we don't instill in them the love of the outdoors at an early age. Getting them hooked on hunting at an early age will make them appreciative of the hunting tradition, increase hunter retention and ensure the future of conservation remains strong."
The apprentice license program allows novice hunters who purchase apprentice licenses to hunt before completing a hunter education course. Novice hunters must be with a licensed mentor over the age of 21 when afield and can be mentored for up to three years before being required to obtain hunter education certification.
While in the field, the apprentice hunter is required to be in close proximity to the adult mentor at all times. Before the young hunter becomes fully licensed, he or she would be required to complete a hunter education course.
So far, many are taking advantage of the program, purchasing nearly 10,000 apprentice hunting licenses since the program began Sept. 1.
The Youth Hunting Report also shows youth hunters are the safest hunters in the woods when accompanied by an adult. The findings were peer reviewed for statistical validity by the Triad Research Group. For more information on hunting safety data and the Youth Hunting Report, log onto www.familiesafield.org.
To date, Families Afield legislation and regulations have been approved in 12 states. Two of those states, Michigan and Ohio, established apprentice hunting programs. First-year results appear extremely promising. More than 18,000 apprentice licenses were sold in Michigan, plus nearly 10,000 in Ohio, during 2006. These 28,000 new hunters suggest a 26 percent jump in the two states' combined population of hunters age 15 and under.
The twelve states have changed laws and regulations to create additional hunting opportunities for youth and novice hunters are:
Florida
Illinois
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Utah
