03/12/2007
Introduce a Young Person to Hunting in Kansas
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KANSAS — Young and novice hunters in Kansas can go turkey hunting this spring with an adult mentor before they complete a hunter education course, thanks to a new program.
Through the program, licensed adults supervise hunters under 12 years of age and between 12 and 16 years old who have not completed an approved hunter education course. Before the young hunter becomes fully licensed, he or she would be required to complete a hunter education course.
A bill in the Kansas legislature would amend the mentored hunting program. SB 189 would allow a person who is 16 or older to obtain a one-time deferral of completion of hunter education that would be valid until the end of the current license year. Novice hunters would be required to hunt with a licensed, supervising adult. The bill is currently in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources.
Mentored hunting and eliminating age barriers that prevent people from hunting are key components of the Families Afield program. A partnership of the National Wild Turkey Federation, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, Families Afield uses data from the Youth Hunting Report to help remove youth hunting barriers across the nation.
"Allowing young people to safely experience hunting with a mentor is the best way to make them appreciative of the hunting tradition," said Rob Keck, NWTF CEO. "Getting them interested in hunting at an early age will not only prepare them for hunter education courses, but lays the foundation for being good conservationists."
The Youth Hunting Report, written by Silvertip Productions, USSA and Southwick Associates Inc., found that some states experience better recruitment and retention of new hunters than others. They do so by permitting parents to decide when their sons and daughters are ready to hunt, and allow potential hunters to try hunting under the watchful eye of a mentor before completing a hunter education course.
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 on to www.familiesafield.org.
To date, Families Afield legislation and regulations have been approved in 12 states. In addition to Michigan, Ohio also established an apprentice hunting program. First-year results appear extremely promising. Combined, more than 28,000 apprentice hunting licenses have been sold in the two states since the programs began in 2006. These 28,000 new hunters suggest a 26 percent jump in the two states' combined population of hunters age 15 and under.
The 12 states that 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
